A SADDLEWORTH landlady at a popular Uppermill pub has claimed a prestigious accolade in a celebrated nationwide pub guide.
Christine Taylor, landlady of the Church Inn, has been chosen as Own Brew Pub of the Year from more than 5,000 hostelries in The Good Pub Guide 2015.
The proud mother of four is the only solo woman landlady in the UK to be recognised in the accolades handed out by the publishers of the country’s best-selling guide.
The ancient pub on Church Lane is famed for brewing up to 11 distinctive ales, starting at just £2 a pint.
The guide highlights the innovative way Mrs Taylor celebrates her children’s birthdays by producing their own seasonal beers bearing their names.
It also praises the pub’s large choice of good value food, the L-shaped main bar, high beams and some stripped stone, settles, pews, attractive prints and Staffordshire and other china.
And children can enjoy the inn’s animals, including rabbits, chickens, dogs, ducks, geese, alpacas and 14 peacocks in an adjoining field.
Christine, 46, and the family are proud of their pub logo which says ‘The Taylor family brewers of mental distortion since 1981’.
She said: “I’m thrilled by the award. It’s a win for my whole family and the loyal customers who support us.
“My father in law, Michael, who was landlord at the Red Lion at Lees and my husband, Julian, brew the beers together and come up with the recipes.
“The beers have really established themselves with the locals.”
The guide uses 2,000 correspondents and pub-goers’ recommendations, backed up by editor inspections, to determine who’s in and who’s out year on year.
And the editors, Alisdair Aird and Fiona Stapley, believe after years of doom and gloom, the pub scene is finally booming.
They commented: “The pub scene has changed utterly to a thriving industry finding ingenious ways of pleasing millions of new customers.
“Although around 28 pubs are closing a week — about half the number that closed a couple of years ago — many are being re-opened by visionary and energetic new licensees.
“It is the success of these pubs that has definitely led to a new mood of forward-looking confidence in the pub world.”
The Good Pub Guide 2015, which features more than 5,000 pubs with friendly and informative descriptions, is published by Ebury Press and costs £15.99.
A good pint of Holts at £2.10