East Anglia

Brewery Tap

Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

It says a lot about the Brewery Tap that one of its customers regularly travels from

London to enjoy an evening of cask beers before catching the train back home.

The reason for this pilgrimage is abundantly clear when looking at the number of handpulls on the bar inside the spacious and inviting pub.

More than just a dozen ales

The Brewery Tap is owned by Oakham Ales and therefore showcases its three best-sellers - JHB, Bishops Farewell and White Dwarf. In addition to these, there is always a mild on tap, eight rotating guest ales, plus a selection of bottled and draught imported beers,

notably from Belgium.

Other attractions at the Brewery Tap are its highly-rated Thai cuisine and its music nights, which vary from DJ sessions to live bands and acoustic evenings.

The combination of beer, music and food acts as a magnet for a wide cross-section of customers from all age groups.

Bar manager Jessica Loock remarks: "On music nights, we get 60 and 70-year-olds dancing next to 18-year-olds."

Ridding the stigma

Another initiative was installing comfy

sofas and large potted plants to create a more

female-friendly atmosphere.

Jessica says: "We ran a campaign encouraging women to drink real ale, to get rid of the stigma that real-ale bars are for old men."

The campaign is working and cask beer sales rose by nearly 20% in the course of the last 12 months.

Beer swapping

Jessica and general manager Stuart Wright have the responsibility for choosing the eight guest ales. Stuart remarks: "We tend to support the micro-breweries and arrange swaps - their beers for Oakham beers."

Jessica adds: "We pay attention to detail on the strength, colour, taste and nature of each beer so that we always have a variety to satisfy even the most demanding of

ale-loving palettes."

Stuart says the Tap and its sister pub, Charters, plan to host a mega beer festival jointly this year, which will feature 100 cask beers.