Thwaites opens second pub focusing on ale

Lancashire brewer Daniel Thwaites has rolled out its pub concept, Beer Hero, focusing on raising the profile of ale, in a second pub.

The brewer invested £70,000 in the Oaks in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, to give it a traditional decor, including a real wood burning fire. This was buoyed off the success of the Inn at the Station in Clitheroe, Lancashire, last year.

Beer Hero pubs are fully-tied, and will have Daniel Thwaites cask ales, along with regular seasonal and guest ales, and imported lagers and beers from around the world. The company also invests in menus for the pub, and the Oaks will be focusing on local produce. Food is said to attribute to 30% of the turnover.

Director of pub operations Andrew Buchanan said that Thwaites hopes to roll out the concept in around five to ten pubs in the coming year.

He added that so far Daniel Thwaites has approached the pubs it thinks will be suitable to run under the Beer Hero model, but is open to licensees approaching the brewer.

The firm also look to change the names of the pubs - the Oaks was known as the Royal Oak - to give them a more contemporary name and show people that the pub has been refurbished.

Buchanan said: "The concept is purely to recognise the strength of our own ales on the market, we are a brewer after all. We wanted to find a way of making it the prime focus in pubs and I think this operational template will improve and raise the profile."