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Pub Guide

Pub of the Year 2011

Chequers, Little Gransden - Pub of the Year

The Huntingdonshire Branch of CAMRA selected the Chequers, Little Gransden as its Pub of the Year 2011 - the seventh time that the Chequers has won the award.

Bob and Wendy Mitchell have owned and run the Chequers, Little Gransden for 18 years and the pub has been in the Mitchell family since 1951.

That 60th anniversary of the pub being run by the same family was an important highlight in a busy and successful year for Bob and Wendy, the Chequers, and the Son of Sid Brewery. A party for invited guests was held on March 2nd, and it seemed to include most of the residents of the village of Little Gransden. Bob brewed a very special beer made with chequers berries for the 60th anniversary and the same beer featured at our St Neots beer festival to celebrate CAMRA’s 40th birthday.

The second Chequers beer festival was held in April 2010, and a third in October 2010. The October beer festival is likely to be a regular event, so watch out for details for a beer festival this coming October.

Another regular community event, the cooking competition, held when Huntingdonshire CAMRA holds its post-Christmas party at the Chequers, saw a record number of entries this year, each entrant aiming to impress the judges with the excellence of their Scotch eggs!

The Son of Sid brewery now supplies over a dozen CAMRA beer festivals throughout East Anglia and the East Midlands, and at times Bob struggles to keep up with the demand … testament to the quality of his beers.

For St Georges Day and to commemorate the Royal Wedding, Bob brewed English Ale, with traditional English hops and his own honey.

Addison Arms, Glatton - Most Improved Pub

The Addison Arms in Glatton has been selected by the Huntingdonshire Branch of CAMRA for its latest ‘Most Improved Pub’ award.

Licensees Ian and Michelle Gamblin took over the Addison Arms in 2009. Ian and Michelle have both been CAMRA members for many years, and they first met at the Peterborough Beer Festival.

Ian is passionate about real ale, and early in 2010 he started taking Shacklebush from local award winning brewery Digfield, which is sold as the house beer Addison Ale.

During the following months Ian offered an increasing range of interesting guest beers, always of exceptional quality. The Addison Arms was very soon in our online pub guide which only includes pubs known to offer quality real ale, and was also accredited to our LocAle scheme for regularly offering a locally brewed real ale.

Last Autumn the Addison arms started stocking the Gladitor Beer from nearby Glebe Farm, brewed with Glebe spelt grain by a Norfolk brewery.

Most recently Ian has taken the step to go totally LocAle with the addition of beers from Tydd Steam and Grainstore.

Just as Ian is passionate about real ale and offering quality and choice, Michelle is dedicated to offering good quality food. Judging by how busy the pub was on a recent Sunday visit, the Addison Arms is now a popular destination for people looking for good food and good ale.

The Addison Arms is also an important community asset, and on the Tuesday night when we made our award, the pub was full of local village people wanting to share in congratulating the Gamlins. Local suppliers including the team from Glebe Farm, were also there to show their support.

Pictured above from the left are Michelle and Ian Gamblin and branch chairman Kathy Hadfield-Moorhouse.