The Campaign for Real Ale has for some years recognised the value of supporting locally brewed real ales. There are several reasons why including that local brewers increase their sales thereby employing local people, money is spent and retained in the local economy and the choice of real ales in local pubs is increased. Of course, from a green perspective fewer “beer miles” mean less pollution and also less road congestion.

The reason we raise this topic is because Halton CAMRA has recently had the pleasure of according 2 local pubs “LocAle” status. This means that they always have available a real ale brewed within 20 miles of Halton. The first of these pubs, the Prospect in Weston Village keeps an own branded beer that is locally sourced. This complements its ethos with its food being sourced as locally as possible and with a strong community emphasis very evident within the pub. Two quality nationally available real ales complement the offer.

In contrast, the Ring O Bells at Daresbury stocks 4 locally sourced real ales, often featuring Weetwood and Frodsham beers. The pub is part of the Chef & Brewer chain and although food focussed, well worth a visit.

Full details of both pubs are online under the Whatpub site. However, we would always recommend trying LocAle real ales and seeing what local brewers can achieve! Presenting the LocAle accreditation to both pubs was a great pleasure.