THE George in St Helens town centre is toasting its first ever entry in the drinker’s bible the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
One of the few remaining traditional split bar/lounge pubs left in the town centre, the George is very much a regulars’ boozer and many of its customers have been drinking there for three decades.
Although its trade in the regular staples of lager and bitter are still the pub’s biggest sellers, the George’s venture into cask that has earned it recognition in the guide.
The pub gets its real ale supplies from the Wigan Brewhouse with three changing brews each week to suit different palates, from light to dark, pale to porter.
Kate Goode, 31, has worked at the George Steet pub for five years and has been in charge of running it since just after lockdown.
She travels from Parbold each morning to open up and explains why the job at The George is such a labour of love.
Kate said: “Some of our regulars have been drinking here for 30 years and we see the same customers every day.
"Our regulars are like a little family here and everyone looks out for each other."
Running a town centre pub has its challenges, not least in the middle of a cost of living crisis - but The George strives to get the balance right.
“Although no individual pub can keep with a Wetherspoons on price we keep the prices low and we do the CAMRA discount on the real ales.
“We have kept the layout the same - with a traditional bar area with pool and darts.
"We try to keep the customers happy in the bar with free pool on twice a week,” Kate said.
The George has been a strong Saints pub for the past 20 years or so and the walls are still decorated with rugby memorabilia.
And it still gets very busy on match nights – with plenty of cask going out when Saints are at home.
“We are selling a lot more cask than we used to. We only used to put two on and I would be wasting quite a bit, but now we are putting three on and selling them all within a week.
“It is still much more of a lager and bitter type of pub, but we shift a lot more cask at the weekend,” she said.
This entry in the Good Beer Guide will now put it on the map for out of town pub tickers – drinkers whose hobby is to visit those hostelries listed in the prestigious guide.
And that will only help it build on its real ale reputation.
CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2024 can be bought here
More features on the CAMRA Good Beer Guide pubs will follow in future weeks.
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