The Trafford & Hulme Branch Club of the Year 2014 is Flixton Conservative Club, deservingly retaining the title they gained last year.
Rather than resting on their laurels, being crowned last year’s Club of the Year seems to have inspired Flixton Conservative Club to endeavour to reach even higher levels. This drive to continually improve is one of the reasons why the club has again been selected as Club of the Year.
It has been an impressive 12 months for a club which was probably not even on most CAMRA Members radar this time last year. It’s apparent that those who have visited the club since have been suitably impressed , reflected by the fact that the club went on to finish a very close Runner-up in the Greater Manchester Regional Club of the Year 2013.
The choice of Real Ales in the Club has continued to grow with the number of hand pumps having been increased from four to six (just in time for last year’s Easter Beer Festival). Theakston’s Best Bitter is generally always available whilst the other five pumps are used to offer a wide range of interesting beers from an equally wide range of breweries. The Club is always keen to support local breweries and, more often than not, you will find something on offer from the likes of Dunham Massey, Prospect, Bank Top, Beartown, Coach House or Cheshire Brewhouse to name just a few.
In addition to the choice, the Club also pride themselves on the quality of their cask ales, underlined by the fact that they have held the Casque Marque Accreditation since early 2012 and recently passed their latest re-assessment with flying colours.
To compliment the extensive range of Cask Ales, the Club also sell an interesting selection of bottled beers from yet another local brewery, Ticketybrew.
The husband, wife and daughter team of Nigel, Sharon and Lianda Porter are a major driving force behind the Club’s real ale success but they are the first to admit that it has only been made possible thanks to an enthusiastic and increasingly knowledgeable team behind the bar, a very supportive committee and, most importantly, a membership who have really embraced the Club’s burgeoning cask ale presence with great enthusiasm.
Nigel’s reaction on hearing of the Club’s latest accolade was to thank CAMRA, on behalf of the Club, for the both the award and for their continued support. He and the rest of the team look forward to welcoming more CAMRA members to the Club in the future.
The Club will be holding its annual Easter Beer Festival from Friday 18th to Monday 21st April 2014 when the A-Z Theme of the festival will result in 26 Beers from 26 different breweries being available over the four day period.
In addition to the club’s usual offerings from Ticketybrew, the festival will also feature a limited number of excellent bottled Belgium beers as well as traditional Ciders.
The Branch will be taking the opportunity during the Beer Festival to present the Club with their award on Easter Saturday 19th April from 5pm. So why not come and join in the fun and find out for yourself why Flixton Conservative Club is Trafford & Hulme CAMRA Club of the Year 2014.