CAMRA logo Campaigning for Real Ale in the York area Billy Barrel chooses his Pub of the Year
Pubs Of The Year
York CAMRA have been choosing a Pub of the Year since 1995. The eight Pubs of the Season from the previous year are eligible and the result is decided by a postal ballot of all our local members, who number just over 600.

Pub of the Year 2008

York CAMRA’s Pub of the Year for 2008 has just been announced as Brigantes Bar & Brasserie on Micklegate. All branch members, around 600 of us, were invited to vote by post; those pubs which were our Pubs of the Season in 2007 formed the shortlist. The pub, part of the Market Town Taverns group, opened in February 2006. In common with the other nine pubs in the chain, which are all in North or West Yorkshire, the pub is a quality outlet with a firm commitment to real ale; all are listed in the Good Beer Guide and all are Cask Marque accredited. Yorkshire Regional Director Mick Moss presented an award to Ian Fozard, the group’s Managing Director, in late 2007 to mark this achievement.

Since opening Brigantes has established itself as a firm favourite with branch members. It has a well-lit, bare-boarded bar area at the front, where you can sit in the window and look out onto the street. If you’re after something a little more intimate, then go down the steps to the section at the back, which is carpeted, with booths and subdued lighting. Upstairs, there’s an attractive dining/function room. It is fitted and decorated throughout in a very recognisable house style, restrained and comfortable, with plain coloured walls and lots of interesting beer-related pictures. The pub has no gimmicks or distractions, such as pool tables, background music or fruit machines.

There are eight real ales, covering a good range of styles; some such as Timothy Taylor Landlord and York Guzzler are well-known, but you will often find something more exotic too; it occasionally has beers from Phoenix, for example, a rarity in York. A permanent fixture on the bar now is a pump selling a Leeds Brewery beer and it’s good to see them supporting new enterprises. As well as the cask beers, it also sells draught foreign beers and a wide range of bottles.

It will now go forward into the Yorkshire CAMRA Pub of the Year competition; here’s hoping it does well in that.

Previous Winners

2007 Blue Bell
York		 A hat trick of wins for this cosy, unspoilt gem
2006 St. Vincent Arms
Sutton on Derwent		 Second win for this outstanding family-run free house
2005 Rook & Gaskill
York		 Wide range of well-kept beers in this Castle Rock pub
2004 Golden Ball
York		 Much more than a backstreet local
2003 Blue Bell
York		 Second win for this ever-popular city centre pub
2002 St. Vincent Arms
Sutton on Derwent		 Excellent, family-run village inn
2001 Ackhorne
York		 Welcoming, lively free house
2000 Maltings
York		 First pub to win the award for a second time
1999 Ferry Inn
Cawood		 Splendid old inn, serving fine ales and food
1998 Station Hotel
Easingwold		 Once the home of Easingwold Brewery, no longer operating as a pub
1997 Jolly Farmers
Leavening		 Excellent country free house
1996 Maltings
York		 Unique free house in the centre of town
1995 Blue Bell
York		 Small pub with unspoilt interior dating back nearly a century
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