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The Hay - Shirland
Summer Pub of the Season - 2005
 Regular
readers of Innspire will have noticed that, since
Malcolm and Janey Mackenzie bought this pub as a true
free house in July 2002, it has become an essential stop
on the Branch’s campaign trail and has merited several
nominations for seasonal and annual awards. Winner of
our Special Campaigning and Cider & Perry Promotion
certificates, both in 2003, the pub has now topped the
poll in our latest seasonal award. Malcolm and Janey are
pictured receiving the certificate from Mick Portman.
CAMRA members since 1982, they have a wealth of
experience in the licensed trade, winning their local
CAMRA ‘Pub of the Year’ four years running and also the
top regional accolade during their six-year tenure of
the Malt Shovel Tavern in Northampton - ironically
situated opposite the Carlsberg brewery!
A former Brampton Brewery pub on the A61 between Clay
Cross and Alfreton, the Hay had been nitrokeg only for
some time until the Mackenzies decided to make their
move here, immediately reintroducing real ale, including
a cask Mild which soon had regulars preferring it to the
fizz version!
Since then, an extra hand pump has been installed to
enable the beer range to be extended to Hardys & Hansons
Kimberley Bitter and Mild as regulars, plus three
changing guest ales. In the middle of May they hosted
their first (and very successful) beer festival,
featuring a welcome choice of Cornish beers, not
forgetting authentic pasties! Look out for their next
festival - theme to be decided - in early Autumn.
The pub is split into two halves by a central bar
offering comfortable seating. Kept impeccably, the pub’s
decor features brewery related memorabilia from across
Britain and outside hanging baskets during summer.
Overall, the Hay presses pretty much all the right
buttons as far as CAMRA is concerned: a good range of
quality beers well kept, cask Mild, real Cider, a
selection of country wines and continental bottled beers
- all served at reasonable prices by friendly and
knowledgeable owners. To me this is all the more
impressive as the pub’s reputation rests squarely on the
beer it serves, with no regular food or ‘entertainment’
as distractions.
The Branch is indeed fortunate that Malcolm and Janey
chose our neck of the woods to carry on the real ale tradition.
John Hassall
This webpage was last updated on
Sunday, 07 October 2007
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