Pub pair are raising the bar in Henlow!

Kevin Machin and his partner Claire Sturgeon have plenty of reason to celebrate after the Campaign for Real Ale organisation (CAMRA) named The Engineer’s Arms in Henlow as being its East Anglia Pub of the Year.

Kevin, 56, who has run the High Street venue for 23 years, is delighted after beating off competition from all over the region.

He said: “There are a series of rounds where the CAMRA tasters will visit the pub and you will be up against pubs in North Bedfordshire, then in Bedfordshire as a county and then in the East Anglian region as a whole.

“We’re very pleased as there are a lot of good pubs around, especially when you go out to places like Cambridge and parts of Suffolk.”

Kevin and Claire, 40 who has been running the pub with her partner for 17 years take pride in their real ales and will often have up to 20 a week on offer at the bar.

Kevin added: “At any one time we will have 10 handpumps for real ales, five for real ciders and two for perries.

“We change our local ales regularly and also sell lagers and a range of other drinks of course.”

Rather than sending mystery customers to pubs CAMRA is quite vocal about its taste-testing teams.

Kevin said: “They will normally just come in one day and will introduce themselves and tell you what they are doing and what they will be looking for.

“We actually like it that way as we really want them to sample what a typical pint tastes like at the pub on a regular day so they get an accurate impression of what it’s like for customers.”

Kevin, who is originally from Burton-on-Trent also employs a team of barmaids at the venue.