27th March 2008

The Bell Inn Adderbury is the North Oxfordshire Camra pub of the year 2008.

Hook Norton licensees John and Trisha Bellinger are celebrating their pub being chosen the best in north Oxfordshire. The Bell Inn at Adderbury has been voted by members of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, as the North Oxfordshire Pub of the Year.

For the second year running the Bell was nominated as one of the top six pubs out of hundreds in the region, by the 420 members of the independent, voluntary organisation that campaigns for real ale, real pubs and consumer rights.

During the last couple of months, CAMRA members visited the six finalist pubs and tested the cask ales on offer, before making their choice of which one they considered to be the best. The criteria for choosing their favourite was primarily the quality of the beers on offer but friendliness, good service and general ambiance were also key factors for receiving their votes.

The Bell is not only the favourite with CAMRA members but is the highest scoring Beautiful Beer Award pub in North Oxfordshire, an award presented by the British Beer and Pub Association, the independent body that represents pubs and breweries nationwide.
Trisha said, “It’s fantastic that people who understand and appreciate the effort that goes into serving a good pint of cask ale have voted for us.

“The quality of real ale in North Oxfordshire is very high and this award is therefore very special to us.” John said, “The Bell is a great place to enjoy real ale and the vote confirms it!” “Well kept cask beer is enjoyed by a wide range of people, of all ages and both sexes, because you can actually taste what you’re drinking and there is a greater choice of beers and variety of flavours available, which you don’t usually find in other types of beer!”

John and Trisha have been licensees of the Bell, a Hook Norton Brewery pub, for three years. The Bell was one of two Hook Norton pubs in the top six, the second being the Peyton Arms in Stoke Lyne, which also reached the final for the second year in succession.

John and Trish Bellinger – happy to run CAMRA’s Pub of the Year