“Sales during the autumn rugby internationals were almost double the volume from Spring 2006, with more than 49 per cent of tenanted stockists taking the ale.

“We believe Pitch Black is perfect for enjoying while watching rugby either live at the game or on TV in the pub.”

Pitch Black is described by Everards as delivering what would be expected from a stout with its dark appearance, aroma of roasted coffee and dry, bitter, yet velvet smooth taste.

Pump clips and beer mats for Pitch Black feature the Cyclops tasting
guide which has been developed by Everards to make tasting notes easier to use for the customer and bar staff alike.

The guide contains an easy to follow symbol chart illustrating the type or style of ale and includes categories such as premium ale, bitter, best bitter, ale, stout and blonde. Also featured is a colour, smell and taste guide as well as a bitter / sweet rating on a scale of one to five.

Everards Brewery has a pub estate of 161 houses around the Midlands, all of which are run under the Everards banner as individual businesses by the licensees. The pubs vary widely from city centre venues to traditional village pubs.

Everards core cask ale brand Tiger Best Bitter came third in the Beer of the Year category which is voted for by the customers who drink in Tynemill’s pubs. The poll was carried out during Autumn 2006 with regulars putting forward their favourites from the many hundreds of guest ales available throughout the year.

Stephen Gould, managing director of Everards, said: “We’re delighted to receive these awards from this respected pub company and their customers. Such accolades are a direct result of all the efforts of the team at Everards and it is great to have our hard work acknowledged.

“Being recognised for the consistency and quality of our ales is particularly satisfying when considering the highly competitive environment of today’s brewing industry.”

The two previous awards were received from the Local Brewery Business Awards, organised by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA). Everards won the Best Promotion category for its Cyclops tasting notes scheme and Best Support for On Trade Customers with its three tier cellar training courses.

Everards Brewery has a pub estate of 161 houses around the Midlands, all of which are run under the Everards banner as individual businesses by the licensees. The pubs vary widely from city centre venues to traditional village pubs.

The course involved monthly workshops which culminated in each delegate submitting a full business plan for a pub of their choice. This was then followed by a rigorous interview with a Professor from the University to discuss the business plan further.

Their achievement was celebrated with a graduation ceremony at Nottingham Trent University where they donned robes and accepted their awards.

Erika Hardy said: “The course has given the head office staff a real insight and more in depth knowledge of what running a pub entails, which will enable us to provide better support to our licensees. And the licensees themselves had the opportunity to further develop their skills in business planning in addition to re- establishing goals for their outlet.

“We were the second group from Everards to complete the course and I’m sure more licensees and staff will be participating in the future.”

Everards Brewery has a pub estate of 161 houses around the Midlands, all of which are run under the Everards banner as individual businesses by the licensees. The pubs vary widely from city centre venues to traditional village pubs.

The updated and improved website includes a dedicated ‘join Everards’ section which covers general head office and pub vacancies and an invitation to people, including those with or without experience in the pub and licensed trade, to find out more about running a pub within the Everards estate.

Included in the section is a video endorsement from licensee Graeme Watson of the Greyhound pub in Burton on the Wolds. Graeme says: “What I like about working with Everards is that they let you get on with running your own business but are there to help and support if you need it. It’s great having someone there to help deal with all the legislation issues and red tape when I need them.”

David Bremner, head of marketing at Everards, explains: “We’re delighted with how our revamped website seems to be bringing in more potential licensees for our pubs. We have seen a 28 per cent overall increase in visits to the website with the most popular pages being the join Everards section and the easy to use pub search facility.

“We’re always looking for good people to contact us to find out more about taking on a pub tenancy. It is definitely a business opportunity which should be seriously considered by those who are determined to succeed and want the chance to work independently, but with the advice and financial support of an established brewery behind them.

“Everards regards its tenants as individual entrepreneurs working within their own businesses and endeavours to provide a high level of support to help them become the best pub possible in their area.”

As a company, Everards retains traditional family values while recognising the need for commercial change. The company vision is to support its licensees to become the best operators in their trading area, recognising that when licensees succeed, the company and pub estate as a whole is successful.

The company says many licensees like the fact that they are allowed to put their personal stamp on the pub and find this very rewarding. They also find Everards as a company is approachable and flexible, allowing them to be involved from the very beginning with their own input to the detailed business plan.

Everards offers excellent technical support, service, quality ales and is highly regarded in throughout its heartland. Recent rebranding and award winning initiatives such as the company’s cellar training programme and Cyclops tasting note scheme are examples of how the company is continually re-evaluating aspects of the business and looking at ways to move forward.

Everards Brewery has a pub estate of 161 houses around the Midlands, all of which are run under the Everards banner as individual businesses by the licensees. The pubs vary widely from city centre venues to traditional village pubs.

Available throughout December in nine gallon casks, Sleighbell (ABV 4.5 per cent) has been created especially for the Christmas period and is now the brewery’s most successful seasonal ale. It is a rich copper ale that captures the essence of Christmas and is guaranteed to satisfy the most discerning ale drinker on a cold winter’s night.

Erika Hardy, brands manager for Everards, said: “Sleighbell has been extremely successful and popular in recent years and we’re pleased to announce its return for the Christmas 2006 period.

“The special pump clips with bells provide a fun way for licensees to promote Sleighbell. We hope that real ale enthusiasts and those not so familiar with our ales will be tempted to try this traditional Christmas beer.”

And for the first time this year, beer mats for Sleighbell will also feature the new Cyclops tasting guide which has been developed by Everards to make tasting notes easier to use for the customer and bar staff alike.

The guide contains an easy to follow symbol chart illustrating the type or style of ale and includes categories such as premium ale, bitter, best bitter, ale, stout and blonde. Also featured is a colour, smell and taste guide as well as a bitter / sweet rating on a scale of one to five.

Everards Brewery has a pub estate of 161 houses around the Midlands, all of which are run under the Everards banner as individual businesses by the licensees. The pubs vary widely from city centre venues to traditional village pubs.

Erika Hardy, brands manager for Everards, said: “Initially, this ale was intended to be a one off for the 2006 Six Nations, but we’ve had an incredible amount of positive feedback from real ale drinkers, licensees and national wholesalers alike so we will be rolling it out for all major rugby tournaments over the next twelve months.

“We felt that the name Pitch Black best reflects the appearance and taste of this ale which we believe is perfect for enjoying while watching rugby either live at the game or on TV in the pub.”

Pitch Black is described by Everards as delivering what would be expected from a stout with its dark appearance, aroma of roasted coffee and dry, bitter, yet velvet smooth taste.

Pump clips and beer mats for Pitch Black feature the new Cyclops tasting
guide which has been developed by Everards to make tasting notes easier to use for the customer and bar staff alike.

The guide contains an easy to follow symbol chart illustrating the type or style of ale and includes categories such as premium ale, bitter, best bitter, ale, stout and blonde. Also featured is a colour, smell and taste guide as well as a bitter / sweet rating on a scale of one to five.

Everards Brewery has a pub estate of 161 houses around the Midlands, all of which are run under the Everards banner as individual businesses by the licensees. The pubs vary widely from city centre venues to traditional village pubs.

Bitter or sweet scores are given out of five and everyday language is used to describe each beer’s “see, smell, and taste” profiles.

Everards’ head of marketing David Bremner, who came up with the idea for the scheme, said: “We launched it initially just for Everards ales, however, it works best when you see 10 or so different beers compared to each other. It helps drinkers understand what they like about a particular beer, and therefore, which other beer they would like.”

In mid-April Bremner invited 18 regional brewers up to the brewery in Leicester to explain why they should get involved.

So far 16 regional brewers have opted to use the scheme, including Caledonian, Wadworth, Hook Norton, Batemans, Charles Wells and Fuller’s.

Each brewer’s tasting notes are created by an independent taster: for Everards this was the Beer Academy’s George Philliskirk.

Carlsberg last month called Bremner saying it was interested in getting on board.