Our Pub of the Season for Spring is the Bitter End, Cockermouth. Mike and Sue Askey have won many awards over the past seven years, including numerous Pub of the Year awards, and have set the standard for real ale pubs in West Cumbria. Their first venture in Cockermouth was managing the Bush on Main Street, a Jennings house in which they pioneered guest beers in the area. Following this success they started to look for somewhere they could turn into a pub of their own. The Bitter End was created from a semi-derelict former club, the Sportsman, in August 1996, and named after the nearby Bitter Beck.

Mike had already set up a brewery with the help of Peter Yates and later formed a joint enterprise, the Derwent Brewery, with Frank Smith. The acquisition of the Bitter End allowed Mike to incorporate a micro-brewery into the pub, and it has become a major feature with a viewing window from the back bar. Since the departure of Canadian brewer Dave Woodward back home to set up his own brewery on Vancouver Island, Mike is now back in charge of the mash tuns in the Bitter End brewery. Regular beers will be Farmers Ale (3.8%), named after Nicola Farmer who took over brewing for a couple of years, Cockermouth Pride, one of Dave’s recipes at 4.0%, and Cuddy Lugs (4.3%). Occasional beers will include Cocker Snoot (3.8%) and Skinners Old Strong (5.5%). Dave has left Mike the recipes he developed whilst working at the Bitter end, and Mike may resurrect them from time to time. ‘Dave really showed us the full potential of the brewery’ he says. Mike has invested in new brewing equipment in the past two or three years. He will be brewing a new beer to coincide with the Cumbria Food and Drink Festival in May. Other than Bitter End beers, the Bitter End stocks Jennings Bitter plus at least one other Jennings beer, which may be the seasonal beer. There may also be occasional beers from other brewpubs.

Both Mike and Sue keep busy behind the scenes in the kitchen, although they now have the help of a cook. All food is home made and local suppliers are used as much as possible. There will be a number of food ‘specials’ during the Food and Drink Festival. In the pub itself one bar is now designated non smoking at all times. This has proved popular with customers and Sue is thinking of extending the number of non smoking tables at meal times.

Tuesday quiz nights are a big draw; the quiz is open to anyone and there is always a good atmosphere. Sue has also been experimenting with occasional live entertainment on Thursday nights, keeping within the ‘two in a bar’ rule. And Mike and Sue are thinking about a few other subtle changes to keep the pub fresh and interesting. For example, Mike has noted that there has been a renewed interest recently in Belgian bottled beers, and is planning to extend the range. The pub now has a website, www.bitterend.co.uk, which Mike intends to keep updated with events, latest beers, etc. The Bitter End continues to be one of the best pubs in West Cumbria and a worthy Pub of the Season.