On Monday, 1st March, we will be hosting a brewery launch in Shropshire for the beers of Freedom Brewery. Unusually, this brewery produces Real Lagers, brewed according to the famous German Pure Beer Law, the Reinheitsgebot. The Owner and the Head Brewer will be available to tell you about their brewery and to give you a tutored tasting of their four different lagers, including an Organic lager and a Dark one. These lagers are not intended to be replacements for our existing Dutch and Czech products, rather we will be stocking them as additional options.

The brewery has chosen the Crown Inn to launch its beers in Shropshire, having moved some years ago from London to Staffordshire. One of its beers will be completely new for this evening. There will also be a light buffet after the tastings.

If would like to invite you to join us for the evening and would be grateful if you could email us via this site (head over to the contact page) to reserve your place. The event will start at 8 p.m.

We are already planning more events for 2010 and all ideas would be welcome. Likely visits include Beowulf Brewery, Sadler’s Brewery & the Black Country and Burton upon Trent for Burton Bridge Brewery and the soon to be re-opened National Brewing Museum. We look forward to seeing you soon.

This weekend (Fri 22nd – Mon 25th Jan)  is our Burns’ Weekend from Friday to Monday (although we are just having haggis on Monday) .  Lots of Caledonian beers and our usual extensive range of whiskies.

If the thought of the January Sales is enough to make you reach for the smelling-salts, then a sale with a difference could be just the thing for you.  A Telford pub landlord is benefiting his customers by using marketing tools normally used by furniture retailers.  John Ellis of the Crown Inn in Oakengates is offering a “Double Your Discount” type of promotion.  Not only is he refusing to pass on this month’s increase in V.A.T., he is also pegging his prices of real ales to £2.30 per pint.  John regularly organises a January Sale but this is the first time that a Chancellor of the Exchequer has imposed a V.A.T. increase in January.  He feels that the hard-pressed public does not need extra costs imposed so soon after the expensive festivities of Christmas and the New Year.  “My customers have been very loyal to me and I am happy to be able to do this in return” he explained

BEATING BINGE-DRINKING

John added that, as the Chancellor has increased alcohol duty by some 18% in only 13 months, he has encouraged “binge-drinking” by allowing supermarkets to continue selling alcohol at a loss, while pubs had no option but to pass on the increased prices.  “Supermarkets are able to cross-subsidise the loss on alcohol by charging more than they otherwise would for groceries” said John.  “Pubs are able to offer their customers a safe, secure and supervised environment in which to enjoy a tasty drink.  They are part of the solution to the ‘binge-drinking’ problem, while un-supervised mass-consumption of below-cost alcohol is a major cause of the problem.  “Encouraging people back to the pub by holding off these price rises is a positive way to beat binge drinking and I will be keeping these offers going throughout January to help people with their New Year’s Resolutions” added John Ellis.

BREWERIES

Customers will have the choice of ales from such breweries as Hobson’s of Cleobury Mortimer, Wye Valley, Burton Bridge, Hook Norton and Adnam’s breweries still to enjoy.  Noted beer guru Roger Protz, described the Crown Inn as “A Very Important Pub” and “The Lynchpin of Oakengates’ pubs” and, as editor of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, he should know!

DOWNLOAD: 27th Beer Festival ‘Scratchers’ Sheet - (you will require Adobe PDF viewer to see this, most computers have it but if you do not please click here and download)

Join us at the Crown Inn for week long festivities to celebrate National Cask Ale Week.

We’ll be celebrating National Cask Ale week with a selection of unmissable events culminating in an attempt to to enter the Guinness Book of Records for the largest toast in the world to our National Drink – Cask Ale.

Monday 6th April -  It’s National Beer Day – Real Ale is our National Drink.  Drink a pint today and call on the Government to recognise this fact and celebrate our National Drink with a National Holiday!

Tuesday 7th April – FemALE Day – Only 16% of ladies have tried Real Ale, apparently!  We believe it’s many, many more!!
So, come on ladies, come and try some for yourselves – don’t forget, we can give you a free sample of Real Ale, to try before you buy!

Thursday 9th April – “Introduce a Friend Day”, so bring someone along to try our award-winning Real Ales and enjoy the fantastic music of Martin Everson One-Man Blues Band – You’ll wonder where all the music is coming from as Martin manages to play so many instruments.

Saturday 11th April -  As it’s Easter Weekend, it’s time for a Baking Competition.  We’re looking for the best Hot Crossed Buns in Oakengates.  Don’t forget to bake for 4 p.m. Saturday – let’s see who’s a Master Baker!!  The awards will be given out on Saturday just before…….

The world’s biggest toast!
At 7pm on Saturday 11 April 2009 over 6,000 venues across the UK will try to smash the World Record for the Largest Toast.
The current record stands at 485,000 people.The simultaneous toast will celebrate Britain’s national drink – cask ale – and wrap up a week-long festival that is National Cask Ale Week.

More info at www.caskaleweek.co.uk

CHRISTMAS PARTY SUCCESS

In Oakengates, the Crown Inn has celebrated its busiest Christmas Party ever, with a choir, a competition, a visit from Father Christmas and Panto Stars dropping in. A locally based choral group, The Cadence Singers, entertained the crowds with a range of traditional Carols and other Christmas Songs, while a collection raised over £65 for Hope House Childrens’ Hospice.

SANTA

The man in the big red suit made a special appearance to announce the results of a draw for Megan Baker Childrens’ Hospice, the winner of which asked for the prizes to be donated to the Childrens’ ward at Telford Hospital. He then stayed and helped judge the Annual Mince Pie Competition.

BAKERS

The mince pie competition is one of several baking competitions organised each year at the Crown Inn and these are keenly contested. There were so many entrants that extra help was required with the judging. In addition to Father Christmas and the choristers, stars from Oakengates’ Pantomime, “Beauty and The Beast” dropped by to help with the tastings. Sue Hodge from ‘Allo ‘Allo and Richard Calkin from Brookside & Hollyoaks enjoyed tasting the mince pies and were pleasantly surprised by the high standard of baking in a pub-based competition. Eventually, after Howard Bell received his third place “Highly Commended Certificate”, the winners were unable to decide between Steve Folger and Steve Goodchild, who were presented with their “Joint Master Bakers of Oakengates” by landlord John Ellis.

THANKS

In addition to all the above, the crowd expressed their appreciation to Cllr. Steve Wood for arranging the arrival of Father Christmas and to Cllrs. Hilda Rhodes and Veronica Fletcher for assisting in the attendance of the Panto Stars. For those who missed the Pantomime Stars and still wish to see them, “Beauty & The Beast” runs until Sunday 4th January at Oakengates Theatre and tickets can be obtained via 01952 382382.

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All photos are used with kind permission of Amore Photography.

For the second year running the Crown Inn has been named the Best Cask Beer Pub in the East and West Midlands at the Great British Pub Awards; below is is an article that appeared in the Shropshire Star on Saturday 20th September 2008.

A Telford pub has narrowly missed out on a national award after being named as the Best Cask Beer Pub in the East and West Midlands in the Great British Pub Awards.

Yesterday John Ellis, the licensee of the Crown Inn, Oakengates, travelled to London for the ceremony at the London Hilton.

Mr Ellis said it was not the first time they had been successful. They were selected as the East and West Midlands free house of the year last year at the Morning Advertiser awards. And the Market Street pub had been a runner-up for the guest ale pub of the year three times before.

At present the pub has 14 handpull ales. Between October 2 and 6 it will host a beer festival when there will be 34 beers available to try. Morning Advertiser editor, Andrew Pring, said: “The winners of our awards really do deserve to be called heroes and heroines – they run wonderful pubs to the highest standards, keeping their customers happy and cementing together so many communities across the country.”

Pictured is Crown Inn's Landlord John Ellis

First Look at Festival Beers