The Black Horse has become the Central Lancs CAMRA Pub of the Year award for the second year in a row.
The historic pub in Friargate beat almost 300 pubs to the title via a two-stage selection process.
First, members are invited to nominate candidate pubs and a shortlist is drawn up. The final six pubs are then visited by a panel of judges and scored against national criteria, including quality and knowledge of real ale, cleanliness, service and atmosphere.
A Central Lancs CAMRA spokesperson said: “The Black Horse is a magnificent example of a traditional pub and dates from Victorian times. There are a wealth of architectural features with the main feature being the semi-circular ceramic tiled counter that dominates the public bar. Much credit must go to the owners, Robinsons Brewery of Stockport, for preserving the building in this format.
“Licensee Dan Taylor is passionate about the pub and he and his team have worked wonders in the years they have been there. Although owned by a major brewery, there is a degree of flexibility when it comes to beer selection and normally half of the eight cask ale pumps will be serving guest ales from other breweries.
“All in all, this is a superb pub and a well deserved winner of our award.”
2023 saw The Black Horse launch an Oktoberfest and a cider festival, as well as take part in the first Preston Pub Festival. Towards the end of the year, the Unplugged bar opened upstairs offering live music and a range of craft beers that are not part of the usual brewery tie.
Dan said: “This is a great honour not just for me but for my staff as well. I am happiest about the fact that they are being recognised for all their hard work over the last 12 months.
Read more: The Ferret hoping to see ‘For Sale’ sign brought down soon
The Black Horse team is now making plans for 2024, including hosting the Central Lancs CAMRA award celebration on Thursday 22 February at 8pm.
Dan added: “We have our sights set on winning the Regional Award for the North West of England, and promise the city will see some exciting activities from us throughout the year.”
Subscribe: You can now opt-in to receive Blog Preston news updates through Whatsapp.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines