Autumn Pub of the Season 2009, Commercial, Slaithwaite

The Commercial at Slaithwaite has been voted their Autumn Pub of the Season by the Campaign for Real Ale Huddersfield Branch, and landlord Jonny Holmes is seen receiving the award from Branch Chairman, Michael Robinson. Jonny now has the unusual distinction of having won such a CAMRA seasonal award for two different pubs, as he is also landlord of The Swan at Crimble, Slaithwaite, which won the Pub of the Season award in Spring 2007. He had only taken over at The Swan at the beginning of that year and, remarkably, he has achieved the accolade for The Commercial with similar alacrity, having had the pub open for less than six months. Jonny became landlord of The Swan in January 2007, and saw an opportunity to extend his enthusiastic promotion of real ale in the centre of Slaithwaite by buying The Commercial which had been closed for some time before. He refurbished and re-opened the pub in July, and passes on his passion for real ale with 8 cask conditioned ales and a hand-pumped cider on the bar. The beers include two house regulars in the form of Moonraker Mild from Slaithwaite’s Empire Brewery, and Commerciale, which Empire Brewery produces exclusively for The Commercial. The other pumps offer six changing guest brews, and the pub is gaining a widening reputation for its range of extremely well kept beer.

Accepting the award, Jonny paid tribute to the commitment and hard work or the staff who have contributed so enthusiastically to the increasing popularity of The Commercial, and are enjoying the prospect of a very busy Christmas holiday season.

The Huddersfield Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale