THE licensees of popular Redditch community pub the Duck Inn are celebrating after scooping a prestigious award for the quality of their beer.
Vicki Gaffey and Martin Harman, who have been running the Okaenshaw watering hole since March 2020, have been awarded the Cask Marque accreditation for serving the perfect pint of cask conditioned ale.
“This award is a great endorsement for us,” said Martin.
“A lot of our customers visit the pub especially for the cask ale and it is really gratifying to know that we are getting the formula just right.”
Backed by 50 of the country’s leading brewers and pub companies, Cask Marque accreditation is only awarded to licensees whose ale passes a series of rigorous independent quality audits of both the beer and the cellar standards.
Since its foundation in 1998, Cask Marque has inspected over 750,000 pints of beer and accredited over 10,000 of the country’s 40,000 pubs estimated to serve cask conditioned ales.
Cask Marque director, Paul Nunny, said: “Vicki and Martin should feel justifiably proud of this great achievement, which not only recognises the effort they put into serving the perfect pint but also acts as an independent guarantee of quality for customers.
“All too often, publicans don’t appreciate the care and attention cask beers require and then run the risk of losing custom by serving pints that are below par.”
