A RURAL Wee County pub has been recognised as a top place by ale enthusiasts from across the Forth Valley.

The Inn at Muckhart, which serves a range of its own ales, has been named as Forth Valley Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) as its Rural Pub of the Year.

Together with its sister pub, the Mansfield Arms in Sauchie, the inn is supplied by Devon Ales and earned the recognition of enthusiasts in the region, who recently paid a visit to present the award.

Derrick Graham, manager at the inn, told the Advertiser: “We are totally delighted.

“It’s a big bonus to get this kind of award from CAMRA especially as we make and sell our own cask ale, we’ve been doing that for 30 years, it’s huge recognition for us.”

Indeed, the Devon Original 70/- has been in production since 1992 while the Pride 90/- has been available for the past five years.

There is also the Devon IPA, which has been proving popular.

Derrick added: “We usually got the three reals on all the time up at Muckhart, the beers are brewed at the Mansfield Arms in Sauchie, that’s our sister pub.”

It has all been a family operation for the past three decades, the Mansfield Arms having been in operation since 1985.

The inn, which is open all year and also serves food between 12noon and 9pm, received the same award in 2022.

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Wendy Ross, secretary at Forth Valley CAMRA, explained the award is given each year based on beer scores from members, who also get together to rate the location, facilities and staff’s knowledge of beer as well.

Speaking of the recent CAMRA visit, she added: “They made us feel really welcome.

“One of our members, Brian Cheeseman, organises our Wednesday Wanders events so we can visit some of our more rural pubs so we made the presentation [of the ward] to coincide with that, it was a special trip.”