A social club in Staffordshire has been named the winner of the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) club of the year competition 2024.
The Firs Club, in Codsall, beat three other finalists to take the crown as the best in the UK.
After being named West Midlands regional winner for three years in a row, this is the first time the Firs Club has won the national contest.
The multi-award-winning venue is described by the judges as a must-visit for cask beer fans, with an on-site microbrewery that opened in 2017 and an annual festival each November which is a highlight in the local beer calendar.
Firs Brewery, which has been featured in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, produces a core range of ales as well as some exclusives for the club.
As well as Firs beers the bar offers five locally-sourced, regularly changing cask beers which usually includes one mild.
Guests can enjoy a pint in the bar area, relax in the lounge, play pool and darts in a separate sports lounge or play snooker upstairs.
The club prides itself on being the “number one place in Codsall to watch football” and during the warmer months it screens live football outdoors on a large decking area.
The Firs Club hosts events for the local community too and provides space for parties and functions as well as a meeting space for local groups.
‘Extremely close-fought’
Manager Anna Reynolds said it had been a surprise and an honour to win the accolade.
“It’s something we thought was out of our reach,” she said.
“We couldn’t have done it without the support of our club members, committee, CAMRA members and of course the staff who work hard to make the club a great place to visit and hopefully stay for a while.”
CAMRA’s club of the year coordinator Phil Gregg said the 2024 competition has been “extremely close-fought”.
“Each of our finalists were of an extremely high standard, and it made the judging harder than ever,” he said.
“We’re delighted to be announcing a first-time winner, and the Firs Club epitomises what’s great about UK venues like these, and how important they are to their local communities.”
All the clubs in the competition were selected by CAMRA volunteers and judged on their atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, value for money, customer mix and quality of beer.
It has been a good year for the West Midlands, as the Bailey Head in Oswestry was recently named pub of the year 2024.
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