BEER lovers have named their favourite pubs of the year as the growing revolution in local brewing continues.

Members of the Oxford Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) have chosen the White Hart in Headington as the city pub of the year and the Brewery Tap in Abingdon as the town and village pub of the year.

The winners will be officially crowned at the second annual Pub of the Year awards ceremony on Monday.

CAMRA spokesman Dave Richardson said the pubs were rewarded for their amount of choice and the quality of the beers on offer.

He said it shows pubs which still don’t allow guest ales ‘risk missing out’ and drinkers want to be able to buy local beers wherever they go.

In contrast to previous winners, the two pubs honoured this year are both part of larger companies, which Mr Richardson says is a sign of the ever increasing popularity of locally brewed real ale in the industry.

Any pub that is listed in the Good Beer Guide was eligible for the accolade, with CAMRA members voting using various criteria including beer quality, inclusiveness, value for money and ambience.

Brewer Turpin, from Hook Norton, will also be honoured at the awards ceremony after its beer came top of a blind tasting session at the Oxford Beer and Cider Festival last autumn.

Mr Richardson added: “We are doing very well in Oxford, there is a great choice of pubs and beers.

“It’s a highly competitive business so we congratulate the winners for coming out top in a very tough market.

“I don’t think there has ever been such a good time to be a local brewer, there are a lot of people making a decent living and it’s only going from strength to strength.”

The White Hart in St Andrew’s Road, Old Headington, is owned by brewer Everards.

Its history as a pub dates back to the 17th century and is popular with staff who work in the nearby hospitals.

Landlord Dan Smaje, who runs the pub with wife Carole, said he was ‘thrilled’ and ‘surprised’ to land the best city pub award.

He added: “With all the great pubs there are here in Oxford, I was over the moon.

“There’s no secret to our success, it’s just a lot of hard work and doing what we can to look after our beers and our customers.

“Our location means we have the feel of a traditional village pub but we’re only a mile and a half from the centre of Oxford.”

The Brewery Tap opened in 1993 in Ock Street, Abingdon.

Manager James Pamphlion left a job in the corporate world to take on the running of the pub, which is at the end of his road, last year.

He said: “We have such a fantastic array of brewers and suppliers on our our doorstep, it’s silly not to make use of them.

“We are chuffed to bits with the award, it’s credit to all our staff.”