CHEERS! Miss Tees Valley Megan Daniels, of Barnard Castle, with a pint of TeesdAle Mercury beer. The student works part-time behind a bar so knows how to pour the perfect pint.
CHEERS! Miss Tees Valley Megan Daniels, of Barnard Castle, with a pint of TeesdAle Mercury beer. The student works part-time behind a bar so knows how to pour the perfect pint.

A UNIQUE ale brewed specially for the Teesdale Mercury is available free to readers when they visit a dale pub this festive season.

The brew, called “TeesdAle Mercury” is being produced by Mithril Ales and is available exclusively at the Old Well Inn, in Barnard Castle.

To claim your free pint, cut out the coupon that appears in the Teesdale Mercury this week and hand it in at the pub. Brewer Pete Fenwick describes the beer as a deep gold session ale of 3.7 per cent. He added: “The hops and malt are balanced out for a nice smooth brew.” Miss Tees Valley Megan Daniels was on hand to draw the first pint at the Old Well Inn this week.

The model, from Barnard Castle, won the Miss Tees Valley pageant earlier this year after being placed in the top three in the competition’s categories including Miss Photogenic, Miss Sportswoman, Miss Congeniality and Miss Catwalk for a Cause. During the competition she was able to raise £2,900 for the charity.

The Old Well Inn has had its equal share of glory having recently been voted Teesdale Pub of the Season by Camra (Campaign for Real Ale Landlord Roy Chatterjee attributes the pub's wide selection of micro-brewery ales for the pub’s success.

He said: “We deal with 23 microbreweries and have nine real ales on the rack at any time. What makes us unique is that we listen to what our customers recommend. It is about being customer-centric. We have created features in the pub. Most recently we have lit up the castle wall. We have made a romantic view for the conservatory and dining areas. Real ales are at the core and we want to create an experience around that.”

Terms and conditions apply. See this week's paper for details.