Staggs in Musselburgh has been declared Edinburgh and South East Scotland branch’s Pub of the Year.
During the previous year, members had been visiting pubs and scoring their beer, making an assessment of how well it had been kept and served, submitting their scores online.
In February, members met to consider the highest-scoring pubs. These had been compiled using an algorithm that takes account of the number of people taking part, the amount of visits as well as the scores. The aim was to ensure the short list contained pubs which consistently offered well-kept beer.
By secret ballot, members voted for their Pub of the Year, in the three branch areas – Edinburgh, the Lothians outside Edinburgh and the Borders. The Volunteer Arms – also known as Staggs – was the Lothians winner.
After rigorous inspections by a small group of members who visited the pubs individually, Staggs was declared overall winner.
The pub has been run by the same family since 1858. The bar and snug feature wooden floors, wood panelling and mirrors from defunct local breweries. There is an attractive gantry topped with old casks and a large TV regularly showing sports.
It retains a community feel with clubs using the lounge for meetings. Cask beer on the eight handpumps changes regularly, serving a variety of styles, although pale and hoppy beers predominate.
Pictured: owner Nigel Finlay with Katie and Hayley Finlay, who have now taken over running the pub
