Pint-sized pub opens (From The Northern Echo)

Pint-sized pub opens

8:32am Monday 30th November 2009

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REAL ale enthusiasts have raised a glass to a pint-sized pub that has opened in the region.

The Rat Race Ale House, in Hartlepool Railway Station, has been created by real ale enthusiast Peter Morgan, who was made redundant from his office job due to the credit crunch.

He has spent about £10,000 transforming the former newsagents into the tiny hostlery, which measures only 20ft by 14ft, and is one of the smallest pubs in the country.

The pint-sized pub, which will serve up a number of little-known beers, is believed to be the only micro-pub in the region.

It is so small there is not enough room for a bar, with Mr Morgan pouring drinks from the cellar – a cramped room off the main room.

The pub will only sell real ale and cider, along with soft drinks and wine.

Although it is estimated that 52 pubs close in the UK every week, Mr Morgan, from Trimdon Station, County Durham, believes his back-to-basics approach will prove a success.

It has already been welcomed by fellow real ale enthusiasts, and is attracting commuters passing through the station.

Customer Pete Jeffreys said: “I think it’s a great idea.

“It is going back to the pubs that my nana used to talk about, where someone had a bar in their front room.”

Mr Morgan, a member of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), decided to go ahead with the idea after hearing a presentation on micro pubs at the Camra annual meeting.

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