St Ives x The Sloop Inn
The Sloop Inn, The Wharf St Ives, Saint Ives TR26 1LP
Robyn Gilmour
Saturday 14 December 2024
This article is from
Love Your Pub
issue 112
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In St Ives’ harbour, a stone’s throw from the water edge, The Sloop Inn is estimated to have begun trading in 1312, becoming a safe haven for the fishermen and dockside workers of the harbour's thriving pilchard trade. The Sloop takes its name from a single mast boat that sits low in the water and was common in the area at the time.
“Loved by locals and visitors to the town, The Sloop is a must-visit location to stay, dine and drink,” says Marco Amura, director of St Ives brewery. “The beer garden is a sun trap that shelters from the prevailing South Westerly breezes. The decor and character of the pub is warm, charming and inviting. Portraits of many of the town's lifeboat crew adorn the walls as a tribute to their heroism. The pub has remained relatively unchanged through the years."
The Sloop’s manager Paul Scorer can attest to this, and while he admits the summer months see the pub heave with out-of-towners visiting Cornwall to enjoy its immaculate beaches, cliff walks and weather, The Sloop remains a pub for locals and tourists alike. He says that between October and March, when the tourist trade quietens, The Sloop begins to run meat draws, raffling off everything from air fryers and cases of beer, to — no joke — a week in a five star hotel in Jamaica. “The first meat draw of the year is always a big one,” Paul chuckles. We’d be tempted to brave the Cornish roads just to put our name in the hat for that one.
St Ives first began working closely with The Sloop when the two began collaboration on a flagship ale for the pub. 1312 is a sessionable amber ale with a biscuit malt backbone and light fruit undertone. Marco says that “working alongside the Sloop to produce 1312 has been years of refinement and understanding on what makes the perfect pint of cask ale”.
In case you need further incentive to enjoy a glass of 1312, 5p of every can produced for Beer52 in this month’s subscription box will go directly to Surfers Against Sewage. This environmental charity started life on the UK’s southernmost coasts in response to the marine pollution witnessed first-hand by the surfing community.
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