ONE of York’s best-known craft beer venues has scooped a national award.

The House of The Trembling Madness in Lendal took home the award for Independent Beer Retailer of the Year from the Drinks Retailing Awards in a ceremony at London’s Dorchester Hotel on Tuesday.

Bill Herbert, duty manager at the Lendal branch, said everyone at the bar was “really chuffed” with the win, and with how the new bar has been welcomed to the city, as its sister branch underwent a refurbishment.

He said: “I know the Stonegate guys were really pleased to receive it last year too.

“We’re really proud to be pushing the forefront of craft beer in York, the biggest craft beer selection and shop in the city. We’re also proud to be recognised, especially amongst multi-national companies like Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose. I’s really cool to be talked about in the same breath as bigger retailers.”

The Lendal branch has also been awarded CAMRA’s pub of the season for the first time, just months after its doors opened, with not just a bar, but a shop selling well-known and more unusual craft ales.

Bill said: “Back when the original shop first opened it was quite an innovative approach to have.

“That’s something that’s really common now across the UK, so I think we were being recognised for being one of the first for having that approach.”

Bill also put forward this advice on anyone who had not yet visited either of the award-winning bars.

He said: “Come down with an open mind. Both places are very different in terms of aesthetic but both have something you don’t really find anywhere else in York. There’s different food, drinks and atmosphere, come and give us a go and you won’t regret it.”