No one was more surprised than the landlord himself when Cornwall CAMRA chairman Rod Davis told him Congratulations - you have won the local CAMRA Pub of the Year 2007 competition'.

Peter Elvin's immediate reaction was, "How the hell did that happen?"

His modesty, however, belies both Peter's passion for the job and attention to detail, which together have propelled the Star Inn at Crowlas to this year's winning position in a field of Cornish pubs which potentially has a total of around 675 eligible runners. The pub lies on the A30, east of Penzance.

On Saturday's ceremony, at which a number of local CAMRA branch members presented Peter with his award, chairman Rod said, "This is no mean achievement in a county with so many good real ale pubs, and it reflects Peter's dedication in bringing to ale drinkers a great and ever-changing selection of real ales from all over the country. Even more importantly, those ales are always presented in perfect condition, as of course they should be, and it takes a special kind of landlord to achieve that". In his reply, Peter (garrulous as ever) said, simply, "Thank you very much". When asked when the brewery which he is single-handedly constructing at the back of the pub would be up, running, and producing his own fine beers, he replied coyly, "Dreckly".

The annual CAMRA Pub of the Year competition is about more than consistently good real ale, although that is the most important criterion for entry into the race. Other factors include the pub's atmosphere, the interior style and décor and whether they seem appropriate and sympathetic to the building. The quality of the service and the welcome given to customers are important, as is the mix of clientele to be found at the bar - do both sexes and all age groups feel comfortable in there, for instance? Finally, general sympathy with the overall aims of CAMRA obviously counts, as does value for money. The pub won on the basis of an initial vote by the CAMRA membership to select a shortlist of potential winners, followed by inspection visits by a team of mystery drinkers'.

On all these counts, landlord Peter has an impeccable record. A native Scillonian, he came to the mainland many years ago and among other things spent a while as brewer at Somerset's Cotleigh Brewery before taking the Star Inn with a view to running his own brewery there.

The pub now goes forward to the next leg of the competition, being pitted against other winners in the south west of England to find a regional champion. The winner of that heat goes forward as a finalist to find CAMRA's national Pub of the Year. The title last came to Cornwall in 2001, when the Blisland Inn on the edge of Bodmin Moor won it. It is currently held by the Tom Cobley's Tavern at Spreyton, near Okehampton in Devon.