Champion Beers of Britain 2011

Complete List of winners announced today at the GBBF

:notworthy:MILD:notworthy: wins again:

Overall winners
Champion Beer of Britain - Mighty Oak, Oscar Wilde Mild (3.7% ABV, Maldon, Essex)
Second - Marble, Chocolate (5.5% ABV, Manchester, Gtr Manchester)
Third - Salopian, Shropshire Gold (3.8%ABV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire)

Mild category
Gold- Mighty Oak, Oscar Wilde (3.7% ABV, Maldon, Essex)
Silver- Rudgate, Ruby Mild (4.4% ABV, York, North Yorkshire)
Bronze- Coastal, Merry Maidens (4% ABV, Redruth, Cornwall)

Bitter category
Gold- Salopian, Shropshire Gold (3.8%ABV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire)
Silver- Teignworthy, Reel Ale (4% ABV, Newton Abbot, Devon)
Joint Bronze- Triple fff, Alton's Pride (3.8% ABV, Alton, Hampshire)
Joint Bronze- Potton, Shannon IPA (3.6% ABV, Potton, Bedfordshire)

Best Bitter category
Gold- Houston, Peter's Well (4.2% ABV, Houston, Renfrewshire)
Silver- Country Life, Golden Pig (4.7% ABV, Bideford, Devon)
Joint Bronze- Castle Rock, Preservation (4.4% ABV, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire)
Joint Bronze- Bollington, Best Bitter (4.2% ABV, Bollington, Cheshire)
Joint Bronze- Blythe, Staffie (4.4% ABV, Rugeley, Staffordshire)

Golden Ale category
Gold- Cumbrian Legendary Ales, Loweswater Gold (4.3% ABV, Hawkshead, Cumbria)
Silver- Salamander, Golden Salamander (4.5% ABV, Bradford, West Yorkshire)
Bronze- Holden's, Golden Glow (4.4% ABV, Dudley, West Midlands)

Strong Bitter category
Gold- Moles, Mole Catcher (5% ABV, Melksham, Wiltshire)
Silver- Kinver, Half Centurion (5% ABV, Kinver, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Adnams Broadside (4.7% ABV, Southwold, Suffolk)

Speciality Beer category
Gold- Oakleaf, I Can't Believe It's Not Bitter (4.9% ABV, Gosport, Hampshire)
Silver- Amber, Chocolate Orange Stout (4% ABV, Ripley, Derbyshire)
Bronze- Orkney, Atlas Wayfarer (4.4% ABV, Stromness, Orkney)

Winter Beer of Britain winner (announced in January 2011)
Dow Bridge, Praetorian Porter (5% ABV, Catthorpe, Leicestershire)
Holden's, Old Ale (7.2% ABV, Dudley, West Midlands)
Hop Back, Entire Stout (4.5% ABV, Downton, Wiltshire)
Marble, Chocolate (5.5% ABV, Manchester, Gtr Manchester)

Bottled Beer of Britain winners (sponsored by Hotel du Vin)
Gold- St Austell, Proper Job (5.5% ABV, St Austell, Cornwall)
Joint Silver- Molson Coors, Worthington White Shield (5.6% ABV, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire)
Joint Silver- Brown Cow, Captain Oates Dark Oat Mild (4.5% ABV, Selby, North Yorkshire)

Standby for the usual moans about the North/South divide :D

What a hilarious list. No Brewdog, Thornbridge, Ossett, Oakham, Mallinson's, Summer Wine?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spinko

What a hilarious list. No Brewdog, Thornbridge, Ossett, Oakham, Mallinson's, Summer Wine?

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I agree, apart from Brewdog , and would add several other breweries to that list.

There does appear to be a certain conservatism about several of the award winning beers, not necessarily the Gold but some of the lower placed awards.
There are 3 South West beers in the list and I wouldn't place them in the top 3 in the South West, let alone nationwide. Can't really comment about other beers that are out of area as I do not come across them very often.

Compare these results with SIBA competitions where beers are judged by brewers and landlords in the main with other industry figures (as well as a smattering of camra members). With SIBA you will see more of the type of breweries listed above. Also every beer in the country has a chance to be entered, whereas Camra relies on random beer festival winners and (probably even more random) branch suggestions. Shame really.

The Pub Curmudgeon has a survey here on what people think are the best and worse three cask beers in the UK, that could be an interesting result.

Without delving into the depths of SIBA or CAMRA, how can you objectively judge a champion beer of the UK?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by oldboots

The Pub Curmudgeon has a survey here on what people think are the best and worse three cask beers in the UK, that could be an interesting result.

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Why exclude certain dispense methods of beer? ;)

"IT’S made in a tiny Gosport brewery with just seven staff – but a lager that is brewed like a bitter has been crowned the top speciality beer in Britain"

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/loc...tain_1_2928347

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hondo

"IT’S made in a tiny Gosport brewery with just seven staff – but a lager that is brewed like a bitter has been crowned the top speciality beer in Britain"

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/loc...tain_1_2928347

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Not sure I understand why someone involved in a small brewery doesn't understand the definition of Real Ale or indeed the meaning of the word "beer" ;

‘It really did feel amazing, particularly because it was a lager rather than a beer because CAMRA is traditionally about real ales.’

presumably it's a misquote of some sort. I'll resist the obvious comment about "lager" and beer.