EC&O Venues Earls Court And Olympia

CAMRA toasts ‘Best Beer in Britain’
 
‘Nottingham brewer crowned king of the Castle!’
Great British Beer Festival 2010, Earls Court, London, 3rd-7th August 2010, www.gbbf.org.uk
 
After a year of local tasting panels and regional heats leading up to the finals, CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is today proud to announce that Castle Rock (of Nottingham) brewery’s Harvest Pale has been crowned the ‘Best Beer’ in Britain at the Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London.
 
Harvest Pale, which has an ABV of 3.8%, is described in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2010 as ‘blonde and refreshing with distinctive citrus hop.’
 
The Nottingham brewed real ale was judged the Supreme Champion over a host of other finalists in 7 different beer categories (Bitters, Best Bitters, Strong Bitters, Golden Ales, Milds, Winter Beers*, and the Speciality class), including beers from both small microbrewers and large regional brewers.
 
Roger Protz, of the Final judging panel, praised today’s winner. He said:
 
‘Against intense competition from 8 other brilliant beers, Castle Rock Harvest Pale stood out and was the unanimous choice of all the judges for its great blend of tangy hop and juicy malt. A wonderfully refreshing and complex beer.’
 
A delighted Chris Holmes, Castle Rock brewery Commercial Director, on hearing the results, said:
 
‘We’ve won dozens of awards over the past 5 to 6 years, but the best moments have been since our new brewer, Adrian Redgrove, who started 4 years ago, began producing high quality, consistent beer. The last 18 months we’ve been brewing at capacity because of the success and popularity of Harvest Pale, which has led to the opening of a new brew house in 2 weeks time which will treble our capacity. ’
 
With Castle Rock brewery securing the Gold award for 2010, this year’s Silver went to Timothy Taylor brewery’s Landlord, whilst the Bronze award went to Surrey Hills brewery’s Hammer Mild.
 
Complete list of winners-
 
Overall winners-
Champion Beer of Britain 2010- Castle Rock, Harvest Pale (3.8% ABV, Nottingham, Notts)
Silver- Timothy Taylor, Landlord (4.3% ABV, Keighley, West Yorkshire)
Bronze- Surrey Hills, Hammer Mild (3.8% ABV, Guildford, Surrey)
 
Mild category-
Gold- Surrey Hills, Hammer Mild (3.8% ABV, Guildford, Surrey)
Silver- Greene King, XX Mild (3% ABV, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk)
Joint Bronze- Golcar, Dark Mild (3.4% ABV, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire)
Joint Bronze- Nottingham, Rock Ale Mild (3.8% ABV, Nottingham, Notts)
 
Bitters-
Gold- RCH, PG Steam (3.9% ABV, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset)
Silver- Moor, Revival (3.8% ABV, Pitney, Somerset)
Joint Bronze- Orkney, Raven (3.8% ABV, Stromness, Orkney)
Joint Bronze- Purple Moose, Snowdonia Ale (3.6% ABV, Portmadog, Gwynedd)
 
Best Bitters-
Gold- Timothy Taylor, Landlord (4.3% ABV, Keighley, West Yorkshire)
Silver- St Austell, Tribute (4.2% ABV, St Austell, Cornwall)
Joint Bronze- Evan Evans, Cwrw (4.2% ABV, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire)
Joint Bronze- Great Oakley, Gobble (4.5% ABV, Great Oakley, Northamptonshire)
 
Golden Ales-
Gold- Castle Rock, Harvest Pale (3.8% ABV, Nottingham, Notts)
Silver- Marble, Manchester Bitter (4.2%, Manchester, Gtr Manchester)
Bronze- St Austell, Proper Job (4.5% ABV, St Austell, Cornwall)
 
Strong Bitters-
Gold- Thornbridge, Jaipur IPA (5.9% ABV, Bakewell, Derbyshire)
Silver- Fuller’s, Gales HSB (4.8% ABV, Chiswick, Gtr London)
Bronze- Beckstones, Rev Rob (4.6% ABV, Millom, Cumbria)
 
Speciality Beers-
Gold- Amber, Chocolate Orange Stout (4% ABV, Ripley, Derbyshire)
Silver- O’Hanlon’s, Port Stout (4.8% ABV, Whimple, Devon)
Bronze- Breconshire, Ysbrid y Ddraig (6.5% ABV, Brecon, Powys)
 
Champion Winter Beer of Britain (announced in January 2010)- Elland, 1872 Porter (6.5% ABV, Elland, West Yorkshire)
 
Champion Bottled Beer of Britain 2010- sponsored by Travelodge
Gold- St Austell, Admiral’s Ale (5% ABV, St Austell, Cornwall)
Silver- Pitfield, 1850 London Porter (5% ABV, Epping, Essex)
Bronze- Great Oakley, Delapre Dark (4.6% ABV, Great Oakley, Northamptonshire)
 
END
 
Notes to editors-
*The Winter Beer category was judged in January at the CAMRA National Winter Ales Festival, and the winner, Elland 1872 Porter, was thus submitted into today’s final.
 
CAMRA has full ISDN facilities for interviews regarding today’s announcement. For further information please telephone the Great British Beer Festival Press Office on 020 7244 3925.
 
For further information-
CAMRA Great British Beer Festival Press Office (3rd-7th August 2010), 020 7244 3925
Chris Holmes, Commercial Director, Castle Rock brewery, Nottingham, 0115 985 1615 or 07887 544746
Timothy Taylor brewery, Keighley, West Yorkshire, 01535 603139
Surrey Hills brewery, Guildford, Surrey, 01483 212812
Jon Howard, CAMRA press officer, 07939 425471