EC&O Venues Earls Court And Olympia

Essex brewer judged Best in Britain!- Oscar Wilde writes his name in the beer history books!

CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain 2011

Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London, August 2nd – 6th 2011, www.gbbf.org.uk

Issued: Tuesday August 2nd 2011
Status: For immediate use

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 Might Oak brewery's Oscar Wilde has been crowned the 'Best Beer' in Britain at the Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London.

Oscar Wilde, which has an ABV of 3.7%, is described in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2011 as a ‘roasty dark mild with suggestions of forest fruits and dark chocolate. A sweet taste yields to a more bitter finish'.

The Maldon 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, spoke in praise of today's winner. He said:

‘Oscar Wilde was a stand out winner, universally praised by the judges for its overall quality. Once again a dark beer has triumphed over paler beers!

‘It’s a beer with great depth of character, and for the style has a lot of hop bitterness as well. It proves that a dark beer can be refreshing even in very hot weather.’

An elated John Boyce, Managing Director of Oscar Wilde brewery, on hearing the results, said:

‘I always had a lot of confidence in Oscar Wilde as it was successful from day one. We’ve been brewing it for at least 10 years, winning prizes ever since. Not bad for an Essex beer!’

With Mighty Oak securing the Gold award for 2011, this year's Silver went to Marble brewery’s Chocolate, whilst the Bronze award went to Salopian brewery’s Shropshire Gold.

Mighty Oak brewery’s victory comes in the wake of CAMRA’s new research out today showing how in just 5 years, the number of drinkers trying real ale for the first time has risen by a staggering 40% (from 37% of UK drinkers in 2006 to 52% in the present day).

Complete List of winners:
Overall winners
Champion Beer of Britain -  Mighty Oak, Oscar Wilde (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 winners (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)

END

Notes to editors-
*The Winter Beer category was judged in January at the CAMRA National Winter Ales Festival, and the winners have all been fast tracked to the final of today’s competition.

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.

Great British Beer Festival opening times-
Tuesday August 2nd
-5.00pm to 10.30pm
Wednesday 3rd to Friday August 5th
-12noon to 10.30pm
Saturday August 6th
-11.00am to 7.00pm

Tickets- available from the official Festival website (www.gbbf.org.uk) or by calling See Tickets on 0844 412 4640.
Advance day tickets- £6 (CAMRA members), £8 (non-members)
Advance season tickets- £20 (CAMRA members), £23 (non-members)
Day tickets- £8 (CAMRA members), £10 (non-members)
Group bookings (10+)- £7 per person (CAMRA/non-CAMRA members), only available by phoning See Tickets on 0871 230 5594

More festival information – www.gbbf.org.uk
More CAMRA info – www.camra.org.uk

For further information-
CAMRA Press Office (From Monday 1st August - Saturday 6th August) - 020 7244 3925
Jon Howard, CAMRA Press Manager - 07939 425471
Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive - 07971 591224
Iain Loe, CAMRA Research Manager - 07801 706607
Tony Jerome, CAMRA Head of Marketing - 07736 948186
John Boyce, Managing Director of Oscar Wilde brewery, 07958 674817