First published on M&C Report Online, January 11, 2009
To view the full article go to:http://www.peach-factory.com/news/Peach6980.ink

My enthusiasm for local production was further enhanced last Friday afternoon, when I was invited to be a guest judge at the Society of Independent Brewers’ (SIBA) northern region beer competition. I had the privilege to be one of the tasters to decide the overall champion, and luckily it was just a short cab ride home.

SIBA now has close to 450 members, the vast majority of whom are small craft brewers, mostly producing cask ales – although an increasing number are now bottling their beers too.

While cask beer gives pubs a unique offering that can’t be replicated at home, more high quality bottled beers from local producers would give more bars and restaurants a better chance to stock them. US micro-brewers seem to have developed that market to a much greater extent.

The North is one of SIBA’s strongest regions, reflected in the quality of the finalist beers. The overall champion was a refreshing and very quaffable straw-coloured bitter with a dry, hoppy flavour, called Golden Sands, which appropriately enough came from the most local of all the entrants, the Southport Brewery.

I’ll be searching out more of it – and hope more bars in the town start to sell it. I’m going local