Cheddar Ales, a microbrewery based on the edge of Cheddar village, has won a gold medal for its ‘Totty Pot’ brew at the International Beer Challenge – the world’s largest bottled beer competition. 

The road to the final has been a long one with the beer first having won awards regionally and then at the national level.  “We were surprised when it won Best Bottled Beer in the South West last year” says Head Brewer Jem Ham, “but since then it has just kept on winning. Now it has achieved a level where it is regarded as one of the best dark beers in the world. It’s particularly surprising because for me it’s not even our best beer!”

Totty Pot is a porter – a traditional style of dark beer first brewed in 18^th century London. The Cheddar Ales brew is a contemporary version of the beer, but one that stays close to the style’s traditional roots. The other half of the Cheddar Ales team, John Magill, says “It’s great to be representing Britain internationally with a truly British style of beer.” But, John goes on to say, the award also acts as a timely reminder. “Real ale has become caught up in anti-alcohol lobbying and the current taxation level is misguided and is killing the industry. Real ale and pubs have been at the heart of our communities for hundreds of years and are one of our great national products. They are admired around the world, as this award shows, but we need home support if these great British traditions are to survive.”

If you have never tried Totty Pot, now is the perfect time as it comes in to its own as the nights draw in. The beer is dark and warming with hints of roasted coffee and creamy malt flavours. The brewery will also be releasing a Christmas version of the beer, ‘Festive Totty’, which has been enriched with ruby port to give a slightly sweeter taste with hints of fruit and dark chocolate. 

John says “Both versions of the beer are great for supping by the fireside, but they are more versatile than that – you can also cook with them in all sorts of dishes. For example, now is the right time to be making your Christmas pudding and a splash of Totty Pot in your pudding mixture will make for a very merry Christmas indeed. There’s a recipe on our website if you need one.”

The team are hoping that the award will help a few more people see that there are local beers available to them that they might enjoy far more than the mass-produced imports that dominate the market. But that’s about as far as international fame will affect them.  “We’re still very much a local brewery for the local market” says Jem, “and while an award such as this is nice, we’re not about to change that. If the rest of the world wants the beer, they’ll have to come to Somerset for it.”