GTA Label

The Chiltern Brewery, Buckinghamshire and the Chiltern Hill’s oldest independent brewery has won FOUR highly prestigious 2012 Great Taste Awards for its bottled beers and chandlery.

The family run brewery has been presented with highly coveted two-star Gold Great Taste Awards for two of its bottled real ales John Hampden’s Ale 500 ml and Lord-Lieutenant’s Porter 330 ml. The seasonal Glad Tidings Winter Stout 500ml and the 450g jar of Hop Pickled Onions from the brewery shop were awarded one-star Gold Great Taste Awards each.

Director George Jenkinson is looking forward to displaying the coveted one and two-star Gold Great Taste Award logos on the products after receiving the awards which are judged by a panel of 350 of the nation’s most discerning and knowledgeable food experts over a 45 day period. To achieve Gold in Great Taste is a very significant achievement for any food or drink producer. This year a total of 8,807 different food and drink products were entered.

Head Brewer Tom Jenkinson said: “To win one award is a great honour but to receive four, two of which were two-star Gold Great Taste Awards, is a real honour. It’s fabulous news and we are really thrilled. It is wonderful recognition of the quality that we strive for in all our beers and the consistency, hard work and dedication that go into producing our fine English Ales and Chandlery. We won 4 awards last year so that is 8 in 12 months!”

An Earl amongst ales, John Hampden’s is a beautifully balanced single varietal golden harvest ale with an impeccable pedigree and an aromatic fruitiness. Lord-Lieutenant’s Porter is a de-luxe bottle conditioned porter displaying carefully balanced proportions of dark malts including chocolate. Glad Tidings is a superb seasonal black sweet stout with a unique style available in October-December; brewed with four malts and two spices and fruit for a truly complex and exceptional flavour.

Since Richard and Lesley Jenkinson founded the brewery in 1980, the ethos has been to produce consistent ales of the highest quality using age-old artisan methods and natural, wholesome British ingredients. The beers are brewed with care and expertise to ensure great taste and satisfaction in every glass. George and Tom Jenkinson now produce a range of high quality draught and bottled ales including seasonal and limited edition beers which demonstrate innovation, tradition and the expertise of an artisan producer. The brewery shop in Terrick also stocks a fantastic range of chandlery including English wines, ciders and liqueurs; jams, honeys, chutney, mustard, biscuits, chocolate, sausages, bread and cheese – many made locally and using the brewery’s beer as an ingredient.

The Great Taste Awards, organized by the Guild of Fine Food, are now in their 19^th year and going from strength to strength.  Their judging standards are the most rigorous in the UK and they only endorse products of the highest quality. Judges this year included Masterchef winner and restaurateur Mat Follas, restaurant critic and Masterchef judge Charles Campion, food writers Lucas Hollweg and Xanthe Clay and over 300 food buyers from leading food halls, delicatessens and farm shops, including Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.

To find out more about The Chiltern Brewery’s products do check their website at www.chilternbrewery.co.uk and follow them on Twitter @chiltern_brewer ; if you are interested in keeping abreast of all their news you can subscribe to their newsletter on the home page.