Hook Norton’s Double Stout and Hooky Bitter triumph in World’s Best Beers awards

Hook Norton’s beers named in international beer challenge

Two Hook Norton beers – Hook Norton Double Stout and Hook Norton Hooky Bitter have been crowned among the World’s Best Beers by an international and highly respected judging panel.

In the World’s Best Stout & Porter (Dry Stout) category Hook Norton Double Stout won the top honours. It was also judged to be first in the European class of the Best Stout & Porter (Dry Stout) category.

Hook Norton’s Hooky Bitter picked up gold in Europe’s Best English Bitter category.

The judges blind-tasted beers, from over five hundred entries in twenty-seven countries, in the annual World Beer Awards.

The awards are truly global as the World’s Best Beers’ winners in 2010 demonstrates; originating from the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, Japan, Germany and Hook Norton in Oxfordshire, England.

Hook Norton Managing Director James Clarke said: “I am delighted that our bottled beers have been honoured by this prestigious competition.

“We are a local brewer, which now has an international reputation for the quality of its beers and the bottles they are sold in. To win these awards reflects the hard work and commitment of all the staff who work at the brewery.

“Double Stout and Hooky Bitter are premium beers which are selling well – and these awards are an affirmation of their quality by the judges of the World’s Best Beer”

Chairman of the European judges Jeff Evans said Hook Norton Double Stout is a fine, dry, deep ruby-coloured stout, fresh, crisp and clean and it is now available bottle conditioned.

International chairman of the judges Roger Protz says: “The World Beer Awards encourages brewers from all over the globe to compete for the accolade of World Best Beer.

“The judging gets more difficult each year with the delicious beers that we receive, bursting with distinctive and exciting aromas and flavours.

“These awards are an excellent way to bring sometimes unknown beers under the antennae of the consumer, delighting drinkers internationally, especially those new to beer”

The World Beer Awards is a truly global search to select the very best brands representing internationally recognised beer styles and is organised by www.tastingbeers.com - the competition selects, awards and promotes to consumers the best beers available internationally.

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A LAGER brewed near Uttoxeter could soon be on tap at the House of Commons.

Michael Fabricant, Conservative MP for Lichfield, visited Freedom Brewery in Abbots Bromley, which forms part of his constituency.

The micro-brewery specialises in making real lager as opposed to real ale.

Unlike most mass-produced lagers in the UK, the lager is matured for several weeks and not a couple of days.

Mr Fabricant said: “You can taste the difference. It is like the full hoppy flavours experienced on the European continent.”

He said following his meeting with Edward and Susan Mayman, the husband and wife team, who run the brewery, he had set himself two tasks.

He said he wanted to persuade Government ministers to encourage pubs to offer guest lagers as well as guest ales which are already sold by pubs, and to have Freedom supply lagers to the bars of the House of Commons.

The brewery is based in Bagots Park, near Abbots Bromley

Taken from:  Uttoxeter Post & Times

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British Beer Guide iPhone App. from YourRound

BeerCam from YourRound – Pub Posters

Due to an overwhelming response from UK brewers, the YourRound beer directory at www.YourRound.co.uk is now probably the biggest of its kind and contains information on over 4000 British beers.

Hundreds of brewers have now added their latest beers and tasting notes ensuring the most up to date information is reaching wholesalers, pubs, retailers and even beer festival organisers.

The YourRound BeerCam is rapidly becoming the most popular way to promote real ales in the pub, as well as online and on mobile. Drinkers can also visit www.yourround.co.uk and set email and SMS text alerts to tell them when their favourite tipple is on tap.

Fully integrated into the various social networking sites such as Twitter, the YourRound drinker can keep up to date with new beers from their favourite brewery and even find their favourites when away from home using the YourRound iPhone app.

The YourRound system even notifies the brewer about pubs and retailer requests for particular beers and also enables wholesalers and pubs to share order and delivery information.

To read more click here

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Independent Warwickshire brewery, Purity Brewing Co. will help introduce real ale to women during a special networking event in Birmingham.

Purity is one of the sponsors of the event organised by journalist and broadcaster, Marverine Cole, who has launched Beer Beauty to encourage the region’s women to socialise and network while experiencing the delights of premium ale.

Paul Halsey, the brewery’s managing director, said: “This will be a fantastic event for women, who are non-traditional ale drinkers, to experience real ale.

“The Cask Report 2009/10, written by beer writer and journalist Pete Brown, showed that there are 1.3 million female real ale drinkers in the UK. While this is an encouraging figure, I genuinely believe that stereotypes and misconceptions turn many women off trying real ale.

“By working with Marverine, I’m confident that we can help women understand the beauty of finely crafted ale.”

Marverine Cole added: “Many women are totally uninitiated about beer and about how to make an informed choice about what to drink, so I reckoned it was high time I did my bit to rectify things.

“This event is about education, so I want everyone who attends to leave their car keys at home and be prepared for a real treat. I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

Purity will be joined at the event by two other sponsors, Holden’s Breweries and Marstons.

The Beer Beauty tasting event will be held at on Wednesday 8th September from 6pm at The Studio, Cannon Street, Birmingham. Places are limited to 50. The price is £7 per head. Visit www.beerbeauty.co.uk to book tickets or to find out more information.

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A Staffordshire brewery is looking for a name for its latest beer - using the power of Facebook and Twitter.
Quartz Brewing, which has outlets in Kings Bromley and Lichfield, has launched an online competition to find a name for a special edition beer which will be launched at its beer festival in October.
Facebook fans and Twitter followers are being invited to follow Quartz online and post their suggestions for a name for the beer with the winning suggestion receiving a five litre mini cask of the brew.
Quartz Brewing’s master brewer, Julia Barnett, said the competition had already attracted a great deal of online interest, appearing on www.moneysavingexpert.com and other sites.

“We wanted to build our online presence as well as promoting our range of beers and the forthcoming beer festival so using social media seemed a great way to do it,” she said.

“There are lots of real ale fans out there who may not have heard of us so getting online to real ale lovers forums and tweeting about the competition was a great way to promote us.”
However cask ale fans who aren’t online are welcome at the brewery’s shop at the Heart of the Country Shopping Village on the A38 at Swinfen.

“Anyone is welcome to drop into the shop and make a suggestion for a name for the chance to win a mini cask of the beer, which of course will feature the winning name on the label.”

The beer is a full and fruity straw coloured beer with a classic German hop finish, with an ABV of 5,2% and makes a perfect companion to food or for a crisp fresh drink on its own.
The beer (and its name) will be unveiled at Quartz’s Brewing’s Oktoberfest on October 2-3, when beer fans can try any of the Quartz range.

For more information on the competition, which closes on September 17, log onto www.quartzbrewing.co.uk follow @quartzbrewing on Twitter or become a fan of Quartz Brewing on Facebook – or just pop into the store!

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The second part of the controversial mandatory alcohol retailing code is set to be scrapped — but the pay-off will be the new late-night levy, the Morning Advertiser understands.

The next part of the code, to come into force on 1 October, requires pubs to offer drinks in smaller servings and ask anyone who appears underage for ID.

The coalition Government is understood to view the code as an easy win for its “one in, one out” approach to regulations.

And it has asked the trade for its views on the necessity of the code as part of its consultation on the Licensing Act review.

The scrapping of the code could save the on and off-trades an estimated £41.3m (£650 per pub). A source close to the process said: “There is a strong hint that the second part of the mandatory code will go.”

Article taken form the morning advertiser - Read more!

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The trade has expressed fears over the size of any proposed hike in licence costs and being the target once again of Government action.

Home Secretary Theresa May today outlined her proposals for an overhaul of the licensing regime, which included a licence fee hike, giving residents more powers of objection and allowing authorities to raise concerns over public health consequences.

Licensing expert Peter Coulson said a rise in licensing fee costs would cause deep concern to the trade. “The Local Government Association has been complaining from the start of the new licensing laws (in 2005) that the fees do not cover their costs.

“But the fees are already pretty high and any increase would cause uproar in the trade, especially at the moment in the current difficult trading environment.”

Article taken from The Morning Advertisor - Read more

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The fourth International Collaboration Series brew is heading closer to completion at Thornbridge Brewery in Bakewell, Derbyshire. After past collaborations with Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery in the US, Luke Nicholas of Epic Brewing in NZ and Agostino Arioli of Birrificio Italiano in Italy, Thornbridge have teamed up with Doug Odell of Odell Brewing Co. from Fort Collins, Colorado.

Doug is a huge fan of English ales and bases his multi-award winning beers on the balance and drinkability he finds in the cask ales he finds here. Doug has also judged in past Great British Beer Festivals and often brings his brewery employees to the UK for them to gain inspiration to produce fantastic beer.

Coinciding with the release of his bottled range in the UK market, Doug joined the Thornbridge team to recreate a version of his Red Ale, which has recently medalled at the World Beer Cup and North American Beer Awards.

Colorado Red (5.9%) is crammed with speciality malts and with a twist on the popular American Red Style, it has been hopped instead with a massive amount of oil-rich English hops including Admiral, Bramling Cross, Phoenix, Pilgrim and First Gold. “We wanted to take a great US style of beer and put a bit of a British twist on it,” says Brewery Manager, Kelly Ryan. “We don’t want people to dismiss the fantastic breadth of flavour and aroma that UK hops can give to a beer… not every beer should be about US or NZ hops. It was also amazing to work with such a stalwart of the US micro brewing industry”.

Colorado Red, as the beer has been named in tribute to Doug’s brewery, will be released on Monday August 2nd at a Meet the Brewer event in the Cask and Kitchen, 6 Charlwood Street, Pimlico, London, SW1V 2EE. The beer is described as having hints of subtle toffee malt, complemented by a heady mix of dried fruit, candied peel, hop resin, rosewater and a fantastic blend of herbal UK hop notes. The bitterness is well rounded and the beer finishes with hints of citrus and roasty malt characteristics.

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 A Moorhouse’s pub has been praised in a North West council’s battle to promote healthier eating.
The Pendle Witch at Atherton, Greater Manchester, has received a Wigan Council Healthy Business Award – given to cafes, canteens and chippies across the borough.

“When you see something on our menu, you know it’s homemade” – that’s the pledge from chef Jason Baxter. Since the team at the Witch signed up to Wigan Council’s healthy business agenda all their meals are freshly made on the premises.

A popular town centre hostelry and famous for many years as a real ale house, the Pendle Witch, in Warburton Place, has seen major investment by the award winning brewery to develop the food business, with enhanced kitchen facilities and a new conservatory dining area.

The pub’s CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) credentials go back more than ten years and it was voted Pub of the Year 2009 by the South East Lancashire Branch. But long-term landlady Joan Houghton really wanted to give customers something more.

“Everyone knows our pub as one where you can get a variety of high quality beers,” Joan said. “Now, with our new menus, we’re developing a reputation for offering food that’s a bit more special than the usual burger or pie and pint.”

Click the link to read more - mhpr_pendle_witch_healthy_business1

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