http://www.siba.co.uk/walesandwest/

DATE OF JUDGING & ANNOUNCEMENT 11th May 2012

Ludlow Spring Festival, Ludlow Castle, Shropshire

Overall Champion of the Competition

Sponsored by Charles Faram & Co Ltd

South Shropshire brewers Wood’s of Wistanstow have brewed up a double celebration for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The brewery has designed a limited edition bottled beer, Queen of Diamonds, and is producing only 600 bottles of the 4.7% strength sparkling ale, 100 for each decade of the Queen’s reign.

Alongside it, Wood’s is launching a draught beer, The Jewel in the Crown, as a 3.5% alcohol bitter that will be on sale in free houses in Shropshire and adjoining counties.

“The bottles will be highly collectable souvenirs and we expect them to sell quickly. We are limiting the numbers that individual customers can buy. We’ve designed the draught beer as a diamond-bright session bitter which will be freely available in pubs, and direct from the brewery for people wanting party packs,” said Wood’s MD Edward Wood.

Wood’s will be exhibiting their beers as part of the celebration of Shropshire to be staged for the Queen at Cosford on 12 July.

MORE INFORMATION – EDWARD WOOD, 01588 672523 or email edward@woodbrewery.co.uk

The Co-op has jumped on the Jubilee wagon with two-limited edition British beers.

The premium pair, described as “quintessentially British” and available next week, are Jubilation – a 4% abv pale golden-coloured ale – and 4.5% abv Salutation, a “classic British bitter”.

The own-label beers (rsp: £1.69/500ml) are brewed by hand at the Freeminer Brewery in Gloucestershire and join the retailer’s Truly Irresistible Gold Miner Ale from the same brewery.

The Co-op will also offer “better-than-half price” Champagne and half-price Cava for the Jubilee celebrations.

Taken from:  The Grocer

Fans celebrating Shrewsbury Town’s promotion to League 1 can raise a glass of a special brew from the Wood Brewery at Wistanstow, south Shropshire.

Called Up Town, the 3.9% ABV bitter will be available in selected pubs in Shropshire and adjoining counties. For every pint of Up Town they sell, Wood’s are planning to donate 5p to the Super Blues Club, a group of supporters who work to raise money for the football club.

Wood’s MD Edward Wood and the brewery’s financial controller, Colin James, are both lifelong Town fans and are delighted with Shrewsbury’s on-field achievements this season.

“Events like this do not happen too often, so we’re just enjoying the moment like everyone else involved with the club. We hope the beer will meet an enthusiastic reception and that we will hand over a good amount to the Super Blues,” said Edward Wood.

Diddlebury Village Hall receives all profits from the Ale in The Dale Beer Festival

Staff at Wood Brewery, Wistanstow, South Shropshire, are celebrating the running start to sales made by their draught WPB Athletes’ Ale. They have dispatched the first consignment to the Wetherspoon pub group which will sell the beer across Britain in April and May.

Wood’s first brewed the 4.2% ABV bitter last year to commemorate William Penny Brookes, the founder of the Much Wenlock Olympian Society and the man widely credited with inspiring the modern Olympic movement.
“Athletes’ Ale has a great taste and Wetherspoon’s thought it was a topical theme in the year of the Olympic Games. Their order for draught beer in barrels has provided a big boost to sales so we’re delighted,” said Edward Wood, MD of the family-owned brewery.

“It means Athletes’ Ale will be tasted over a far wider area than we would normally distribute to, and we will also be sending it to the Strangers’ Bar at the House of Commons later in the year,” he added.

Athletes’ Ale will also continue to be available through free houses and other outlets supplied locally by Wood’s in Shropshire and adjoining counties.

The economic gloom may be getting people down but West Wales brewer Evan-Evans bucked the business trend by reporting record sales in the lead up to the Easter break.

Evan-Evans group chief executive Simon Buckley said the dramatic change in the weather for the Easter holidays had also failed to dampen demand for the company’s ales.

“The Easter period has been a very busy time for us with record demand for our beers and customers searching for our new Easter Ale,” Mr Buckley said last night.

“We have just completed a rebranding exercise, with a total re-brand of our Evan-Evans products.

“Over the winter months we have been trialling a host of new beers for the Welsh market and Easter Ale is the first of the new seasonal beers.

“We have six new seasonal beers for our customers to try in 2012.

“We now have reputation for brewing some of the best beers in Wales and for having the widest range of seasonal ales from any one brewer in the Principality.

“We will be increasing our brand range with a new organic beer range, which will be priced at the same price as traditional beers.

“Despite the recent increase in duty, customers are determined to have a good time.

“We are seeing increasing demand from all over Wales.

“Cask ale is still outperforming the UK beer market, and the large international brewing companies are looking to us small brewers to produce the beers that they cannot produce for this market.

“We hope to announce further strategic brewing alliances in the late spring.”

Evan-Evans is currently Wales’ largest specialist brewer of cask ale.

Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business-in-wales/business-news/2012/04/10/evan-evans-brewer-buck-the-trend-with-record-easter-ale-sales-91466-30724636/#ixzz1rck9o4cZ

Salopian Brewery of Shrewsbury has continued its successful year with a string of awards at the recent Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) National Beer Competition.

The awards were hosted at the annual SIBA National Conference in Strafford upon Avon. The awards are seen as the Oscars of the brewing industry and the finalists come from the winners of seven regional competitions.

At the competition beers are split into different categories depending on strength and style and judged by a panel of experts. Salopian Brewery was successful in collecting an award for each beer that reached the final.

The highlight of the event saw Lemon Dream collecting the Champion Specialty Beer and coming third overall in the grand final. Lemon Dream is a golden premium beer, brewed with fresh lemons to produce a moreish citrusy ale. The brewery has now picked up the bronze award in both the current CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain awards and the SIBA National beer competition.

The brewery collected a massive five awards in the finals, a figure greater than any other brewery in the country. Oracle and Golden Thread picked up silver and bronze awards in their respective classes.

In the bottled beer competition for the second time in three years Darwin’s Origin received the Gold award for the Champion Bottled beer. Darwin’s Origin was released three years ago to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Shrewsbury born Charles Darwin and has quickly become one of the biggest selling beers at Salopian Brewery.

SIBA chief executive Julian Grocock, said, “Those of us who have been involved in this round of SIBA beer competitions have once again been overwhelmed by the quality of the beers entered at every stage from regional heat to national finals.
“With standards rising every year, it becomes ever more challenging to select the best beers from a very strong field. Winning an award at a regional competition is an achievement to be proud of and to take one at the national competition an even greater one.”

He added, “Such is the growing reputation of SIBA’s beer competitions that winning an award today offers the successful brewers the promise of much-increased awareness among beer enthusiasts, and new listings in the growing number of beer-oriented pubs, bars and off-trade outlets.”

Wilf Nelson MD of Salopian Brewery said “that it was an amazing achievement for the brewery to pick up five different awards and it highlighted the consistent high quality of the beers brewed at Salopian Brewery and the professional and dedication of his hard working team.”

The brewery has now received over 10 awards for its beers this year and this success has been translated into a 35% increase on sales so far this year. This increase means the brewery is now brewing at capacity and partners Mark Hill and Wilf Nelson are hoping to expand the brewery. The expansion of the brewery will result in the future recruitment of extra staff.

A brand new real ale festival which is hoped to feature 30 brews will be launched in South Shropshire in May by Ludlow MP Philip Dunne.

Click here for the article  Corvedale – beer bonanza