The Waen Brewery’s multi award winning Blackberry Stout has been listed in The Publican’s Morning Advertiser in Pete Brown 50 Best Beers.  The list only comes out once a year and has great influence in the pub trade. A big achievement for a small brewery. Along side it in the list are the likes of Harviestoun, Thornbridge, Dark Star, Wye Valley, Fullers,Otley, Breconshire and Timothy Taylor, so no mean feat!

The Brewery recently added to it’s many awards with a silver for their Blueberry Porter  at the SIBA Wales and West Regional Beer Competition and Sue will be judging at the forthcoming SIBA South East Region beer Competitiuon.

With sales of their beers booming in London and the South East as well as closer to home, and their ‘Waen Bar’  doing the rounds of National music festivals it’s a busy time for The Waen Brewery.

For enquiries please telephone 01686 627042 or 07981 535024 and ask for Sue, John or Toby

www.thewaenbrewery.co.uk

Mayfields Brewery, Leominster, a leading Herefordshire Microbrewery has scooped a prestigious diamond award.

The brewery’s Auntie Myrtle’s won the highly contested drinks category at the awards that are run by Heart of England Fine Foods (HEFF), the regional food group for the heart of England, which celebrates the very best of local food and drink from across Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Birmingham and the Black Country.

Auntie Myrtle’s was up against some tough competition, not only other brewers, but fantastic vineyards, top cider makers and other drinks producers.

“We are very proud to win the award, we put a lot of effort and hard work into our brewing to produce great quality beer” said Adam Smith, brewer and owner of Mayfields Brewery. “Auntie Myrtle’s is the most traditional ale we brew, using only Herefordshire Hops so we are delighted it did so well.”

The Judges said that it won because “This product had an excellent deep colour with a mellow aroma, a good flavour of both malt and hops and was very moreish.”

May has been a good month for the brewery with their current seasonal ale Pioneer Bee also winning a silver award for Speciality beers at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) Wales and West Brewers competition recently held at the Ludlow Spring Festival.

Adam Smith receiving the Award from Caoire Blakemore from Heart Distribution, category sponsors and Suzanne Virdee, BBC West Midlands presenter and host for the evening.

Shropshire based brewery, Hobsons has launched a special edition beer “Old Comrade” to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Royal British Legion branch in Cleobury Mortimer, home to the award-winning brewery.

The national institution of the Royal British Legion was founded in May 1921, the vibrant market town in south Shropshire was quick off the mark setting up a local branch in July 1921 making Cleobury one of the oldest branches in the country and now probably the first to have its own beer!

Crafted using the finest locally harvested hops and barley teamed with Hobsons brewing craftsmanship, the award winning Shropshire brewer has created a fresh crisp 4.2% abv real ale labeled “Old Comrade”. Not only have Hobsons brewed a beer to enjoy during the celebrations, 5p from each bottle sale will be donated to the Poppy Appeal as donned on the label.

Nick Davis, Owner of Hobsons Brewery commented: “We at the brewery are very proud to have one of the first founded Royal British Legion branches in the country and felt compelled to support their celebrations and create something which could be enjoyed by members but also allowed us to give something back.”

The commemorative beer will be available in 500ml bottles both off trade and on trade from May 23rd. Hobsons are looking to distribute “Old Comrade” via existing stockiest but are looking for a retail partner to allow the product to be distributed nationally.

Hobsons established in 1993 has gained a reputation for brewing delicious real ales available in cask and bottle. Hobsons has a strong ethos towards supporting its local community, sourcing the best ingredients from local producers and developing sustainable technologies including installing a wind turbine on site. The green credentials and innovative thinking has earned the Shropshire brewer the national title of Best Green Business from SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers).

For more information about Old Comrade contact the Marketing Department on 01299 270837 or visit www.hobsons-brewery.co.uk

The Ormskirk Baron, a judge at the Wales and West beer competition has sent us a write up of his experiences.

View his blog here.

Dorothy is getting geared up to set sail to Saint Petersburg along with her Imperial Stout on The Great Baltic Adventure…

On Saturday 14th May Dorothy Goodbody’s Imperial Stout is one of 14 beers which will set sail on the 60ft clipper, Thermopylae, from the Thames through the Baltic to arrive in Saint Petersburg in June.

This journey is a celebration of the Imperial Russian Stout heritage. Mini beer festivals will be held along the way, but the casks of Imperial Stout will be unbroached until they reach Saint Petersburg. On her journey Dorothy will visit Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki.

Wye Valley Brewery brewed Dorothy Goodbody’s Imperial Stout in 2010 to celebrate its 25th year of brewing, said brewery Managing Director Vernon Amor ‘We are really excited to be sending Dorothy on The Great Baltic Adventure, and we’re the only brewery in the West Midlands to be setting sail. A trip like this hasn’t been attempted for centuries so it’s a unique opportunity to export some of our finest Dorothy Goodbody’s Imperial Stout.

On arrival in Saint Petersburg, there will be a beer festival and beer judging to celebrate a trip which has not been attempted for 200 years.

Pictured brewery Chairman Peter Amor, in the mini as he whisks Dorothy off to London for her trip to Saint Petersburg.

At the recent SIBA Wales & West Region Beer Competition 2011, Wye Valley Brewery came away with 1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze award for the quality of its beers. Dorothy Goodbody’s Country Ale cruised home with Gold in the Premium Strong Bitters category.

Country Ale has a strong pedigree at this event after scooping Gold in 2009, and in 2010 going on to win the Champion Strong Ale at the SIBA National Beer Competition.

The judging took place at the Ludlow Spring Festival last weekend where over 200 beers were entered. Along with the gold, Wye Valley Brewery was also awarded three silvers for bottled beers HPA, Dorothy Goodbody’s Wholesome Stout and Dorothy Goodbody’s Country Ale. In addition, Wye Valley Bitter was also awarded bronze in the standard strength bitters category.

Said Head Brewer Jimmy Swan, ‘We have just celebrated our busiest ever month in April, and following on from a fantastic 25th year in 2010 when the brewery won BBC Radio 4 Best Drinks Producer, Wye Valley looks set for another record year! ‘

Dorothy Goodbody’s Country ale is a strong, full-bodied rugby ale. It is available as a bottle conditioned beer, and can be enjoyed on its own or with a tasty beef casserole!

Pictured the team of brewers and production staff at Wye Valley Brewery

Monty’s Brewery Is Firmly On The Map at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) Wales and West competition at Ludlow Castle on 6th May 2011, Monty’s Brewery, of Powys in Mid Wales, walked away with a hoard of 5 awards.

‘Ding Dong’, which is the brewery’s Christmas beer, won Bronze in the bottled golden beer category,

‘Mischief’, which is a fabulous golden bitter’ won Bronze in the strong bitter category.

‘Sunshine’, which is the first recipe that Monty’s Brewery made, won Silver in the Best Bitters category.

‘Midnight’ won GOLD in the Porters, strong milds, old ales and stouts category.

All GOLD winners from each category then went on to be judged for Champion Beer of the competition, where Monty’s ‘Midnight’ won Silver.

These are not the first awards for Monty’s ‘Midnight’, which is a dark, smooth stout packed with rich dark flavours. In 2009 it won Silver in the Stout and Porter category at the Winter Beer of Wales competition and in 2010 it won Bronze at the Wales True Taste Awards in the Beer, Cider and Perry under 10 per cent category.

This young brewery is now firmly on the map and is receiving orders for beer from all over the UK. Enquiries for visits and tastings at their pub, the ‘Sportsman’ in Newtown, are at an all time high, as are orders for home delivery of bottled beers.

Monty’s owner and head brewer Pam Honeyman is one of only a handful of female brewers in the UK. She said:

“The team have always strived to create quality real ales that are consistently full of flavour and these awards will be proudly displayed. Our thanks go out to SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) for organising a fantastic event, the people at Ludlow Castle who provided the perfect back drop for the festival, all the judges that voted for our beers and to all our customers for supporting us throughout the last two years.”

Article taken from Welsh Country

Butchers and brewers have joined forces to create a one-off beer-flavoured sausage at Ludlow Spring Festival.
Corvedale Brewery and Fordhall Organic Farm unveiled their creation as thousands of fun-seekers descended on Ludlow today for a weekend-long celebration of beer, bread and bangers at the town’s festival.

Real ale, bread, bangers and other treats were on the menu for the annual event. Norman Pearce, from Corvedale Brewery based at The Sun Inn in Corfton, near Craven Arms, predicted visitors would be amazed by the tasty beer sausages, cooked by chefs from the Market Drayton farmshop.

Mr Pearce said: “We have done a test run and they really were very good sausages indeed. But we now want to create a stronger beer taste in this batch so we are using three different strong flavoured beers of ours – Katie’s Pride mild ale, Dark and Delicious bitter and St George’s stout – to give the sausages a dark, distinct and rich flavour.

“They are only going to be available this week so people need to get in quick.”

Visitors were also being given the opportunity to try Marches perry and cider and wine, to enjoy magical music and to observe classic vehicles at close quarters. Spokeswoman Beth Heath said bumper crowds were expected and it was hoped that showers forecast for Sunday would not put a damper on the event.

Will Holland, the Michelin-starred head chef at La Becasse, in Corve Street, will present a Michelin-style bread, beer and bangers event from 3pm.

For more information visit www.ludlowspringfestival.co.uk

Picture in the Shropshire Star

Salopian Brewery of Shrewsbury has continued its successful year with a string of awards at the recent Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Wales and West Beer Competition. The event held at the recent Ludlow Spring Beer Festival, saw Salopian win an amazing eight awards.

Set in the beautiful grounds of Ludlow Castle the festival featured over 140 ales from the West and Wales. Judges from across the country gathered to find the best cask and bottled beers from the region. After many hours of judging Salopian Brewery’s Golden Thread was announced as the overall Champion of the Festival for casks beers. With this award Salopian Brewery has now received the overall champion for the last three years running.

The brewery also picked up gold medals in the cask competition for its golden ale Oracle and the current CAMRA Champion Beer of the West Midlands Lemon Dream was also awarded gold in the specialty beer category.

For the second time in three years Darwin’s Origin was selected as the Champion bottled beer of the region after first winning gold in its category.

Wilf Nelson, managing director of Salopian Brewery said “it was a fantastic achievement to win both the cask and bottled beer competitions at such a prestigious event and to have now been the overall champion for the past three years is a great indication to the high level of consistency and quality of the Salopian Beers.”