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.”

Congratulations to Salopian Golden Thread, Overall Champion of the competition.

For full results click here

Photos available on facebook

A BARRY-BASED real ale reviewer has become an internet hit Stateside as Royal followers and beer fans drink to William and Catherine’s big day!

Former Royal Hotel barman Simon Martin, now rated Europe’s number one craft reviewer after his YouTube postings became a world-wide hit, took delivery of two Royal Ales to assess in advance of the Wedding Day.

The dad-of-three obliged and did the patriotic thing – in sampling the beers – to enable American viewers get a taste of the event.

Simon, of Moxton Street, Cadoxton, said the Windsor Knot was a pale ale with a grapefruit and citrus flavour and had been brewed very well.

And the Adnams Southwold Royal Wedding Ale had ‘instantly filled the room with its honey aroma’ and tasted really good.

Beer fan Hopzine, talking about the Windsor Knot, said: “I was very entertained that every time you mentioned the royal couple you forgot their names and had to check the bottle – that’s the Welsh for you.”

El Harlock, of Canada, wrote: “Well that head is about as thin on top as William, but the beer itself seems to be as fine as Kate Middleton looks. Fair trade-off!”

And Kie77 added: “They should get that in at the wedding. This review should bag you an invitation there.”

Simon, who has been invited to act as head judge at the Wales and West Regional Beer Competition 2011 in Ludlow, said he had felt honoured that Adnams, of Southwold and the Windsor and Eton Brewery had chosen him to taste their royal themed beers.

He added: “Adnams have told me they always brew a Royal Wedding Ale.”

To watch Simons reviews, visit www.youtube.com/realaleguide Alternatively, visit Facebook and join the Real Ale Guide or log onto Twitter and follow Real Ale Today.

Article Taken from Barry & District News

Pete Brown has collaborated with the Otley Brewery to create a ginger and chocolate stout, to be sold this autumn.

Click here to see the video of Pete at Otley Brewery.

Nik Milo, head brewer at Cotswold Spring Brewery with the awards received for their Old Sodbury Mild ale

GLASSES are being raised at a brewery near Chipping Sodbury after one of its ales took the honours in a national beer competition.

Old Sodbury Mild, produced by the Cotswold Spring Brewery, was named supreme champion at the event organised by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

The ale had already been voted the best mild by the judges before scooping the major title and the 2011 crown.

Reaching the final stage was an achievement in itself, with more than 1,400 beers from breweries across the country originally entered for the contest.

The brewery, based in Codrington, has now been guaranteed a place for its champion ale at the Great British Beer Festival in London in the summer, an event which will be visited by more than 60,000 lovers of real ale.

John Worlock and Warren Bryant set up the brewery just six years ago when they decided they needed a change, recruiting master brewer Nik Milo.

They soon built up a following, as well as winning awards, and last year marked five years in business by winning prizes for three of their beers, including Old Sodbury Mild, which obviously tickled the judges’ taste buds.

John said: “I was very surprised that a mild became the supreme champion but mild beers do seem to be experiencing a resurgence.

“The award has come from the industry and for Nik it’s a real pat on the back.

“We work hard to make our beers the best and receiving the award is a bit like getting an Oscar.”

Four regular ales are produced, using Cotswold spring water, at Codrington – Olde English Rose, Codrington Codger, Gloucestershire’s Glory and the Codrington Royal.

But during the year a range of seasonal ales and specials are also brewed, including the Old Sodbury Mild

John said between 7,000 and 8,000 pints were currently being sent out a week from the brewery, which was open to anyone who wanted to call in and see the brewing process.

Julian Grocock, chief executive of SIBA, said: “The quality of craft beers produced by SIBA brewers improves every year, so our champion awards go to brewers who are truly the best of the best.

“Cotswold Spring Brewery’s skill, passion and dedication to creating great craft beer make it a deserving winner.”

Purple Moose Brewery is immensely proud to have been awarded the Bronze Medal, Class 2, in the International Dark Beer Competition at the Brewing Industry International Awards 2011. This is the first time the competition has run in six years and, returning to Britain, it was hosted at the National Brewery Centre in Burton-on-Trent.

This is the most prestigious worldwide beer competition and it receives entries from breweries large and small. The beers are judged by a panel of highly respected, experienced fellow brewers from around the globe. Run since 1886, this event is often dubbed ‘the Oscars of the brewing industry’ – and with good reason. An award is recognition by fellow professional brewers that a beer is an outstanding commercial example of its style.

For the full results from the awards click here.

Brewery owner Lawrence Washington attended the awards announcement in Burton, on Friday afternoon. Having only been brewing for five and a half years this was the first time that Purple Moose Brewery has been able to enter this competition. Lawrence commented, “We have been rewarded with a number of accolades for our beer in the relatively short time we have been brewing, but to be awarded a medal at these competitions is something very special. I am extremely proud of what my colleagues and I have achieved here in Porthmadog. Ultimately it serves as great assurance for our customers that our beers are among the very best in the country, even the world.”

FOUR small breweries in Ludlow and south Shropshire have good cause to celebrate the New Year after receiving grants of more than £130,000.

The Ludlow Brewing Company, in Ludlow, established by husband and wife partnership Gary and Alison Walters, has received a grant of £62,500 to help establish a 20- barrel brewing plant in a redundant railway shed.

Six Bells Brewery in Bishop’s Castle has received a grant of £53,000 to help treble its brewing capacity, replacing the existing 8-hectolitre brew plant with a new 25-hectolitre model using the latest energy saving technology.

And the Clun Brewery, in Clun, a new micro business started up by business partners Jack Limond and Matthew Williamson has netted a a grant of £8,000.

This will help them install a 2.5 barrel micro brewery at the rear of the White Horse Inn, owned and managed by Mr Limond since 2001.

Lastly, The Three Tuns Brewery in Bishop’s Castle –which has been brewing on site since 1642 – is improving its brewing process by installing a 24-barrel cold liquor storage vessel and new internal cooling radiator, supported by a grant for £9,000.

To view the full article go to:  Ludlow & Tenbury Wells Advertiser