‘Black Cat’ & ‘Windsor & Eton’ Beers Named Best in London & South East by Brewers
Yesterday evening saw beers from East Sussex’s Black Cat Brewery and Berkshire’s Windsor & Eton Brewery take home Gold in the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) South East Independent Beer Awards.
SIBA Chairman Guy Sheppard, who presented the awards and is himself a brewer, had this to say on the entries this year,
“The quality of entries and the diversity of flavours on offer seem to increase every single year and this competition was no different, with some absolutely fantastic beers taking home the overall Gold awards. To win their category and then go forward to take the overall top spots through several rounds of blind tastings is a feat the brewers should be extremely proud of and I would encourage any beer lovers in the area to come down and try them at the festival, or seek them out in their local pub, beer shop or bar.”
The Overall Champion of the Competition was awarded to Tzar Imperial Stout by Black Cat Brewery, with judges impressed by the complexity and depth of flavour in this beer which takes its cue from the heavy and full-flavoured dark beers once exported to Imperial Russia in the 18th Century.
Brian Wratten from Black Cat Brewery accepted the award on behalf of his son Paul, who is the brewer,
“I’m absolutely delighted, over the moon to be able to accept this award on behalf of my son, the brewer at Black Cat. He puts a huge amount of effort into getting the right taste for all of his beers but this one in particular has developed and improved over time.”
Windsor & Eton Brewery took home Overall Gold in the Smallpack (bottled and canned) competition with Uprising Treason, a West Coast style IPA which delivers punchbowl fruit flavours and a pleasantly bitter, lingering aftertaste.
Paddy Johnson, brewer and one of the three founders of Windsor & Eton, had this to say when accepting the award,
“We work relentlessly to constantly improve as a brewery and make the absolute best we can and its an absolute delight to win this award, it means so much to us. Everyone at the brewery will be absolutely delighted.”
The beers are judged blind by fellow brewers during rigorous rounds of tastings as part of the Society of Independent Brewers South East independent beer competition, which took place yesterday prior to the opening of the SIBA Beer Festival at Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club in Tonbridge, where the beers are also being served today.
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For further information contact PR Manager Neil Walker on neil.walker@siba.co.uk
To see the full results visit:
http://www.siba.co.uk/events/regional-competitions/south-east/2016-2
