North Yorkshire breweries take top titles at regional showdown
A SERIOUS supping session to determine the very best of the region’s independently crafted beers has produced a list of champions, headed up by two of North Yorkshire’s most innovative brewers.
In what was a highly competitive showdown of real ale, craft beer and local lager, Knaresborough-based Roosters and Walmgate-located brewery plus tap room success story Brew York emerged with the two top awards.
With their classic Americanstyle session pale ale, Keras, Brew York won the prestigious overall Gold award in the cask competition at the Society of Independent Brewers’ (SIBA) North East Independent Beer Awards.
Staged at B-Fest, a beer, blues and folk festival held within York’s Barbican Centre on Friday and Saturday, brewers and beer experts also picked out Roosters’ as the overall small pack (bottle and can) winner for their punchy, four-hopped Twenty-Four-Seven Session IPA.
Roosters owner Ian Fozard said: “This win is a real tribute to the brewery team and all the hard work they put in perfecting the beers.”
Roosters and Brew York beat competition for the major titles from fellow brewers based across Yorkshire, Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.
Guy Shepherd, SIBA’s competitions committee chairman, said: “Very well done to the winners. The day highlighted the high quality of beers coming out of the North East region.”
The best cask standard mild and brown ale was Rudgate’s Ruby Mild, the best cask standard bitter and pale ale was Settle Brewing Company’s Mainline Bitter and the winning premium bitter and pale ale was Wold Top’s Wold Gold.
Champion cask premium strong beer was Cullercoats’ Fortification and best cask porter was Settle’s Nine Standards No. 3.
There were also Gold wins across the 21 award categories by, among others, Yorkshire Heart, Daleside, Hambleton Ales and Black Sheep.