SIBA Wales & West beer competition

The SIBA beer competition was held in Ludlow yesterday and there were some very good results for Welsh breweries, especially Celt Experience of Caerphilly who took both the Gold and the Silver of the overall competition. Full results below:

Overall Champion of the Competition
Gold Celt Experience Celt Golden 4.2

Silver Celt Experience Celt Dark Age 4.0
Bronze Cotswold Spring Brewery OSM 3.9
Standard Mild Ales
Sponsored by Clarke Dove (Insurance Brokers) Ltd
Gold Cotswold Spring Brewery OSM 3.9
Silver Hobsons Brewery Hobsons Mild 3.2
Bronze Prescott Ales Seasons Best Spring 3.8
Standard Bitters
Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons
Gold Stonehouse Brewery Station Bitter 3.9
Silver Rowton Brewery Total Eclipse 3.8
Bronze Salopian Brewery Shropshire Gold 3.8
Best Bitters Sponsored by Charles Faram & Co Ltd
Gold Celt Experience Celt Golden 4.2
Silver Salopian Brewery Oracle 4.0
Bronze Tiny Rebel Brew Co. FUBAR 4.4
Premium Bitters
Sponsored by Warminster Maltings
Gold Tiny Rebel Brew Co. Billabong 4.6
Silver Tiny Rebel Brew Co. Cwtch 4.6
Bronze Cerddin Brewery Cascade 4.8
Strong Bitters
Sponsored by Jigsaw Bag in Box Ltd
Gold Salopian Brewery Golden Thread 5.0
Silver Cotswold Spring Brewery Trooper 5.2
Bronze Hobsons Brewery Hobsons Old Henry 5.2
Premium Strong BeersSponsored by Bush & Associates
Gold Salopian Brewery Automaton 7.0
Silver Otley Brewing Company Motley Brew 7.5
Bronze Cotswold Spring Brewery Walloonatic 8.5

Porters, Stouts, Old Ales and Strong Milds
Sponsored by Brewery Plastics
Gold Celt Experience Celt Dark Age 4.0
Silver Stonehouse Brewery Off The Rails 4.8
Bronze Bespoke Brewing Co Ltd Money for Old Rope 4.8
Speciality Beers
Sponsored by freerbutler graphic design
Gold Salopian Brewery Lemon Dream 4.5
Silver Purple Moose Brewery Ltd Ysgawen 4.0
Bronze The Six Bells Brewery Cloud Nine 4.2
Bottled Beers
Sponsored by Label Apeel
Gold Celt Experience Celt Bleddyn 5.6
Silver Salopian Brewery Oracle 4.0
Bronze Bird’s Brewery Apocalypse 4.8
Bottled Bitter (up to 4.9%)
Sponsored by Murphy & Son Ltd 
Gold Bird’s Brewery Apocalypse 4.8
Silver Cotswold Spring Brewery Codger 4.2
Bronze Bespoke Brewing Co Ltd Saved by the Bell 3.8
Bottled Bitters (over 5%)
Sponsored by Muntons Plc
Gold Celt Experience Celt Bleddyn 5.6
Silver Cotswold Spring Brewery Trooper 5.2
Bronze Celt Experience Celt Ogham Willow Imperial IPA 8.8
Bottled Gold Beers
Sponsored by Croxsons
Gold Salopian Brewery Oracle 4.0
Silver Stonehouse Brewery Sunlander 3.7
Bronze Ludlow Brewing Co Ltd Gold 4.2
Bottled Speciality Beers
Sponsored by VIGO Limited
Gold Purple Moose Brewery Ltd Ysgawen 4.0
Silver Stroud Brewery Teasel 4.2
Bronze The Waen Brewery Chilli Plum Porter 6.1

Bottled Porters, Milds, Old Ales & Stouts
Sponsored by Bollington Insurance Brokers Limited
Gold Gloucester Brewery Dockside Dark 5.4
Silver Cotswold Spring Brewery Guv’nor 4.6
Bronze The Waen Brewery Blackberry Stout 3.8

Purple Moose and the Magnificent Seven!

A multi-award winning brewery won another seven awards at the SIBA Wales and West Awards last week with Purple Moose walking off with the overall Silver Award and another 6 medals.

Above: Owner Lawrence collects a trophy for Ysgawen

A stunning result at this year's Wales & West Regional Beer Competition in Ludlow, hosted by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) saw Purple Moose Brewery walk away with no less than seven awards, including three trophies.


Owner Lawrence Washington is particularly pleased as, aside from regular winners Snowdonia Ale and Dark Side of the Moose, four of the accolades were awarded to Ysgawen - Purple Moose Brewery's brand new elderflower beer, in its first competition.

The awards are:

Cwrw Eryri/Snowdonia Ale
Silver in category (cask)

Ochr Dywyll y Mŵs/Dark Side of the Moose
Silver in category (bottles)
Gold in category (cask)

Ysgawen

Gold in category (bottles)

Bronze Overall (bottles)

Gold in category (cask)

Silver Overall

Lawrence commented, "I had a very good feeling about Ysgawen when we first brewed it. We have created another stunning beer and I had my fingers crossed for it in the competition. To win its category in both cask and bottle, and then claim silver overall is simply outstanding. Not a bad achievement really when, including the bottles, there were a record 250 entries in the competition from across Wales and the West of England. I am so pleased for all of us at the brewery. It really means a lot."

Monty's Brewery sweeps the boards at Ludlow

Some news from SIBA:

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

Pubs to pay for diversity coordinators

The rate of pub closures may have dropped to 25 a week but it is still an industry in decline. So what have the Local Government Association (LGA) successfully lobbied for? Well an increase in fees that pubs pay for their licence! Yet another tax on the pub will form part of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill and will allow councils to set the fees they charge pubs.

As anyone who has had regular dealings with local councils over the years, it is a fact that the majority of these councils are overstaffed and inefficient, employing jobsworths and busybodies whose sole purpose in life is to stilffle new business and interfere in successful business with more red tape.

Jobsworth and apologist for council non-jobs Cllr Nilgun Canver, the LGA’s licensing busybody, said it was “vital for public protection” that councils can take swift action against individuals and pubs, but “it all costs money”.
She added: “Operating the current licensing system has cost council tax payers over £100m more than anticipated and given the current economic climate, could not be sustained.”

Well my answer is to give licencing back to the courts where it was dealt with at a far cheaper cost to the taxpayer. A publican I know used to pay £50 every two years to renew his licence, this has now increased to over £250 a year for the same bit of paper that allows him to selll beer in his pub. So the obvious answer is that the ineficient council cannot do the job in a cost-effect way so the solution is to take the job away from the council. Better for the publican and the consumer all round.

Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, said the new plans will have a “devastating impact on pubs, bars and restaurants across the country”.
He added: “Councils are already facing significant budget cuts so the temptation will be all too great to use licensing fees as a revenue raising exercise.”

Martin Rawlings, director of pub & leisure at the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “This does not sit well with the freeze on small business regulation which the Chancellor announced last week.
“In our meetings with the Home Office we have consistently made the point that if the government is intent on introducing locally set fees, then they must be capped in the same way as gaming licence fees. We will continue to lobby hard for a national cap on licensing fees in the regulations.”

And licensees are fearing the worst after news of the change on fees. Andy Brooks of the Laughing Fish, Isfield, East Sussex, said his fixed costs were already far too high.
“For our licence fees to go up as well will be a real blow,” he said. “It’s about time this government and the LGA did something for pus and stopped adding to the difficulties we face.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Under our proposal, Licensing Authorities will be able to set the level of the fee within a nationally-set cap. The level of the cap will be set out in regulations which will be consulted on before being introduced.”
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill is due to become law next year.

Hat Tip to SIBA for the story

Breconshire Brewery shows pride in British Beer

From Brew Wales

The Breconshire Brewery has lent its weight to a national campaign from the Society of Independent Brewers, by sending a copy of its ‘Proud of British Beer’ film to local Member of Parliament Roger Williams MP, in advance of the imminent Budget.

Breconshire Head Brewer, Buster Grant, was one of the 25 brewers to take a role in the short film, launched earlier this month, which celebrates British beer and the British pub where it is enjoyed by millions of people every week. ‘Proud of British Beer’ is not just a ‘feel good’ movie, it also sends a stern warning about damage caused by the government’s beer taxation policy – pub closures are currently running at 29 per week. “Stop the duty increases – show some pride in British beer”, implores a group of brewers in the film’s end frame.

Buster Grant commented, “We are proud to brew British beer, as are the other brewers from across the whole country who feature in this film. We hope that our message about beer duty is heard by MPs like Roger Williams MP who have it in their power to stop the increases and with it the decimation of our industry.”

Tax on UK beer has increased by some 40% since the millennium, and itis expected that there will be another 7% increase at the Budget - unless MPs act now. UK beer tax equates to 40% of the total beer tax in the EU - an astonishing figure. Taxes now make up over the half of the price of a pint in the pub - yet beer is a low alcoholic strength drink, with known health benefits when consumed in moderation. Pubs are responsible drinking enviroments, yet the ever increasing tax on beer (especially in relation to spirits) is driving pubs out of business, and drinkers out of safe, social, responsible enviroments. Even the Treasury's own figures state that the actual revenue from Beer Duty decreases with every subsequent increase in the tax.

The Breconshire Brewery was founded in 2002 by CH Marlow Ltd, and is at the forefront of the revival of the Welsh Brewing Industry. Buster Grant, the Head Brewer, acts as the Welsh Director of SIBA and is also the Chairman of the Association of Welsh Independent Brewers, a group that wholeheartedly supports this film and its message. The Brewery only uses British ingredients, and is proud to brew some of the best beers in the world.

It's time to take pride in the British Brewing Industry. 

SIBA Award winners - Wales and West

SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers held their Wales and West competition at Ludlow Castle last week and although the Brew Wales editor was invited along to be judge it, he could not attend as was busy running a CAMRA beer bar at Tredegar House Folk/Dance Festival.
Well done to all the winners, especially Norman at Corvedale who came second overall with his St George's Stout. No doubt we can all look forward to seeing this beer at forthcoming CAMRA beer festivals, especially those local ones in Shropshire.
The full list of winners is available here
List of Welsh winners:
Mild: Bronze for Great Orme Brewery Welsh Black

Best Bitter: Silver for Breconshire Brewery Cribyn

Premium Bitter: Silver for Tudor Brewery Sugarloaf

Strong Bitter: Gold for Waen Brewery Landmark

Strong Ale: Gold for Celt Experience Bleddyn 1075

Porters, Strong Milds and Stouts: Silver for Waen Brewery Blackcurrant Stout

Speciality Beers: Silver for Otley Brewery O-Garden

SIBA finds some balls

From the Morning Advertiser:

SIBA chief executive Julian Grocock has slammed the “health nannies” he claims are targeting alcohol as the new tobacco.


Last week at the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, Grocock criticised the health lobbyists who blame the trade for binge drinking.
“I contend that we (the brewing industry) are better organised around people and their health and welfare than any lobby prohibitionists who want to haul us over the coals towards complete oblivion.”

He added: “I confess that I view the health nannies with the same kind of mistrust and suspicion that I sued to view those people in my village who I never got to know simply because they didn’t go to the pub.”
This year’s conference focuses on people power and the vital importance of people in the industry.
Stratford-upon-Avon mayor Jenny Fradgley gave a rousing introduction, praising the role that real ale plays in combating binge drinking.
“Beer is a delight and should be drunk in company in traditional pubs,” she said.