Breweries compete for the ultimate beer award

CAMRA announces finalists in the Champion Beer of Britain competition

71 breweries are in the running for the prestigious Champion Beer of Britain Award, taking place on the opening day of the Great British Beer Festival (6 August).

Ranging from Swannay Brewery’s farmhouse brews hailing from the windswept tip of Orkney to serial winners such as Timothy Taylor and London’s Fullers – who have scooped 15 championship titles between them – the competition this year will be anything but boring.

This year’s entrants include:

Over 4,000 brewers, publicans, industry professionals and members of the press will descend to Olympia London to find out who has won, which will be announced on the centre stage at 3pm. Visitors will have an exclusive opportunity to sample the winning and finalist brews throughout the week, along with a thousand real ales, ciders, perries, wines and gins from across the UK and abroad.

Nick Boley, Champion Beer of Britain Coordinator said: “It is an incredibly exciting time for British brewers, and nowhere is this better reflected than in the Champion Beer of Britain competition, one of the most prestigious titles within the beer industry.

“From the largest and most established brewers such as Timothy Taylor and Fullers to the smallest startups such as Redwillow and Byatt’s, it is anyone’s guess who will win take home the title this year.”

The Champion Beer of Britain competition opens the Great British Beer Festival, which runs from 6-10 August at Olympia London. It marks the culmination of over a year of local tasting panels and regional heats by volunteers across the country. Judges will choose the winning beer based on its appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste across 10 categories.

Full list of breweries:

London & South East 

Five Points Brewing Company, London

Fullers, London

West Berkshire Brewery, Berkshire

Bingham Brewery, Reading

Bishop Nick, Essex

Crouch Vale, Chelmsford

Kent Brewery, Kent

Surrey Hills Brewing Ltd, Surrey

Irving & Company Brewing Ltd, Portsmouth

South West

Bay’s Brewery, Devon

Hanlons Brewery, Devon

Otter Brewery, Devon

Driftwood Spars Brewery, Cornwall

Tintagel, Cornwall

Bath Ales, Bath

Bristol Beer Factory, Bristol

Butcombe, Bristol

Moor Beer Co, Bristol

Plain Ales Brewery, Warminster

Wye Valley Brewery, Hereford

The Midlands

Batemans, Lincolnshire

Blue Monkey Brewing, Nottingham

Castle Rock Brewery, Nottingham

Dancing Duck, Derby

Redwillow, Macclesfield

Titanic Brewery, Stoke-on-Trent

Abbeydale, Sheffield

Acorn, Barnsley

Byatt’s Brewery, Coventry

Church End, Nuneaton

Holden’s Brewery, Dudley

Salopian Brewery, Shrewsbury

Three Tuns, Shropshire

East Anglia

Calverley’s, Cambridge

Green Jack, Lowestoft

Lacons Brewery, Lowestoft

S&P brewery, Norfolk

Shortts Farm Brewery, Suffolk

Wolf Brewery, Norwich

Oakham Ales, Peterborough

Baker’s Dozen Brewing Co, Peterborough

The Grainstore Brewery & Tap, Peterborough

Colchester Brewery, Colchester

North West 

Bank Top Brewery, Bolton

Marble Brewery, Manchester

Pictish Brewing Co, Rochdale

Brimstage Brewery, The Wirral

Weetwood, Chester

Coniston Brewing Co, Lake District

South Lakes, Lake District

Ulverston, Lake District

North East 

Big Lamp Brewery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Little Valley, Yorkshire

Brass Castle Brewery, Yorkshire

Fernandes Brewery Tap & Bier Keller, Wakefield

Timothy Taylor Brewery, Bradford

Vocation Brewery, Huddersfield

Scotland

Belhaven Brewery, Dunbar

Black Isle Brewing Co, Munlochy

Cromarty Brewing Co, Inverness

Loch Lomond Brewery, Loch Lomond

Fyne Ales, Loch Lomond

Swannay Brewery, Orkney

Tryst Brewery, Larbert

Windswept Brewing Co, Lossiemouth

Wales

Conwy, Colwyn Bay

Greytrees, Aberdare

Monty’s Brewery, Montgomery

Purple Moose, Porthmadog

Rhymney, Pontypool

Tiny Rebel, Newport

About the Great British Beer Festival

The Great British Beer Festival is one of the biggest, most exciting and well-known events in the beer and cider world. Organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and run by volunteers, it brings hundreds of real ales, international beers and real ciders and perries under the iconic Olympia roof. Tickets can be purchased online: http://gbbf.org.uk

The festival opening times are:

Tuesday 6th August – 12 noon-5pm (Trade Session)

Tuesday 6th August – 5pm-10:30pm (Public Session)

Wednesday 7th August – 12 noon-10:30pm

Thursday 8th August – 12 noon-10:30pm

Friday 9th August – 12 noon-10:30pm

Saturday 10th August – 11am-7:00pm

Last Admission: half an hour before close.