SIBA Beer Competitions

Results

June 24th, 2009

A beer brewed in a disused milking parlour has won the supreme championship in SIBA’s 2008 National Beer Competition.

Severn Sins, a dark stout from Severn Vale Brewing Company, which is based on a farm in the Cotswolds village of Cam, beat 342 other draught ales, ranging from milds to speciality beers, on its way to being voted national champion.

Brewery owner Steve McDonald received his trophy when the results were announced at SIBA’s annual conference in York on 7 March.

Steve and his family put in a year of hard work to convert the milking parlour, on the outskirts of the Gloucestershire town of Dursley, into a brewery that they hoped would provide top-quality traditional ales for pubs in the county and beyond.

“Our dream has come true with winning this award,” said Steve. “It’s been worth all the hard work.”

The brewery now supplies more than 50 pubs, including the Old Spots in Dursley, which last month was named as National Pub of the Year by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, a unique double for the town.

On its way to victory in the annual SIBA competition, Severn Sins – brewed at 5.2% ABV – was voted champion in the class for porters, strong milds, old ales and stouts by a panel of expert judges at the contest’s finals day in Hereford.

There were eight classes of beer being judged in all, each made up of the winners of SIBA’s seven regional competitions staged during the past 12 months. Severn Sins won the gold medal in its class at the SIBA Wales & West contest.

Supreme Champions

Position	Full Name of Brewery	Full Name of Beer	ABV %
Gold	Severn Vale Brewing Co	Severn Sins	5.2
Silver	Moorhouses Brewery Co Ltd	Premier	3.7
Bronze	Vale Brewery Company	Gravitas	4.8

Champion Bitters

Champion Best Bitters (4.1 to 4.5% abv)

Champion Premium Bitters

Champion Strong Ales (5% +)

Sponsored by Microdat.co.uk Limited

Position	Full Name of Brewery	Full Name of Beer	ABV %
Gold	Hogs Back Brewery Ltd	A Over T	9.0
Silver	Whim Ales Ltd	Flower Power	5.3
Bronze	Ossett Brewery	Excelsior	5.2

Champion Milds

Sponsored by Spa-soft

Position	Full Name of Brewery	Full Name of Beer	ABV %
Gold	The Highland Brewing Co Ltd	Dark Munro	4.0
Silver	Castle Rock Brewery	Black Gold	3.8
Bronze	Elgood & Sons Ltd	Black Dog	3.6

Champion Porters, Strong Milds, Old Ales & Stouts

Sponsored by Lallemand UK Ltd

Position	Full Name of Brewery	Full Name of Beer	ABV %
Gold	Severn Vale Brewing Co	Severn Sins	5.2
Silver	Beartown Brewery	Polar Eclipse	4.8
Bronze	Amber Ales Ltd	Original Black Stout	4.0

Speciality Beers

Sponsored by Smurfit Kappa

Position	Full Name of Brewery	Full Name of Beer	ABV %
Gold	Oakleaf Brewing Co Ltd	I Can’t Believe it’s not Bitter	4.9
Silver	Sinclair Breweries Ltd	Atlas Wayfarer	4.4
Bronze	Jarrow Brewery	Westoe IPA	4.6

Champion Bottled Beers

Sponsored by Brewlab Ltd

Position	Full Name of Brewery	Full Name of Beer	ABV %
Gold	Sinclair Breweries Ltd	Atlas Latitude	3.9
Silver	Westerham Brewery Co Ltd	William Wilberforce Freedom Ale	4.8
Bronze	Mauldons Ltd	Black Adder	5.3

Position	Full Name of Brewery	Full Name of Beer	ABV %
Gold	The Cairngorm Brewery Co Ltd	Trade Winds	4.3
Silver	The Otley Brewing Co Ltd	CO2	4.2
Bronze	Surrey Hills Brewery Ltd	Shere Drop	4.2