Winners from the ‘Wales & West’ beer competition, run by SIBA, have been announced, with Salopian Brewery taking home the much coveted overall Gold in the cask competition with ‘Hoptwister’ and Gloucester Brewery winning overall champion in the small pack (bottle and can) competition with Gloucester Gold.

Beers from 65 different independent breweries were pitted against one another by 130 expert judges during the competition, which takes place at the Ludlow Spring Festival. The competition spans a range of categories, including everything from traditional bitters, stouts and milds to IPAs, pale ales, sour beers and specialty ales, being judged in both cask and small pack (can and bottle) format.

Jake Douglas, Director at Salopian Brewery had this to say on their win:

“We’re over the moon, it’s brilliant, we’ve won a number of awards this year but this one means the most. It’s a beer that ticks all the boxes for so many different people. Balanced, modern and hoppy, but really drinkable. We have a simple mantra that when people are drinking our beers they should get three quarters of the way through and want to have a another one, and this beer is great for that.”

Buster Grant, SIBA Competition Organiser, says these really are the best of the best:

“I would like to congratulate all of the category winners in what was an extremely high standard of competition this year. Particular praise must also be given to the overall champions who really are the best of the best in the region – I’m sure visitors to the festival are looking forward to getting their hands on these award winning beers.”

The awards, judged by brewers and beer industry experts, are seen as the pinnacle competition for craft brewers in the region. The beer festival, which continues today, allows members of the public to taste the Champion beers, along with around 200 others, in the beautiful setting of Ludlow Castle.

Overall Champion of the Competition

Sponsored by:  SPAsoft Ltd

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	Salopian Brewery	Hoptwister	4.5
Silver	Glamorgan Brewing Company	Jemimas Pitchfork	4.4
Bronze	Bespoke Brewing Co Ltd	Money for Old Rope	4.8

 

Standard Mild Ales & Brown Ales                                    

Sponsored by Clarke Dove (Insurance Brokers) Ltd

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	Prescott Ales	Spring Seasons Best	3.8
Silver	Big Hand Brewing Co. Ltd.	Little Monkey	4.0
Bronze	Bespoke Brewing Co Ltd	Kings Shilling	4.2

 

Standard Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by CBI Insurance

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	Combined Brewers Ltd	Nibley Ale	3.8
Silver	Purple Moose Brewery Ltd	Snowdonia Ale	3.6
Bronze	Tudor Brewery	Blorenge	3.8

 

Best Bitters & Pale Ale 

Sponsored by Charles Faram & Co Ltd

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	Glamorgan Brewing Company	Jemimas Pitchfork	4.4
Silver	Teme Valley Brewery	That	4.1
Bronze	BC Brewing & Pub Company Ltd	Back to Basics	4.2

 

Premium Bitters & Pale Ales 

Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	Salopian Brewery	Hoptwister	4.5
Silver	Glamorgan Brewing Company	Thunderbird	4.5
Bronze	Hobsons Brewery	Town Crier	4.5

 

Strong Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Crisp Malting Group

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	The Clun Brewery	Citadel	5.9
Silver	The Waen Brewery ltd	Landmark	5.5
Bronze	Hurns Brewing Company	Pecker Wrecker	5.0

 

Premium Strong Beers

Sponsored by Murphy & Son Ltd

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	Wobbly Brewing Co	IPA No3	6.0
Silver	Wye Valley Brewery	Dorothy Goodbody’s Country Ale	6.0
Bronze	Big Hand Brewing Co. Ltd.	Telekinesis	6.9

 

Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales

Sponsored by Close Brothers Brewery Rentals

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	Bespoke Brewing Co Ltd	Money for Old Rope	4.8
Silver	Hop & Stagger Brewery	Bridgnorth Porter	5.0
Bronze	Grey Trees Brewery	Valley porter	4.6

 

Speciality Beers

Sponsored by CBI Insurance Consultants

	Brewery	Product	ABV
Gold	The Waen Brewery ltd	Snowball	7.0
Silver	Stroud Brewery	Organic Smoked Porter	6.5
Bronze	Boss Brewing Company	Boss Bliss	4.6