Warwickshire Bitter wins Olympia Gold
Added: Tuesday, August 8th 2017
A bitter beer first brewed as a one-off for a pub in Lincolnshire has walked away with the prestigious Champion Beer of Britain award at the Great British Beer Festival at London Olympia.
Goats Milk was produced by the Church End brewery in Warwickshire for the Goat pub in Market Deeping in Lincolnshire but proved so popular that it’s become a regular beer in the brewery’s range.
Paul Hamblett from Church End, seen with the trophy awarded at the CAMRA festival, says “It wasn’t a name we would have chosen but it just stuck.”
Head brewer Carl Graves says the 3.8% beer has a simple recipe of Maris Otter pale malt with a touch of crystal malt and malted wheat and is hopped with American Cascade and Chinook hops.
The judges on the final panel said the beer was the stand-out one among the six finalists and praised its fine balance of malt and hops and refreshing palate.
The winners
Mild
Bronze Winter’s Mild
Silver West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild
Gold Rudgate Ruby Mild
Bitter
Bronze Triple fff Alton’s Pride & Sambrook Wandle Ale
Silver Bishop Nick Ridley’s Rite
Gold Church End Goats Milk
Best Bitter
Bronze Surrey Hills Shere Drop & West Berkshire Good Old Boy
Silver Blackedge Pike
Gold Tiny Rebel Cwtch
Golden Ale
Bronze Oakham Citra & Ludlow Gold
Silver Fyne Ale Jarl
Gold Blue Monkey Infinity
Strong Bitter
Bronze Salopian Automaton
Bronze Barngate Red Bull Terrier
Gold Greytrees Afghan Pale
Speciality
Silver Cromarty Red Rocket & Black Port Porter
Gold Saltaire Triple Chocoholic
Overall winners
Bronze Tiny Rebel Cwtch
Silver Bishop Nick Ridley’s Rite
Gold Church End Goats Milk
