For several decades, CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival has been associated with the iconic Victorian exhibition hall at Olympia but the winter festival has not always been held anywhere so picturesque. 2023 was the exception. In February, the Great British Beer Festival – Winter (GBBF-W), was held, appropriately, in Britain’s Capital of Brewing, at Burton Town Hall, another eye-catching Grade II-listed Victorian building.
Already the home of CAMRA’s annual National Breweriana Auction and the Burton Beer Festival, the venue is no stranger to playing host to beer aficionados. The main hall, overlooked by a lovely stained glass window, housed the main bar area, while the Winter Champion Beer of Britain bar was in a side room. It is planned that this will be GBBF-W’s home for the next two years. Although the beers available were mainly stouts, porters, barley wines and strong old ales, there were also some lighter, more hoppy ales to keep everyone happy. Ciders and perries were, of course, also available.
This was the first time that the GBBF-W had been held since 2020 because of the pandemic. Consequently, it was also the first time the final judging of CAMRA’s Champion Winter Beer of Britain had been held for three years. And what a treat the taste buds were in for! Nearly sixty different beers were divided into six different beer style categories and were assessed by thirty-six judges, comprising trained CAMRA judges, brewers, beer writers and representatives from the trade, publicans and beer writers. If you think that choosing a winner of each style category was difficult, the final panel had an even harder job, judging the six category winners to decide on the overall champion. The six category winners were:
Category Winner Brown Ales, Red Ales, Old Ales and Strong Milds Brampton Mild Session Stouts and Porters Dancing Duck Dark Drake Strong Stouts and Porters Elland 1872 Beer Barley Wines and Strong Ales Robinsons’ Old Tom Speciality, Differently Produced Chapter’s Dead Man’s Fist Speciality, Flavoured Marble’s Earl Grey IPA
The Champion Winter Beer of Britain (Gold) was, for the fourth time, Elland’s 1872 Porter from West Yorkshire. This is a 6.5% ABV deep ruby porter described as, ‘A jet black strong porter, with alcohol, green apples and chocolate on the nose. Complex but easy drinking, the fruitiness fades to a roasted dryness where the sweet chocolate lingers and spiciness builds’. Elland Brewery’s Scott Hutchinson thanked everyone involved and added, “As a tiny independent cask brewery, the support of CAMRA and its members is utterly invaluable to us. Steve, Joe, Rob and Scott (for that is all of us) would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who continues to trust our commitment to quality traditional ales. Like everyone else, Elland Brewery has had to weather some storms in the past couple of years. Lockdown tried to end us, the current economic climate is rocking the boat, the UK pub trade is taking a hammering, cask is always under threat but we firmly believe that cask is king and quality will always shine.”
The runners up were (Silver) Robinsons’ Old Tom (8.5% ABV) from Manchester and (Bronze) Dancing Duck’s Dark Drake (4.5% ABV) from Derbyshire. All six category winners now go forward to the final judging of CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain competition at this summer’s Great British Beer
Festival (1 to 5 August; see https://gbbf.org.uk). Look out for these beers, they are all worth sampling.
There were no prizes in any category for London breweries.
A date for your diary: this year’s Breweriana Auction will be held on 21 October. See here.
Christine Cryne