South Yorkshire beer named among 20 best in Britain could be named nation's number one

A South Yorkshire brewed beer has been one of the top 20 in Britain - and is in the running to be named the nation's number one.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Aug 2016, 15:37 BST
Updated 25th Aug 2016, 15:42 BST
Dave Hughes of Barnsley's Acorn Brewery.Dave Hughes of Barnsley's Acorn Brewery.
Dave Hughes of Barnsley's Acorn Brewery.

Darkness, brewed by Barnsley's Acorn Brewery has been voted among the best twenty beers of 2016 at the Great British Beer Festival in London.

The finalists are all in contention to be named best in their categories, including bitters, milds and strong beers, and the Supreme Champion Beer of Britain is due to be announced at 9pm tonight.

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It is the first time the Campaign for Real Ale has hosted a high-profile awards ceremony on the same day as judging for the Champion Beer of Britain competition.

The competition is the conclusion of a process, which lasts for a year, with local tasting panels and regional heats seeing the best beers in the country invited to compete at the Great British Beer Festival, held at Olympia, London.

The top three from each category have been awarded the Bronze, Silver or Gold in their category. Brewers will only find out where they’ve placed and if they’ll be taking home the coveted supreme prize when the overall winners are named at the Champion Beer of Britain Dinner, held at the Hilton Hotel, Olympia.

But keen beer fans will not miss out, with the overall results also due to be announced to the crowd packing Olympia on Tuesday evening.

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National CAMRA director responsible for the Champion Beer of Britain Awards Nik Antona said: “The Champion Beer of Britain award is one of the most coveted accolades for brewers in the UK. We wanted to make sure that all the finalists were properly praised and really raise the excitement about the award this year.

“We’ve never hosted the awards dinner on the same day as the judging and we’re really looking forward to giving brewers a chance to celebrate the category winners and the supreme champion later this evening at a fantastic dinner close to the Great British Beer Festival venue.

“The new format of the competition also gives us the opportunity to celebrate all the finalists and the category winners properly at the festival itself and encourage visitors to try some of the best beers in the country, not just the supreme champion.”

Acorn is bidding for victory in the Mild category and is up against Mighty Oak's Oscar Wilde and Williams Bros, Williams Black.