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British
Brewers Raise The Bar At Beer Olympics
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A quartet
of British beers came back from the World Beer Cup, Seattle recently
bearing gold medals, making the 2006 event the best outing for
British brewers.
Tallest on the
podium were Chiswick brewers Fuller, Smith & Turner whose ESB won
the Extra Special Bitter class, but then this was the beer that
inspired the style. They also came home with a gold for their Vintage
Ale in the Old Ale category.
Across town,
fellow London brewers, Meantime Brewing of Greenwich - the only
British medal winners in the 2004 competition - took gold with a
Coffee Beer, made with Fairtrade Rwandan coffee, typical of the
company's flair for innovation and reputation for complex flavoursome beers.
Fittingly the
winner of the remaining gold was Sean Franklin of Roosters Brewery in
Knaresborough, whose Yorkshire Pale Ale beat off second and third
places challenges from the US and Australia in the English-Style
Summer Ale class. Sean has one of the longest serving attendance
record of any British brewer at US brewing competitions and has
judged at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) on many occasions.
This he shares with Meantime brewmaster Alastair Hook, who cites Sean
as one of his brewing heroes and mentors. Indeed every year prior to
judging at the GABF the two friends and rivals go fishing together in
the Rocky Mountains.
The
significance of the British medal haul is considerable, as the World
Beer Cup is without doubt the Olympic Games of the brewing world,
attracting over two thousand entries from pretty much every brewing
nation on the planet.
Speaking for
Meantime Alastair Hook said, "It cannot be a coincidence that
gold medals were won by the three breweries with probably the
broadest international outlook in UK brewing. There has been a
parochial streak for many years now in the British industry that has
blinded people to the fact that the US brewing scene is currently the
world's most dynamic. To win here you have to be the best. You can
have all the brewing history and heritage you like, but that cuts no
ice with the judges here. There really is nowhere to hide."
John Keeling,
Fuller's head brewer, continued, "I think Fuller's, Meantime and
Roosters have done a great job to further raise the profile of
British beers in the US. You only need to take a look at some of the
online communities to see how much interest there now is in exciting,
complex beers.
"I was
deeply honoured to be at the awards and incredibly proud to collect
the two golds. The brewing team at Fuller's works very hard to ensure
the quality and consistency of all our ales, so to come top in two
categories, with an average of 26 entries in each, is a fantastic
testament to their efforts."
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