Britain's Best Beer 2010 - The November draw prize

This month's prize has been kindly donated by myBrewerytap.com and they've once again done us proud.



15 great British Beers from 15 different breweries:

Acorn Brewery - Conquest - abv 5.7%
A well-hopped, traditional IPA. The initial hoppy aroma gives way to a good citrus flavour & a lasting bitter finish.

Brewdog - Punk IPA - abv 6%
Post modern classic pale ale.

Crouch Vale Brewery - Brewers Gold - abv 4%
This is a pale, refreshing and hoppy beer with gorgeous aromas of tropical fruits.

Felinfoel Brewery - Double Dragon - abv 4.2%
A full drinking premium Welsh ale, malty and subtly hopped with a rich colour and smooth balanced character.

Hawkshead Brewery - Lakeland Gold - abv 4.4%
A golden Ale. Hoppy and uncompromisingly bitter with complex fruit flavours.

Hogs Back Brewery - TEA - abv 4.2%
The brewery’s flagship ale is pale brown, with a hoppy and slightly fruity aroma supported by malt in the taste. A well crafted, bittersweet beer with a long dry finish. A classic Best Bitter.

Inveralmond Brewery - Ossian - abv 4.1%
This superb golden ale is perilously smooth and drinkable with distinct nutty tones and fruitiness.

Mallinsons - Station Best Bitter - abv 4.2%
Pale gold with a citrus hop aroma, a bitter citrusy hop taste and finish.

Marble Brewery - Manchester Bitter - abv 4.2%
Straw coloured best bitter with uncompromising bitterness, balanced against residual sweetness and citrus/woody hop aromas.

Meantime - Chocolate - abv 6.5%
Created using dark malts and chocolate. Pronounced vanilla notes fuse the chocolate and malts together to give a rich, warming, flavour.

Ossett Brewery - Excelsior - abv 5.2%
Excelsior has a mellow yet full flavour that develops into a fruity dryness on the palate. A fresh hoppy aroma with citrus and floral characteristics.

Potton Brewery - Shambles Bitter - abv 4.3%
A light premium beer. it's robust bitternessis balanced by a subtle sweetness and understated hop character.

RCH Brewery - Ale Mary - abv 6%
It is a spiced ale with the addition of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg and pimento.

Saltaire Brewery - Cascade Pale Ale - abv 4.8%
American style pale ale with the floral aromas and strong bitterness of Cascade and Centennial hops.

Williams Bros Brewing - Good Times - abv 5%
Good Times is a county pale ale, brewed with a delicious combination of barley, oats, hops, meadowsweet and elderflowers.


Want to win this great case of real ale?
Simply select the best British beer you have tasted this year to help us find Britain's Best Beer 2010.
There are two categories to vote in, Best Cask Beer and Best Bottled Beer.
We know there are some great beers out there, which is why you can select up to three beers in either one or both categories. Every vote will count equally and by the end of November we hope to have found a winner.
Vote here before the end of August for your chance to win this great case of British Beer

Please note this competition is only open to UK residents OVER the age of 18.

myBrewerytap is where to find Britain's smaller independent breweries online. The site sells bottles and ‘beer in a box' ale from micro breweries, delivered direct to your door

An evening in Plymouth

Spent an evening in Plymouth last Saturday and was pleasantly surprised

Started in The Yard Arm (in the 2010 GBG but not the 2011 - such are the vaguaries of CAMRA) Had a great pint of Hunters Crack Shot at 3.8% (£3). A good sold session beer.

Then onto The Fishermans Arms (2010 & 2011) where i was tempted by the St Austell Proper Job at 4.5% (£3.10) which is a favourite of mine since tasting it at a Northern beer festival last year.

A walk down to the Barbican and into the Dolphin Inn (2010 & 2011) for a pint of Sharps Doom Bar (straight from the barrel) at 4% (£2.95 - a bargain?!)

The GBG describes The Dolphin as 'unbashedly no frills' which is an apt description - our lass wouldn't like it

Back to the Fishermans for more Proper Job, I'd like to say i tried the two other St Austell beers but I liked the Proper Job too much. This place is very much like a gastro pub and if the food tasted anything like it looked when it left the miniscule kitchen, then next time in Plymouth i'm eating here.

A walk round the hoe to meet our lass and her friends in the recently re-opened & refurbished 'Waterfront', (read about the demise of the old Waterfront here). Sad to say cocktails were then the order of the day as we slipped into hazy oblivion......

So, Plymouth is very much worth a visit, many more real ale places to try than i had time to so hopefully we'll be back next year

(there i did it, not one mention of beer prices being too high, especially as they were relatively 'local' ales)

Britain's Best Beer 2010 - The October Prize Draw

Someone on our Forum mentioned an off-licence nearby called Rhythm & Booze which stocked a good selection of British Beers.

We paid a visit and for your delectation here is October's prize in our search for Britain's Best Beer:



Acorn Brewery - Barnsley Gold - abv 4.3%
Fresh citrus aroma and good bitterness levels. Fruit and hops carry through to a crisp, dry finish

Acorn Brewery - Gorlovka - abv 6.0%
A deep malt and hoppy aroma with liquorice throughout. Roast malts, fruit and hops also carry through this full bodied stout

Bradfield Brewery - Farmers Pale Ale - abv 5.0%
A distinctive fruity Pale Ale, well balanced with a powerful floral bouquet, full-bodied and a predominantly dry aftertaste

Bradfield Brewery - Farmers Stout - abv 4.5%
A dark enriched 'black and white' stout balanced by ploughing through roasted malts and flaked oats with a subtle bitter hop character

Cropton Brewery - Scoresby Stout - abv 4.2%
A traditional stout combining dark roasted barley with Challenger and Goldings hops

Cropton Brewery - Two Pints Bitter - abv 4.0%
A classic bitter providing a balanced hoppy flavour with a malty aftertaste

Daleside Brewery - Blonde - abv 4.3%
A refreshing, light golden beer with a hoppy aroma & crisp palate

Daleside Brewery - Old Leg Over - abv 4.1%
A well balanced, mid brown ale, nutty in the mouth with a lingering hop and bitter aftertaste

Ossett Brewery - Excelsior - abv 5.2%
A fresh hoppy aroma with citrus and floral characteristics. A mellow yet full flavour that develops into a fruity dryness on the palate

Ossett Brewery - Treacle Stout - abv 5.0%
A rich and robust stout

York Brewery - Minster Ale - abv 4.2%
Light amber colour, an aroma of flowery hop with a very nice fruit and hop flavour

York Brewery - Yorkshire Terrier - abv 4.2%
A golden coloured premium bitter with a rich, creamy malt and full hop palate finish



Want to win this great case of real ale?
Simply select the best British beer you have tasted this year to help us find Britain's Best Beer 2010.
There are two categories to vote in, Best Cask Beer and Best Bottled Beer.
We know there are some great beers out there, which is why you can select up to three beers in either one or both categories. Every vote will count equally and by the end of November we hope to have found a winner.
Vote here before the end of August for your chance to win this great case of British Beer

Please note this competition is only open to UK residents OVER the age of 18.

Britain's Best Beer 2010 - The August Prize Draw

An aletalk 'supermarket selection' for the prize this month.

12 bottles from the shelves of Sainsburys and Asda for you to try

The Beers are:

Black Sheep - Riggwelter - abv 5.7%
A strong deep chestnut brown beer with hints of coffee, bananas and liquorice

Caledonian - Deuchars IPA - abv 4.4%
Distinctive & long on refreshment

Fuller's - Discovery Blonde - abv 4.5%
A delicious malty taste with rich, biscuity flavours

Hall & Woodhouse - Badger Dandelion Organic Ale - abv 4.5%
Has a hint of sweetness which balances the natural bitterness of the hops

Joseph Holt - Humdinger - abv 4.1%
Provides a rounded, tongue-tingling taste with an exciting aroma

Jennings - Snecklifter - abv 5.1%
A dark beer with a reddish tinge, perfectly balanced with specially formulated brewing sugars and English aromatic hops

Robinsons - Old Tom - abv 8.5%
Superior dark, rich and warming strong ale with a cherry brandy like colour and character

St Austell - Tribute - abv 4.2%
An English pale ale, an aroma of orange zest & tropical fruit with a taste of juicy malt & tangy fruit

St Peter's - Organic Ale - abv 4.5%
A golden auburn ale, an aroma of citrus fruits & malt with a bitter, fruity taste and a dry finish

Hambleton - Nightmare - abv 5%
An extra stout porter but it is not harsh or overly bitter

Thwaites - Wainwright - abv 4.1%
A refreshing straw-coloured beer with soft fruit flavours and a hint of sweetness from the fine malt

Wells & Young's - Waggle Dance - abv 5%
A delicious golden beer with a superb honey aroma



Want to win this great case of real ale?
Simply select the best British beer you have tasted this year to help us find Britain's Best Beer 2010.
There are two categories to vote in, Best Cask Beer and Best Bottled Beer.
We know there are some great beers out there, which is why you can select up to three beers in either one or both categories. Every vote will count equally and by the end of November we hope to have found a winner.
Vote here before the end of August for your chance to win this great case of British Beer

Please note this competition is only open to UK residents OVER the age of 18.

Britain's Best Beer 2010 - The July Draw Prize

This month we've put together a great mix of British Beer for our draw prize. Twelve bottles of beer ranging from 3.5% to 7% abv. From pale Summer ales to IPA & Imperial Stout - hopefully something for every taste. You can enter our competition to find Britain's Best Beer 2010 Here

The Beers are:

Ilkey Brewery - Mary Jane - abv 3.5%
Crisp and pale with a refreshing citrus aroma.
Great Newsome Brewery - Sleck Dust - abv 3.8%
Golden straw coloured with a citrus apricot, grapefruit aroma and a sharp zesty taste
Wensleydale Brewery - Semer Water - abv 4.1%
Clean, crisp and hoppy, this is a light, golden ale and a very moreish best bitter
Hawkshead Brewery - Lakeland Gold - abv 4.4%
Golden ale with complex fruit flavours
Isle of Skye - Black Cuillin - abv 4.5%
A dark Scottish ale brewed with oats & heather honey
Brew Dog - 77 Lager - abv 4.9%
Made with 100% malt and whole leaf hops. No preservatives or additives
Williams Brothers - Froach Heather Ale - abv 5%
A light amber ale with floral peaty aroma and a spicy herbal flavour
Thornbridge Brewery - Kipling - abv 5.2%
Golden blonde beer with a fruity aroma. A lasting grapefruit-like bitter finish
Marble Brewery - Tawny No3 - abv 5.7%
Rich tawny brown, with an earthy hop aroma. Big but balanced
Meantime Brewery - Raspberry Grand Cru - abv 6.5%
A full raspberry fruit nose, sweet and sour fruit on the palate and a wildly refreshing zesty finish
Crown Brewery - Unpronounceable IPA - abv 7%
A traditional golden IPA, full flavoured & packed with bitterness
Samuel Smith's - Imperial Stout - abv 7%
Rich, flavorful, deep chocolate color, scented and roasted barley nose



Want to win this great case of real ale?
Simply select the best British beer you have drunk this year to help us find Britain's Best Beer 2010.
There are two categories to vote in, Best Cask Beer and Best Bottled Beer.
We know there are some great beers out there, which is why you can select up to three beers in either one or both categories. Every vote will count equally and by the end of November we hope to have found a winner.
Vote here before the end of July for your chance to win

Please note this competition is only open to UK residents OVER the age of 18.