BEER NEWS - December 2008

Budvar's Brewmaster of the Year Award

Probably the best known Central European brewer in the UK, Budweiser Budvar's brewmaster, Josef Tolar is the winner of the 2008 award for the Czech Brewmaster of the Year. It is made annually by the SPP, the Czech equivalent of the Campaign for Real Ale. Committed to preserving the quality of Czech beer along with its traditions the SPP annual awards are regarded as the most prestigious in the Czech beer calendar. The award ceremony took place at the Budweiser Budvar brewery in November, when Budvar Dark was also declared dark beer of the year. A champion of the Czech style of lager conditioned beers, Tolar is also something unusual for a Czech brewer being something of an expert on UK beers. It came as no surprise then that he became the first brewer from this mainly lager conditioned part of the world, to be a judge at the GBBF's annual Champion Beer of Britain event this year. Recently he has been in print arguing that craft brewers of lager conditioned beer like Budvar have more in common with UK brewers of regional cask ales than they do with the "Euro-fizz".

Draught ales for Christmas

James Clay & Sons has announced the December 08 launch of a "jaw-dropping" range of ten limited edition draught ales from America and Germany. Colorado based Flying Dog brewery, is sending five versions including; Flying Dog 5.5%abv, Colorado Snake dog IPA 7.0%abv, Old Scratch Amber 5.5%abv, K-9 Winter Ale 6.4% abv and Double Dog Double Pale Ale 11.5%. From Germany, there will be Schlenkerla Rauchbier which is a 5.1% smoked beer from Bamberg; and Fr�h K�lsch a 4.8% delicate lager-like ale from Cologne. Other offerings include three wheat beers from Kelheim-based Schneider Weisse brewery, including Eisbock 12% abv, Hopfen Weisse 8.2% abv and the 8% abv award-winning Aventinus. Nigel Stevenson of James Clay and Sons, comments: "This initiative has been sparked by

Thornbridge lets the people decide

Whilst celebrity ballroom dancers wait to hear their fate based on the votes of the nation, the brewers at Thornbridge have been eagerly awaiting the results of their own public assessment, as the result of the first Brewers� Challenge is announced. During the summer and autumn of 2008 the four brewers at Thornbridge were set the challenge to individually design, develop and brew a beer that would be innovative and exciting yet commercial. The competition produced four beers, brewed and sold in consecutive months from June to September. It was agreed that the winning beer would be decided by how fast the beers sold and how highly they were rated by drinkers. In the end "Katipo" (a 5.4% rich, porter matured on real raspberries) developed by Kelly Ryan, was judged the winner. Kelly (left) says that the inspiration for Katipo came partly from his time brewing in Scotland and being surrounded by wild raspberries, though in fact the berries used in the brew came from a "renowned Belgium source".

Trade raises a glass to Cask Marque

35 of the country�s finest beer tasters have helped celebrate the 10th anniversary of Cask Marque by raising a glass of real ale at the group�s birthday party, organised by one of its founders, Greene King. Cask Marque, the independent accreditation scheme that recognises excellence in the service of cask ale, was formed in 1998. Its team of 35 assessors have the job of checking the quality of all cask ales on sale at a pub for - temperature, appearance, aroma and taste. The birthday party took place at the Carnarvon Arms Nottinghamshire, and

Celtic Beer Festival

Real ale and music lovers have flocked in their thousands to the 10th annual St Austell Brewery Celtic Beer Festival. More than 3,000 people from across the South West gathered at St Austell Brewery on Saturday November 29th to sample some of the 120-plus beers on offer and party throughout the day and evening to the sounds of five live bands - raising thousands of pounds for local charities in the process.St Austell Brewery head brewer Roger Ryman said: "We're delighted with the amount of people that came along and created such a fantastic atmosphere to help celebrate the beer festival's 10th birthday. A range of special beers were created for the festival by Roger and the brewing team. Doors to the festival opened at 11am on Saturday and the huge popularity of the event meant that by midday it had already reached capacity. All the money raised from the event will go to local charities in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset through the St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust.