Skinner's scoops hat-trick of Falmouth awards

l Andy Hawken, sales manager of Skinner's (centre) celebrates the brewery's Falmouth Beer Festival success with festival organiser Gerry Wills (left) and CAMRA Kernow chairman Rod Davis

October 26, 2007: Skinner's Brewery in Cornwall is celebrating a hat-trick of wins in the champion beer competition at the CAMRA Kernow Falmouth Beer Festival, held in the lovely surroundings of the Princess Pavilion.

Its Pennycomequick stout (4.5%) took gold in the champion beer of Cornwall section, as well as being runner-up in the overall dark category. Silver in champion beer of Cornwall went to Skinner's Heligan Honey (4%) with the bronze award shared between the brewery's perennially popular Betty Stogs session bitter (4%) and its seasonal Green Hop (4.2%).

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	l Peter Martin, Bathtub brewer, pours a pint of his own beer for a thirsty Beer Today ed

Supreme festival champion was Purple Moose Snowdonia Ale (4.2%), a golden session bitter, although its brilliantly-named Dark Side of the Moose (4.6%) was also proving a popular choice with the crowds.

The festival featured 165 beers, with separate bars for beers from Cornwall, the rest of the West, 'Up North', 'Down South' and Celtic beers.

It fought off the challenge of 165 beers lined up at the festival, all of which were tasted by a methodical and hard-working panel of judges on Friday morning.

Picking up the award for Skinner's, in the absence of managing director Steve Skinner, in Paris for the rugby, was sales manager Andy Hawken. "We are thrilled to have done so well at such a prestigious festival," he said. "It's a triumph for everyone concerned and reflects great credit on the barley that was sourced exclusively in Cornwall for all the beers."

The Falmouth success follows a double triumph in August. Betty Stogs made it into the final eight in the best bitter category of the Champion Beer of Britain competition at the Great British Beer Festival, London, and won the bitters class at the Peterborough CAMRA Beer Festival, with Skinner's Figgy's Brew earning a silver award in the best bitter category.

Eleven Cornish breweries were showcased, from the big boys — Sharp's, Skinner's and St Austell — to one-man brewers, such as Peter Martin, who describes his Bathtub Brewery, at Four Lanes, near Redruth, as not so much a microbrewery as a nanobrewery.

l Festival-goers enjoy the hospitality at Falmouth. Left to right are
Stuart Radnedge, Katie Enright, Rachel Foster and Mark Picken

The newest Cornish brewery is Coastal, run by Alan Hinde, who moved to west Cornwall from Crewe nearly two years ago and has been brewing at Redruth for coming up to a year. He was showcasing a new brew, Engine Room (5%) along with old favourites Angelina (4.1%), Merry Maidens Mid (4%) and Handliner (4%).

Another newcomer was Sharp's Special Reserve, a 9% brew billed as "Doom Bar's big brother".

Also featured were St Austell's Clouded Yellow wheat beer, flavoured with vanilla and coriander —a rare treat as it is not normally available in cask. From Organic Brewhouse came Charlie's Pride, a strong (5.3%) organic lager, while among Lizard Ales' offerings was Helford River, which is a very tasty session bitter for its low (3.6%) ABV.

No Cornish beer festival would be complete, of course, without Blue Anchor brews from the famous, historic Helston brewpub, and there were Middle (5%) and Special (6%) available. Blackawton beers, from close to the Devon border, included Winter Fuel, a 5% seasonal ale with a "secret winter twist", while Hot Dog Chilli Beer, with, yes, chilli in the recipe, was among the Doghouse brewery offerings.

l Another pint poured — there were 165 casks to choose from

Wooden Hand Brewery at Grampound, near Truro, had a selection of beers in the 4-4.8% range, from session bitter Pirates Gold to dark and malty Cornish Mutiny. Wooden Hand is connected to the Zatec brewery in the Czech Republic and brews from the latter were also available in an adjacent marquee. Also under canvas was a selection of real ciders and the ever-popular Grandma's Weapons Grade Ginger Beer (5.5%).

"Attendance was slightly affected by the introduction of a token payment system and the World Cup rugby, but we were still around the 3,000 mark," said festival organiser Gerry Wills, who was delighted with the way the event went.

The token payment system dispensed with festival visitors handing over cash to bar staff for each drink purchased. Instead, they bought tokens, in sheets of £5 value, at the door, which were exchanged at the bar, with the cash value of any unused sections refunded upon leaving the festival. There was a mixed response to this and Mr Wills said the system, which is used at several other festivals nationwide, would be reviewed.

Big screen television in the Pavilion's cafeteria competed with live music acts on the main stage, although many visitors were happy to enjoy conversation in the main bar area, or out in the Pavilion gardens where mild, sunny weather added to the enjoyment of the beer.

Beer of the festival results

Supreme championship

1, Purple Moose Snowdonia Ale (4.2%); 2, Enville Ginger; 3, Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose (4.6%)

Bitters

1, Purple Moose Snowdonia Ale (4.2%); 2, Mighty Oak Maldon Gold (3.8%); 3, Bowman Swift One (3.8%)

Best bitters

1, Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose (4.6%); 2, Cairngorm Trade Winds (4.3%) ; 3, Bowman Quiver Bitter (4.5%)

Strong beers

1, South Hams Eddystone Light (4.8%); 2, Oakleaf Hole Hearted (4.7%); 3, Hopshackle Shacklers Gold (5.2%)

Dark beers

1, O'Hanlon's Port Stout (4.8%); 2, Skinner's Penncomequick (4.5%); 3, Carlow's Celtic Stout (4.3%)

Speciality beers

1, Enville Ginger (4.6%); 2, Oakham White Dwarf (4.3%); 3, Skinner's Heligan Honey (4%).

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