1698 gets Beer Challenge vote

August 9, 2006: Shepherd Neame's 1698 bottle conditioned ale has been voted one of the world's top 50 beers.

The quality and style of 1698 was recognised by the International Beer Challenge, a select panel of expert judges, including beer critics, current and former brewers, buyers and retailers, chaired by Jeff Evans, the leading authority on bottle-conditioned ales.

Ian Dixon, Shepherd Neame's production and distribution director, said: "1698 is a unique bottle-conditioned ale, brewed to commemorate a very special moment in the company's history.

"Our talented team of brewers and designers worked hard to create an attractively-packaged and memorable beer, and for it to merit a place in the World Top 50 does them all great credit."

The International Beer Challenge experts spent two days blind-tasting hundreds of beers and ciders for flavour before inspecting each bottle to give additional marks for packaging.