Scene is set for SIBA national beer contest final

l Biggest bar none: the 56-handpull bar set up for the SIBA National Beer Competition final and festival

January 29, 2010: Beers from some 50 independent brewers will be competing for the top titles at the SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) National Beer Competition, to be held in Nottingham on Thursday (February 4).

The event brings together the winners of seven regional heats held over the past 10 months. The 56 draught and seven bottled finalist beers present an impressively diverse array of beer styles, from milds and pale ales to stouts and fruit beers. Judges will select a winner in each of nine categories, as well as a supreme champion beer.

The 10 winning beers will be announced at SIBA's national conference, held in Stratford-on-Avon in March. In addition to the prestige of winning a national title, the winners are guaranteed a place on the SIBA Champions Bar at the Great British Beer Festival in London in August.

SIBA chief executive, Julian Grocock, said: "Competition for a place at the finals is fierce, with more beers being entered into the regional heats each year.

"We are looking forward to the national competition, and confident that it will once again act as a great showcase for the wonderful, high-quality beers that are produced by SIBA's 450 innovative and talented smaller brewers across the country."

The National Beer Competition is being held for the second year at The Canalhouse, a Castle Rock pub. Castle Rock has built a dedicated bar to accommodate the 56 handpulls, which will be installed by SIBA Technical Services. Following the competition, the Canalhouse will be holding a three-day Beer Festival, selling some 4,000 pints of beer to Nottingham's drinkers.

Sixty-three (56 draught and seven bottled) beers from around 50 SIBA brewers are competing in the finals. The 56 handpulls are housed on a purpose-built bar. At 12 metres long, this is the longest temporary bar in the country. Building the bar and stillaging for the casks has taken a month and is the work of Castle Rock's operations manager, Pete McWilliam

The finalists have been selected from seven regional beer competitions which attracted a total of 1,400 entries and include brewers from all corners of the UK — from Mill Green Brewery in Suffolk to St Austell in Cornwall, and from Black Isle Brewery in Ross-shire to Oakleaf Brewing in Hampshire.

Each regional heat and the national finals are attended by around 60 judges, invited by SIBA.