Eighty-plus ales in battle for top title
By: JimOldfield
February 29th, 2012
A staggering 80-plus Yorkshire ales lined up at Rotherham’s Real Ale and Music Festival at Magna last night to do battle for the proud title of Best Beer in the country’s biggest county.
A huge team of some 30 judges, spent over two hours tasting the ales in seven different categories in a blind test.
The top ale from each group then went forward to grand finale – judged by a select team of seven, including the Mayor of Rotherham, Coun Shaun Wright (pictured, left).
The overall result was: Champion: Abbeydale Brewery – Moonshine Silver: Timothy Taylor – Ram Tam Bronze: Golcar – Dark Mild Here, Hand-Pumped gives you a full run-down on all seven finalists.
Moonshine shone in the Golden Ale category and was voted overall champion. In its festival tasting notes, the 4.3 per cent ale is described as: “A beautifully balanced, pale straw-coloured, premium bitter with a distinctive floral aroma, leading to a predominantly citrus taste, with grapefruit and lemons to the fore and a quenching bitter finish”.
Ram Tam won the Best Bitter category, and took the silver medal in the overall competition. The 4.3 per center is described as: “A dark, strong beer that has a reputation as a ‘Winter Warmer’”.
Golcar Dark Mild won the Mild vote and took the Bronze medal. This 3.6 per cent beer is described as: “A dark malty mild with chocolate undertones”.
Oakwell Barnsley Bitter was judged top in the Bitter section. The 3.8 per center is described as: “A traditional copper-coloured best Bitter. Barnsley bitter is brewed from finest Pale Ale and Crystal Malts from Norfolk and hopped with Hereford and Worcester varieties Fuggles and Goldings”.
Theakston Old Peculier came top in the Strong Bitter group. The legendary 5.6 per cent beer is described as: “The beer that made Masham famous! A rich, dark, smooth tasting beer with an unequalled flavour, brewed using the traditional Fuggle hop”.
Mrs Simpson’s Thriller in Vanilla from the Brown Cow Brewery took the top Stout/Porter prize. At 5.1 per cent, the ale is described as: “A scrumptious rich porter brewed with fresh vanilla pod complimenting the complex dark malts. A Thriller in Vanilla that packs a punch!”.
Tod’s Blonde from Little Valley was voted top Special ale. The 5.0 per cent beer is described as: “A bright yellow-blonde ale with a pleasant malty taste and a smooth bitter finish. The ideal alternative to lager”
Here are the complete standings for Rotherham CAMRA’s Baa’s of Steel real ale competition, judged by the blind tasting panel organised at the Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival at Magna.
OVERALL
● Champion beer of Yorkshire, 2012: Moonshine (Abbeydale Brewery)
● Silver medal: Ram Tam (Timothy Taylor)
● Bronze medal: Golcar Dark Mild (Golcar Brewery)
CATEGORY WINNERS
MILD
● Gold: Dark Mild (Golcar)
● Silver: Dark Mild (Oakwell)
● Bronze: Ruby Mild (Rudgate)
BITTER
● Gold: Barnsley Bitter (Oakwell)
● Silver: Farmers Bitter (Bradfield)
● Bronze: Bruin (Old bear)
BEST BITTER
● Gold: Ram Tam (Timothy Taylor)
● Silver: Hop Ripper (Brew Company)
● Bronze: Landlord (Timothy Taylor)
STRONG BITTER
● Gold: Old Peculier (Theakston)
● Silver: Riggwelter (Black Sheep)
● Bronze: Absolution (Abbeydale)
GOLDEN ALE
● Gold: Moonshine (Abbeydale)
● Silver: Classic Blonde (Clarks)
● Bronze: Gold (Wentworth)
STOUTS AND PORTERS
● Gold: Mrs Simpson’s Thriller in Vanilla Porter (Brown Cow)
● Silver: Guthlac’s Porter (Golcar)
● Bronze: 1872 Porter (Elland)
SPECIALITY BEER
● Gold: Tod’s Blonde (Little Valley)
● Silver: Raspberry Blonde (Saltaire)
● Bronze: Bumble Beer (Wentworth)
