Super Hooper saves a beer contest!
By: JimOldfield
October 8th, 2012
A SIBA regional beer competition looked a doomed victim of the evil 2012 weather – until south London publican Jamie Hooper stepped in to save the day.
The brewers’ institute’s South East contest was washed out when the summer floods hit Tonbridge Rugby Club, rendering the grounds – and in particular the SIBA contest marquee – unusable.
Jamie, boss of Dulwich pub Hoopers, had been invited to be a judge at the blitzed July event. Instead, he ended up hosting the re-run competition at his pub – and presided over a huge success, which saw more than 140 beers from 49 SIBA brewers in the South East taken to Hoopers for a superb festival weekend.
Jamie (pictured right at the event) said: “We’re proud of our ales at Hoopers and sell a number of beers from SIBA members, as well as being a SIBA Locals pub.
“So when the competition was called off, I suggested staging it here. SIBA were enthusiastic and once they’d established we had enough space to host the event, we had a couple of months to get everything organised.
He added: “Taking delivery of that number of barrels and preparing the beers for the competition was quite a task. SIBA Cellar Services gave us a lot of help beforehand and on the day, so it really was a team effort – and a very successful event”.
SIBA chief executive Julian Grocock said: “Cancelling the July competition was a real blow, and we’re grateful to Jamie for hosting it in a rain-proof environment – especially as it was once again pouring down on the day of the event.
“Our regional and national beer competitions are showcase events where we aim to demonstrate local beer at its best. Thanks to the sterling work by the Hoopers and SIBA Cellar Services teams, this event lived up to that ambition.”
The Redemption Brewing Company picked up the overall Gold Award for its Big Chief beer, while Whitstable Brewery took silver for its Native. Triple fff Brewery collected Bronze for its Moondance brew.
Hand-Pumped link:
SIBA
Redemption Brewing Co
Triple fff Brewery
