CityLife

Beers of the year 2009

By Dave Griffiths

BRITAIN became the top beer-brewing country in the world in 2009 - and Greater Manchester played its part with its 25 breweries. Here are a selection of award winners from the region and a few of my favourites this year.

1) Marble Dobber  
A deserved award for one of Greater Manchester’s best brewers. Dobber was only developed this year and won the judges’ award at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival. It’s a 5.9 per cent IPA.  

2) Outstanding Stout
The People’s Pint award  at the food and drink festival for Bury brewery’s coffeeish, chocolatey 5.5 per cent beer.  

3) Bank Top Dark Mild
The Bolton brewery was second in the mild category at the national Great British Beer Festival, behind overall winner Rudgate Ruby Mild. Unlucky – Bank Top’s mild is a superior product.  

4) Allgates Porteresque
The Wigan microbrewery received an order for 40,000 bottles from Sainsbury’s  after it reached the final 15 of the supermarket’s British Beer competition with this lovely chocolatey brew. It was the only north west brewer in the Sainsbury's final. Meanwhile Allgates' California won the bitter category at the Leicester Beer Festival. 

5) Bollington Brewery Best Bitter
After just 15 months in business, this 4.2 per center won the Cheshire Beer of the Year at the Nantwich Beer Festival. At the Sheffield Beer Festival Bollington won the best bitter category with White Nancy and the mild category with Bollington Nights.  

6) Prospect’s Nutty Slack
The Standish brewer’s liqourishy mild struck gold with the Society of Independent Brewers Association, voted best northern mild and second best northern beer overall. Prospect ’s Silver Tally was runner-up with the judges at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival.  

7) Boggart Hole Clough's Dark Rum Porter
Won the Leeds Beer Festival. You can taste the dark rum in this winter wamer from Newton Heath.  

8) Dunham Massey's Chocolate Cherry Mild
More awards for this 3.8 per center – winner at the Skipton and the Northwich Beer Festivals this year after gongs galore last year.  

9) Millstone Ye Olde Vic
This golden-coloured ale from Mossley triumphed at the Oldham Beer Festival.  

10) And my own favourites...
Besides my regular favourites such as Marble Ginger and Ossett Excelsior and anything by Allgates or Phoenix from Heywood, the highlights for me this year have been Hepworth Old Ale from Horsham, Sussex, a malty beer with molasses,  Cottage's Old Freckled Ken, from Somerset, which is lovely and chocolately, as is Saltaire's Triple Chocoholic from West Yorkshire.

Published: Mon, 14 December, 2009

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Richard wrote:

Re: Millstone Ye Olde Vic beer.

I guess brewed for the pub of the same name in Edgeley that looks so frightening that I know of certain people that have not been all that keen on going in. And then when being forced across the threshold they are then sarcastically abused by the landlord.