Best Bottled Beers in Norfolk announced

The Humpty Dumpty Brewery, of Reedham, are toasting success as their Broadland Sunrise was named Best Bottled Beer in Norfolk in January.

A year-long series of tastings by volunteers from the Norwich & Norfolk Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale has culminated in the amber coloured bitter being chosen as the overall winner as well as winning the ‘bitter’ category. The beer is described as ‘well balanced and fruity with a dry, easy drinking finish’.

The brewery, opened in 1998, has won several awards over the years for its bottled and cask conditioned brewers. Humpty Dumpty celebrated its 15th anniversary by brewing a barley wine appropriately named ‘15’.

This was entered into the ‘Barley Wine’ category and took the top prize. The judges commented that it was ‘rich and satisfying with banana toffee overtones’.

Norfolk Taste Panel chair Alan Edwards said: “In the three years we have been organising the competition we have seen a definite increase in the quality of the beers entered. The final results were delayed because we started late due to CAMRA’s national AGM being held in Norwich in 2013.

"That, plus a total of 43 beers from 12 of Norfolk’s 30 plus breweries had to be tasted, meant it took a long time to complete the competition”.

Alan continued: “I would like to thank the breweries for their support and my fellow tasters for their unfailing enthusiasm and dedication to tasting beer. The campaign is a strong supporter of Real Ale in a Bottle (RAIB) as the next best thing to drinking cask beer in a pub”.

A full list of results, along with the contact details of the winning breweries, is below.

RESULTS

OVERALL WINNER CATEGORY
GOLD: HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY - BROADLAND SUNRISE
SILVER: FRONT STREET BREWERY - BLISS
BRONZE: FRONT STREET BREWERY – EBONY STOUT

MILD
GOLD: FRONT STREET BREWERY – FLEDGLING

BITTER
GOLD: HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY - BROADLAND SUNRISE
SILVER: PANTHER BREWERY - RED PANTHER

STRONG BITTER
GOLD: NORFOLK SQUARE BREWERY – MAVERIK CRAZY HORSE AMERICAN IPA
SILVER: GRAIN BREWERY - IPA
BRONZE: POPPYLAND BREWERY – HAPPY VALLEY IPA

GOLDEN ALE
GOLD: GRAIN BREWERY - 3.1.6
SILVER: NORFOLK SQUARE BREWERY - SCROBY

SPECIALITY BEER
GOLD: FRONT STREET BREWERY - BLISS
SILVER: POPPYLAND BREWERY – CRAB SAISON
BRONZE: HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY – NORFOLK NECTAR

PORTER
GOLD: TWO RIVERS BREWERY – PORTERS PRIDE
SILVER: WHY NOT BREWERY – ROUNDHEAD PORTER
BRONZE: NORFOLK SQUARE BREWERY – WINKLEPICKER

STOUT
GOLD: FRONT STREET BREWERY – EBONY STOUT

BARLEY WINE
GOLD: HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY - 15
SILVER: WOODFORDES BREWERY - HEADCRACKER