Elmtree Beers’ Nightlight Mild has been named champion bottled beer of 2019 by Norwich and Norfolk Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
The beer is a ruby-coloured, sweet, spicy brew, with hints of crème brulé, rich and complex with a soft liquorice aftertaste.
Overall silver also went to Elmtree for its Golden Pale Ale — a full bodied ale with lime fruit depth and a sweet malty character, with malt aromas and a short, sweetening finish.
Overall bronze was awarded to Lacons’ Audit Ale — also the overall winner of the CAMRA champion winter beer of Britain competition recently. Honey coloured, with lemon aromas, a rich bittersweet flavour with a malty marmalade base, it has a satisfying caramel and spicy finish.
The 2019 competition featured beers from 12 Norfolk breweries, with Elmtree winning gold in six out of ten categories. New winners in the bottled competition are All Day and Peoples breweries.
Taste panel chair, Alan Edwards, said: “Real Ale in a Bottle (RAIB) is the next best thing to tasting cask ale in a pub. Norfolk breweries have made great strides in quality over the last few years. The judges were impressed by the depth and variety of flavours found in the beers.
“Competition was intense in all categories, with the scoring being close throughout. It is also pleasing that the winning breweries are spread throughout Norfolk. Many of the beers are imaginatively named, with stories behind them. We look forward to the next round of tastings!
“There are now more ales brewed and bottled specifically for Christmas. We
are now considering adding a Christmas ale category for 2020.”
