Stewart Brewing Embra – Champion Bottled Beer of Britain

There’s obviously plenty going on in London at the moment – and with the success of Sir Chris Hoy and company, Scots have had a fair bit to celebrate. Following an announcement at Olympia this afternoon, the beery world can join in the tartan back-slapping – Stewart Brewing’s Embra has today been awarded Champion Bottled Beer of Britain at the 2012 Great British Beer Festival (GBBF).

The 5% amber ale was launched back in 2009 alongside others such as the (until now) all-conquering Hollyrood – winner of multiple titles at the World Beer Awards. Initially created as an evolution of Edinburgh Marathon Ale, Embra has Chinook hops added to the Magnum (the name, incidentally, being an inadvertent anagram of the beer style). As Stewart seek to go ahead with their much-delayed brewery expansion, this couldn’t come at a better time for them.

Other Scottish winners at CAMRA’s GBBF were Highland Brewing Company – you can’t have a beer awards ceremony without giving them something, after all – and Cairngorm. Highland Orkney IPA took home a Bronze in the cask strong bitters category (following on from the success at the Scottish Real Ale Festival), and Cairngorm Black Gold was in the CBoB running due to a category win at the Champion Winter Ale of Britain festival.

Overall, the 2012 Champion Beer of Britain award went to Coniston No.9 Barley Wine – good to see a beer over 7.5% winning the overall title. Second overall was Green Jack Trawlerboys Best Bitter, with Dark Star finishing third with the cracking American Pale Ale. Congratulations to all the victors – as luck would have it the BeerCast are heading to Coniston en masse in a couple of weeks…it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it?

Full results of the 2012 Champion Beer of Britain here