Scottish beer wins UK top brew award

A Scottish beer has won the title for the best brew in Britain.

Deuchars IPA, from Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh, beat competition from more than 50 other finalists to be named Champion Beer of Britain 2002.

The competition was judged by a panel at the Great British Beer Festival taking place at London’s Olympia.

The latest edition of the Good Beer Guide describes Deuchars IPA as "an extremely tasty and refreshing amber-coloured session beer".

Roger Protz, one of the judges and editor of the Good Beer Guide, said: "I think that the victory for Caledonian is well overdue. Deuchars is a fabulous beer."

David Brown, director of marketing at Caledonian Brewery, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have won this award, particularly as we are the first Scottish brewery to do so.

"Deuchars has been a great success in Scotland for many years and we appreciate the support that Camra (the Campaign for Real Ale) has given us."

The silver award went to East Street Cream from RCH, Somerset, while bronze went to Moondance from Triple FFF, Hampshire.