Winning ales

Adrian Tierney-Jones profiles the nine beers that satisfied the punters and scooped the top Cask Marque awards across 10 regions

South West

St Austell, Tribute, 4.2%

Cornish drinkers are a patriotic crowd and St Austell's award-winning Tribute has been a local favourite since it was first brewed in 1999. Originally called Daylight Robbery in honour of the eclipse, it was developed by the brewery's innovative head brewer Roger Ryman and has since become the brewery's biggest seller and signature ale throughout its 160-strong pub estate and beyond.

It is a gorgeous golden-coloured beer, with a nose that boasts bags of tropical fruit thanks to the presence of the aromatic Willamette hop in the mix. The palate kicks off with a biscuity maltiness, before tropical fruit and an elegant hoppiness burst onto the scene, leading to a long, bitter and zesty finish.

St Austell has been in the former china-clay mining capital of Cornwall since the 1850s and its Victorian tower brewery at the top of the town is a visible reminder of the foresight of founder William Hicks, whose descendants are still involved with the company.

Wales & West Country

Wadworth, 6x, 4.3%

This is one of the great beers of England and also the flagship ale of Wadworth, whose imposing 19th-century red-brick brewery stands proud, just off the centre of the Wiltshire market town of Devizes.

First brewed more than 80 years ago, this is a rich and bold beer that is surprisingly complex for its strength. The nose features an enticing resiny hop aroma, while the palate starts off with a rich-tea biscuit maltiness, before succumbing to a beefy, well structured hoppiness, courtesy of the Fuggles hop, tangy citrus and a restrained sweetness, before a long and lingering finish.

Try a glass and reflect on the brewing traditions of Wadworth. Their shire horses are a common sight across town as they deliver casks to the brewery's local pubs (Wadworth has more than 250 across the region). They even have their own cooper, down-to-earth Yorkshireman Alastair Simms, who fashions wooden barrels for the growing number of Wadworth's pubs that request them.

South & South East

Harveys, Sussex Best Bitter, 4%

Sussex Best Bitter is justly recognised as one of the region's classic beers, an exquisite example of the best a British bitter can be. It is imposingly bitter, with a muscular and musky hoppy nose, thanks to the presence of four hops: Fuggles, Goldings, Progress and Brambling Cross, all originating from either local hop growers in Sussex or just over the border in Kent. The palate is full-bodied and bittersweet, and effortlessly balances rich maltiness and tangy citrusy hop notes. The bitter and hoppy finish lingers.

The historical town of Lewes has been home to Harveys Brewery for more than 200 years, and its picturesque brewhouse sits by the River Ouse.

It's a splendid setting to gladden the heart of all cask beer lovers, though the river was more foe than friend when it burst its banks in 2000 and flooded the brewery. Harveys remains a true family-run company with the seventh generation of the descendants of original founder John Harvey still at the helm.

London

Fuller's Smith & Turner, London Pride, 4.1%

Known simply as Pride to its many fans, London's premier ale is a stunning example of the brewer's art, in this case Fuller's master of the mash tun and head brewer John Keeling. A blend of Challenger, Northdown and Target hops magics up a gloriously floral and fruity nose joined by hints of rich malt. Meanwhile, the palate is a dazzling dance between bready, biscuity maltiness and tangy bitter orange and spicy hop, before its luscious bittersweet finish.

London Pride is brewed on the banks of the Thames, downriver at Chiswick, where beer has been created on site for more than 300 years. Fuller's is also the last remaining family-owned brewery in London and many of its 361 pubs provide a welcome respite from the rigours of city life.

That's not all: like many responsible brewers, Fuller's involves itself in the life of its home city, with London Pride the official beer of last month's London Marathon.

North West, Isle of Man, & Yorks

Timothy Taylor, Landlord, 4.3%

Drinkers in two regions are in complete agreement with disco diva Madonna, who famously named Landlord as her favourite tipple and sparked off celebrity interest in this most traditional of ales.

Brewed with Pennine water at the Knowle Spring Brewery in the West Riding town of Keighley, Landlord is a classic pale ale that weaves a spell with rich citrusy aromas that come from the use of Styrian Goldings late in the boil, a perfumy and aromatic hop that adds that extra-special something. Robustly bitter WGV and full-bodied Fuggles hops also join in the fun.

In the mouth, a rich and juicy maltiness is followed by more refreshing, zingy citrus notes. The finish is as long as a June day and just as life enhancing.

Historically, Landlord apparently started life as a throat-clearing ale for parched miners, but it has gone on to become the beer of choice for pop stars and pub-goers alike.

Central England

Marston's, Pedigree, 4.5%

Mild has historically been known as the beer of choice in the Midlands, but drinkers in that region have plumped for this world-famous pale ale, which is brewed in the historic town of Burton-on-Trent.

Pedigree, one of the best-selling cask beers in the country, is a sprightly, complex ale boasting a fruity, peppery nose working hand in glove with the famous sulphury struck-match "Burton snatch". There's a lightness of touch on the palate, with plenty of biscuity malt offset by rich orange fruitiness. The finish is long and dry. The character of this ale is further shaped by being fermented in the fabled union sets, a system of oak casks that is now solely used for Pedigree.

The hard mineral-rich water (or liquor as brewers like to call it) of Burton-on-Trent was such an influence on local beers, that in the 19th century other brewers sought to replicate it by the addition of various salts, a process called Burtonisation, which continues today.

North East

Black Sheep, Best Bitter, 3.8%

When Paul Theakston turned his back on the famous family brewery in Masham in 1992, he didn't go far to set up his own business. He moved into the old maltings next door and proceeded to deliver to the folk of this small town in the Yorkshire Dales a Best Bitter that has become a local legend.

Black Sheep's Best Bitter is an uncompromisingly bitter beer. Challenger, Progress and Fuggles are the hops, with the latter being added late to the brew. This results in a burly, hop-driven beast of a nose, while the palate is a complex and quenching celebration of rich maltiness and refreshingly sharp yet restrained bittersweet citrus fruit. The finish continues in this theme.

When Theakston was naming his new venture, he remarked to his wife that this business would make him the black sheep of the family. Little did he know that his action would see the meteoric growth of a brewery that has no pubs but supplies nearly a thousand outlets, many of them with its formidable Best Bitter.

Scotland

Caledonian Brewery, Deuchars IPA, 3.8%

They used to call Edinburgh Auld Reekie in the 19th century because of the rich malty vapours swirling over the city as dozens of breweries satisfied the demand for local ale. Nowadays, Caledonian Brewery is the sole survivor of this dynamic time, but they compensate for their solitary existence with the stupendous Deuchars IPA.

Both a favourite with cask-ale drinkers and writer Ian Rankin and his cop creation, Inspector Rebus, this is an exquisitely fruity beer that is aromatic and flowery on the nose. Hops used are Fuggles and Styrian Goldings. The palate is an elegant balance between a soft, gentle maltiness and emerging citrus hoppy notes. The finish is dry and bittersweet, tempting the drinker to t