NEWS OF THE BREWS
Bombardier
The beer known as the "Drink of England" is on the hunt to find the nation's ultimate icon.
Wells Bombardier is giving everyone the chance to pick their favourite icons from throughout history. The competition will run until St George's Day on 23 April, and Bombardier is urging people to get behind England's national day.
Brewery boss Paul Wells said: "Whether it is Churchill, Shakespeare, Henry VIII or St George, England's ultimate icon should be the person that best represents the pride of England.
"We all celebrate St Patrick's Day and have our haggis
on Burns Night, so as an Englishman, I'd love to see everyone making the most of our national day, and celebrate St George and all things English."
Wells Bombardier has been campaigning for nearly 10 years for people to celebrate St George's Day, turning it into the third busiest day of the year in the pub calendar.
Barnsley Glory
Barnsley's Acorn Brewery has brewed a special ale in honour of the town's FA Cup heroes.
Barnsley Glory celebrates the football club reaching the semi-final at Wembley on 6 April. It follows the team's nail-biting 1-0 victory over Premiership giants Chelsea in the last round.
Made with Challenger and Admiral hops, the dark, traditional, 4.7% abv ale is available now.
Brewery owner Dave Hughes said: "The team here is fanatical about the Reds, so once they had come back to earth after the Chelsea win we tackled the serious business of coming up with a suitable brew.
"We expect Barnsley Glory to do very well over the next few weeks because of the tremendous support the club is receiving from everyone in the town."
Meanwhile, Acorn has made a major investment to double production capacity to 100 barrels per week as demand for its cask-conditioned beers grows.
Severn Sins
A beer made in a disused milking parlour in Gloucestershire has been voted best in the UK in a competition run by Britain's local brewers.
Severn Sins, a full-bodied stout from the Severn Vale Brewing Company, based in the village of Cam, took the supreme champion award in the 2008 National Beer Competition organised by the Society of Independent Brewers (Siba).
The 5.2% abv beer beat 342 other draught ales from around Britain, ranging from milds to speciality beers, on its way to becoming national champion.
The brewery supplies more than 50 pubs including the Old Spot in Dursley, which last month was named Camra's National Pub of the Year.
Brewery owner Steve McDonald said: "Winning the Siba award is a dream come true and made all our hard work worthwhile."
Moorhouse's of Burnley, Lancashire, took silver with its Premier Bitter, while bronze went to Vale Brewery at Brill, Buckinghamshire, for its Gravitas premium ale.
