Mighty Oak’s Oscar Wilde named Champion Beer of Britain 2011

The Maldon brewed ale, which has an ABV of 3.7 per cent, was judged the supreme champion over a number of other finalists across seven categories, including Bitter, Best Bitter, Strong Bitter, Golden Ale, Mild, Winter Beer, and Speciality.

Described in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2011 as a ‘roasty, dark mild with suggestions of forest fruits and dark chocolate’ with a ‘sweet taste (that) yields to a more bitter finish', the Oscar Wilde has been brewed by Mighty Oak for 10 years, having won the brewery a number of prizes in that time.

Roger Protz, of the final judging panel, said: “Oscar Wilde was a stand-out winner, universally praised by the judges for its overall quality. Once again a dark beer has triumphed over paler beers.

“It’s a beer with great depth of character, and for the style has a lot of hop bitterness as well. It proves that a dark beer can be refreshing even in very hot weather.”

This year’s silver award went to Marble brewery’s Chocolate beer (5.5 per cent ABV), while Salopian brewery was awarded bronze for its Shropshire Gold (3.8 per cent ABV).

The complete list of winners in CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain awards are:​

Overall winners ​
Champion Beer of Britain - Mighty Oak, Oscar Wilde (3.7% ABV, Maldon, Essex)
Silver - Marble, Chocolate (5.5% ABV, Manchester, Gtr Manchester)
Bronze - Salopian, Shropshire Gold (3.8%ABV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire)

Mild category ​
Gold- Mighty Oak, Oscar Wilde (3.7% ABV, Maldon, Essex)
Silver- Rudgate, Ruby Mild (4.4% ABV, York, North Yorkshire)
Bronze- Coastal, Merry Maidens (4% ABV, Redruth, Cornwall)

Bitter category ​
Gold- Salopian, Shropshire Gold (3.8%ABV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire)
Silver- Teignworthy, Reel Ale (4% ABV, Newton Abbot, Devon)
Joint Bronze- Triple fff, Alton’s Pride (3.8% ABV, Alton, Hampshire)
Joint Bronze- Potton, Shannon IPA (3.6% ABV, Potton, Bedfordshire)

Best Bitter category ​
Gold- Houston, Peter’s Well (4.2% ABV, Houston, Renfrewshire)
Silver- Country Life, Golden Pig (4.7% ABV, Bideford, Devon)
Joint Bronze- Castle Rock, Preservation (4.4% ABV, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire)
Joint Bronze- Bollington, Best Bitter (4.2% ABV, Bollington, Cheshire)
Joint Bronze- Blythe, Staffie (4.4% ABV, Rugeley, Staffordshire)

Golden Ale category ​
Gold- Cumbrian Legendary Ales, Loweswater Gold (4.3% ABV, Hawkshead, Cumbria)
Silver- Salamander, Golden Salamander (4.5% ABV, Bradford, West Yorkshire)
Bronze- Holden’s, Golden Glow (4.4% ABV, Dudley, West Midlands)

Strong Bitter category​
Gold- Moles, Mole Catcher (5% ABV, Melksham, Wiltshire)
Silver- Kinver, Half Centurion (5% ABV, Kinver, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Adnams Broadside (4.7% ABV, Southwold, Suffolk)

Speciality Beer category ​
Gold- Oakleaf, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Bitter (4.9% ABV, Gosport, Hampshire)
Silver- Amber, Chocolate Orange Stout (4% ABV, Ripley, Derbyshire)
Bronze- Orkney, Atlas Wayfarer (4.4% ABV, Stromness, Orkney)

Winter Beer of Britain winners (announced in January 2011)​
Dow Bridge, Praetorian Porter (5% ABV, Catthorpe, Leicestershire)
Holden’s, Old Ale (7.2% ABV, Dudley, West Midlands)
Hop Back, Entire Stout (4.5% ABV, Downton, Wiltshire)
Marble, Chocolate (5.5% ABV, Manchester, Gtr Manchester)

Bottled Beer of Britain winners ​
Gold- St Austell, Proper Job (5.5% ABV, St Austell, Cornwall)
Joint Silver- Molson Coors, Worthington White Shield (5.6% ABV, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire)
Joint Silver- Brown Cow, Captain Oates Dark Oat Mild (4.5% ABV, Selby, North Yorkshire)