SIBA is partnering with Five Points Brewing Co, malt specialists Crisp Malt, and The Malt Miller, to challenge homebrewers to brew the best British dark beer.
And to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Maris Otter malt in 2025, each beer should use this variety as the base of their brew. Crisp Malt is providing this and the other malts for a standard-sized homebrewed beer free to all entrants.
“Maris Otter was a gamechanger when it first emerged nearly 60 years ago in 1965 and is beloved by brewers for its mild malty flavour and biscuit aroma,” said Mike Benson, from Crisp Malt.
“It’s formed the basis of hundreds of award-winning beers over the years, therefore it’s fitting to celebrate such a revered malt by seeing what a new crop of homebrewers can do with it in their dark beers.”
The SIBA National Homebrew Beer Awards 2025, which opens for entries today, will give one talented homebrewer the opportunity to brew their winning beer with the expert team at Five Points Brewery on its innovative test kit, with the beer being available in their pub and taproom.
“At Five Points we’re passionate about our traditional beers and heritage malts, and love to combine them with new flavours,” said Greg Hobbs, director of the brewery. “We’re really excited to see what homebrewers can do with Maris Otter and other ingredients to explore the wide range of British dark beer styles.”
The competition is free for SIBA Homebrewer members and now in its third year. It gives amateur brewers the chance to have their beers judged by the UK’s best professional brewers, sommeliers, and experts at BeerX in Liverpool, in March.
A new challenge
“The quality of the entries gets better every year, making it really difficult for our judges to choose the best homebrewed beer”, said Barry Watts, head of public affairs at SIBA.
“This year we wanted to set a new challenge and focus on the wide range of British dark beers, which could include milds, stouts, or even red ales. The only rules are that it must contain the legendary Maris Otter as the main base malt from Crisp Malt, be between 4% and 6% ABV and hit the colour range for a dark beer. The rest is up to you.”
Homebrewers who have registered for the competition will be able to get hold of their Maris Otter and other Crisp Malts via The Malt Miller, who have a wide range of ingredients available.
“Competitions are a key way for homebrewers to test their skills, experiment with new ingredients, and, importantly, get vital feedback so they can improve, and so we’re proud to partner with SIBA on the Homebrew Beer Awards,” said Robert Neale, managing director of The Malt Miller.
“The huge variety of British dark beers makes this year’s competition very exciting and we can’t wait to see and taste what homebrewers enter.”
More information on the awards can be found here.
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