Registration for this year’s this year’s National Homebrew Beer Awards has opened, organised by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA).
And a partnership with hop merchant Charles Faram means the brewers get access to the latest experimental British hop, code-named CF243.
Early feedback shows it offers orange peel, spearmint, and intense honey flavours. Entrants will have the chance to brew a single-malt and single-hop (SMaSH) beer with the new hops and provide valuable intelligence on how they perform.
“We have a pioneering hop development programme, which breeds new unique varieties to find the next generation of hops,” said Paul Corbett, managing director of Charles Faram.
“We’re looking forward to placing some of these in the hands of homebrewers to see what they can do with them. Their feedback will be vital in determining the future of this new variety.”
The competition will give the winner the opportunity to scale-up their recipe on Copper Beech Brewing Co’s 1,400-litre brew kit, with the beer being made available in their taproom.
Brewery director, Dan Lawson, said: “At Copper Beech we pride ourselves on using locally-sourced ingredients, and we’re really looking forward to trying out the latest cutting-edge British hops and seeing what our innovative homebrewers can make with them.”
The competition — now in its fourth year — is free to enter for SIBA homebrewer members. 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 next March.
“By entering the awards you also get to join SIBA as a homebrewer member, which gives you access to a range of opportunities to pursue your brewing aspirations,” said Barry Watts, head of public affairs at SIBA.
“We’re really fortunate to have the chance to access these special hops this year, but also give homebrewers the opportunity to share their insights to develop them further.”
Homebrewers who have registered for the competition will be able to get hold of the experimental hops via The Malt Miller.
For more information, and to enter, click here.
