All CAMRA members can now go online to nominate their favourite beers for entry into the North West Champion Beer of Britain competition. The winners from this area competition will go forward to the national Champion Beer of Britain competition at the Great British Beer Festival in August. To make your nominations click here. Note that to enter the site you will need your membership number and password (your postcode unless you’ve changed it). Closing date for nominations is 29th February.  

The Waters Green Tavern, Macclesfield received the Branch award of Winter Pub of the Season at a well attended social evening on 27^th December 2011. The award was presented to Brian and Tracy by Branch Chairman Rob Nicholson who reminded us that despite all the new and improved outlets for real ale in Macclesfield that have opened in recent years the Waters Green continued to stand out for the quality and variety of the beer served.  On these winter nights the friendly staff and real fire guarantee a warm welcome.

It’s been a good few months for two of East Cheshire’s newer breweries.  Firstly in August the Bollington Brewing Company gained the bronze award in the ‘Best Bitter’ category at the prestigious Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) at Earl’s Court for its ‘Bollington Best’ bitter.  This followed on from the same beer being voted ‘Champion Beer of Cheshire’ in 2009. 

Secondly RedWillow brewery of Macclesfield also gained a bronze award, this for their 'Smokeless' in the new brewery category at the Peterborough Beer Festival later in August. The festival is probably second only to the GBBF in terms of status.  That success was followed in October by its 'Wreckless' being voted ‘Champion Beer of Cheshire 2011’ swiftly followed later that month by it gaining a gold award in the 'Premium Bitter' category at the SIBA  Great Northern Beer Festival in Manchester.

Congratulations go to the two young brewers responsible, Lee Wainwright at Bollington and Toby McKenzie at RedWillow.  We are privileged to have such talented and enthusiastic brewers in our midst. 

Mobberley Fine Ales was established in July 2011 by two partners, Phil Roberts and Ray Britland. Our brewery is housed in an old milking parlour on a working farm, set in the heart of the Cheshire countryside.

Our aim is to brew fine ales of a high quality, using only the ingredients of malted barley, wheat, hops and yeast, to produce traditional and natural refreshing products.

Our first brew was produced in mid July and to ensure we had a product of the highest quality, we invited just over 80 villagers to come and taste the beer, at a specially arranged “tasting evening” at our brewery. Each attendee was asked to complete a questionnaire to ascertain how they rated our beer and we scored a massive 8 out of 10.

Indeed local landlords, who also attended, were queuing up to order our beer before they left and having been ahead of the game and taken a delivery a few days before, our first beer called “HedgeHopper” went on sale in the Church Inn in Mobberley, the very next day and has been a permanent feature ever since.

Other local pubs have quickly followed suit and “HedgeHopper” is now also a regular feature in the Bulls Head, Mobberley;  the Victory Hall Memorial Club, Mobberley;  and the Egerton Arms at Chelford. The latest establishments to take the beer have been the Railway Inn, Mobberley and Sutton Hall in Sutton.

HedgeHopper – our first beer

The graphics have been carefully designed to not only be bright and cheerful (a bit like ourselves!!), but represent the rural countryside in which our brewery is based. We have even included one of the ever present pheasants in the surrounding fields!

HedgeHopper is a golden ale brewed to our very own original recipe, with a rather fuller body than it’s ABV suggests, a hint of hoppyness and a very pleasant lingering, mildly bitter but malty aftertaste.
Just right for leaving you wanting another one!

MOBBERLEY FINE ALES LIMITED
Kell House Farm, Broad Oak Lane, Mobberley, Cheshire, WA16 6JN

Telephone: Phil Roberts on 07879 771209

Copied from press release, Rob Nicholson, Aug 2011