The Champion Beer of Scotland is the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)’s ultimate prize for Scottish cask beers, and the 2021 gold was presented to Fyne Ales for its single-hop blonde ale earlier this month.
“It’s fantastic that Jarl has been recognised as Scotland’s best cask ale again, especially in the year that our brewery celebrated its twentieth birthday,” said Jamie Delap, Fyne Ales MD.
“The past 18 months have been a real challenge for our brewery, and the entire beer industry, so it’s great to have something to celebrate and to kick off 2022 with some really good news.”
Winning brew Jarl, which previously won the same award in 2013, is a 3.8% pale ale offering vibrant grapefruit and delicate lemon flavours and a subtly grassy, refreshing finish.
The beer was the first in Scotland to showcase American Citra hops when it was first brewed in 2010.
Katie Wiles from CAMRA said: "Huge congratulations to Fyne Ales, who has taken home the gold for Jarl in this year's Champion Beer of Scotland competition.
“Jarl is an easy-drinking and perfectly balanced session ale that is bursting with flavour - it’s considered the cream of the crop of Scottish ales."
Established in 1996, the Champion Beer of Scotland is usually awarded as part of the Scottish Real Ale Festival, however due to Covid-19, the 2020 competition was cancelled and 2021 winners determined by CAMRA member nominations and tasting panel recommendations.
Orkney Brewing’s Dark Island was awarded silver, while Loch Lomond and Five Kingdoms breweries shared bronze awards for their Silkie Stout and Dark Storm stouts, respectively.
