Brewery toasts success of 'Beer of Britain' award

Colin Bocking and his wife Fiona, pictured together on the top right, had a photo taken with staff from other breweries who were also nominated

A brewery is celebrating after one of its beers was crowned the winner of a prestigious award.

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) named Essex-based Crouch Vale Brewery's Amarillo the Champion Beer of Britain.

Colin Bocking, 69, started the brewery in South Woodham Ferrers in 1981 and said winning was "good news - it's always a lovely surprise when this sort of thing happens, it felt great".

The long-standing Camra awards are given to recognise the best pubs, clubs, beer and cider in the UK.

The brewery was crowned the winner at an awards ceremony in Nottinghamshire

Mr Bocking said he was about 26 when he started the business, which he has been running with his wife, Fiona, for 43 years.

"It was a complete career change for me," he said.

"I was in the civil service. I was administering pensions and benefits, and I thought there was probably more to life, and I came over to this."

The pair were crowned winners at an awards ceremony in Nottinghamshire on Wednesday.

The event looked at several beers from different breweries across the country before the winners were chosen.

Its beer won in the Premium Ale category before it went on to win the title of Supreme Champion Beer of Britain 2024.

It became the third Camra award the brewery had won, after previously winning in 2005 and 2006.

"There are thousands of beers out there - a lot of them are very good and the odds of winning an award like this are always fairly slim, because there is so much competition," Mr Bocking added.

"So to win it is a lovely surprise, because the odds are always against it."