An alcohol-free beer brewed near Bristol has been judged the best in the South West just a few months after being launched.
Butcombe Brewing’s Goram IPA Zero first went on sale in August and marked the firm’s first move into the fast-growing no and low-alcohol drinks market. 
It has now triumphed at the SIBA (The Society of Independent Brewers) Bottle and Can Beer Independent Beer Awards for the South West, landing Gold in the no/low alcohol beer category.
The award scheme is one the UK’s leading beer competitions, with an expert judging panel made up of brewers and beer sommeliers.
Wrington-based Butcombe, which has been making beer since 1978 and is now part of Channel Islands-based Liberation Group, describes Goram IPA Zero as an easy-to-drink and refreshing ale made with a punchy blend of English, US and New Zealand hops which balance stone fruit, citrus and bitter notes.
The recipe mirrors Butcombe’s original Goram IPA – named after Bristol’s legendary giant – giving it the strong, big flavours of a normal IPA but without the alcohol.
The brewery also scooped a bronze award for its Stateside Session IPA in the Session IPA category. 
Liberation Group MD, brewing & distribution, Marc McGuigan, said: “We only launched Goram IPA Zero a few months ago as our very first alcohol-free product (ALC less than 0.5%) so to be winning awards already is fantastic.
“The team has worked incredibly hard to produce a great tasting alcohol-free IPA that is full of authentic flavour and body.
“It’s available in bottles and on draught meaning it’s an excellent choice for those looking for a non-alcoholic drink at home or at the pub this festive season.”
This year the judging sessions had to take place over Zoom, with the panel marking ales for appearance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste and saleability.
SIBA competitions committee chair Neil Walker, who helped run the two-day judging session, said: “With medallists beating competition from across the region, I’d like to say a huge congratulations to all of this year’s winners as the quality of entries was incredibly high, and encourage anyone looking for a great-tasting local beer to enjoy or gift this Christmas to give these breweries a try.”
The South West Gold winners will now go forward to fight it out for national awards against the other regional champions at BeerX next March.
SIBA was established in 1980 to represent the interests of the growing number of independent breweries in Britain and now has around 830 independent craft brewery members.
Butcombe owns 60 pubs – many of them gastropubs or inns with accommodation – in an area stretching from Bristol and the South West to the South of England and the West Midlands.
In Bristol it owns The Bell in Stokes Croft, The Cottage Inn at Baltic Wharf, The Hatchett Inn on Frogmore Street, The Ostrich on Lower Guinea Street and The Whitmore Tap on Whiteladies Road, which was converted earlier this year to become Butcombe’s first taproom and named after Simon Whitmore, who founded the brewery in 1978.
