Home brewers in the Greater Manchester area are invited to take part in Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA’s annual competition, now in its seventh year.

Prize winners in each of the five categories will brew with one of the region’s foremost brewers and see their beers on sale in pubs, as well as on Bar Nouveau at the Stockport Beer & Cider Festival in June 2023.

The classes are:

– Mild and Brown Ale maximum Alcohol by Volume (ABV) 5.5 per cent. This is your chance to take old beer styles and run with them. The winning beer will be brewed at Runaway in Stockport.

– Bitter, Pale Ale and Session IPA max ABV 5 per cent. This covers session ales, pale ales, amber or blonde. The winning beer will be brewed at Blackjack in Manchester

– Strong Pale Ale, ESB and IPA. This covers a wide variety of styles including any type of IPA. Strength should range from a minimum of 5 to 6.5 per cent. The winning beer will be brewed at Thirst Class, Stockport.

– Stout and Porter. This is a broad category and added flavours and ingredients are optional. Maximum ABV 6 per cent. The winning beer will be brewed at Torrside Brewing in New Mills.

– Your choice. Saison, bock, smoked beers or whatever – all are welcome. Maximum 7 per cent ABV. The winning beer will be brewed at Marble in Salford.

Entrants will need to bear a few things in mind. Although the blind judging by brewers, publicans and CAMRA members will be from bottles, they will also have to work as cask beers and be commercial, as the host brewers will have to sell them on the open market. A tiny amount of drift will be allowed on the ABV, but not huge overshoots. Bottles will have to be delivered to Stockport and winners must be available to brew at their host brewer in 2023.

Stockport & S Manchester chair John Clarke said “We are pleased to be running CAMRA’s longest-standing home brew competition again in 2023. Since we started in 2015, many fine beers have been brewed and enjoyed by a wide range of beer aficionados across the country.

“Some of last year’s winning beers have been spotted on sale in London and the South East as well as in the Midlands. We are grateful to our local breweries for hosting the winning home brewers and encouraged by the results, one or two of the entrants are now involved in the industry.”

To enter, participants should email their name, contact details and notification of which categories they wish to enter to stocam@btinternet.com by 15 January.

Details of the beers will be required by early February and judging will take place in late March/early April next year. The winners will be brewing at their host brewery in late May or early June.

Home brewers who need further details and guidance should contact John Clarke stocam@btinternet.com

Pictured from left: Marble head brewer Joe Ince and Dave Ogden of Chorlton Homebrewers