CAMRA named Patrick Davies (pictured) as its “brewer of tomorrow” at this year’s Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) in its second home brew competition.

The judges crowned Magnificent Frigate Strong Mild (6.2 per cent) as the worthy winner following rigorous judging.

Davies took home first prize, which invites him to Brewhouse & Kitchen in Worthing to brew his winning beer in a 500L kit with support of the head brewer. The winning beer will be sold and distributed at selected CAMRA festivals.

Davies describes his beer as an “end of a night beer”, which is rich, warming and smooth.

Davies, who began brewing in 2016, said: “This award is very exciting and unexpected, I used to work in real ale pubs and learnt a lot about beer and felt the best way to learn more was to begin making it myself. I’m incredibly excited to see how the beer tastes when brewed in a professional kit.”

Silver went to Richard Roseblade for his Golden Dragon. His prize is a case of eight craft beers every month for a year, courtesy of Beer52.

Bronze was awarded to Mark Robotham for his Old Claire. He won four VIP tickets for the 2024 Great British Beer Festival.

Festival organiser Catherine Tonry said: “I am delighted to give this award to Patrick, it’s testament to the passion and love our brewers of tomorrow have for live beer.

“To announce the results at trade day at GBBF gives all the finalists the opportunity to talk with the wider industry and build their networks as they continue their brewing venture.

“Some of the best beers in the UK started from small beginnings and it is vital we work with brewers who may be starting out on their journey, while recognising their commitment and hard work. 

“Now in its second year, the award is well-established as a national home brew competition, I look forward to seeing some of the best beers of tomorrow being produced by both current and future competitors.”

The competition spanned a host of beer styles from milds and IPAs to barley wines and porters and was sponsored by Brewhouse & Kitchen, Beer52, The Malt Miller and Brew At Home.

All category winners can be found here.