Lignum Vitae, a 6.5 per cent New World IPA brewed by Alburgh’s Grain, has been named the Champion Cask Beer of Norfolk 2024 by the county’s Norfolk branches. 

The beer scored highly at tastings throughout the year and is described in the Good Beer Guide as: “Orange, toffee, and banana on the nose flows into the first taste. A smooth digestive sweetness adds depth as a hoppy bitterness slowly grows.”

Grain was launched in 2006 by Geoff Wright and Phil Halls in a converted dairy in the Waveney Valley. The brewery upgraded to an 18-barrel plant in 2012. Grain owns two pubs – the Plough in Norwich and Spread Eagle in Ipswich. 

Halls said: “I was absolutely thrilled to hear Lignum Vitae had just been declared Champion Beer of Norfolk. It is a beer the team at Grain is very proud of and, although the base recipe has remained the same since we first brewed it in 2010, our brewers, Marc and Grahame, are always tinkering with the brew to make it the best it can be. This proves their hard work pays off.

“It is an important victory for us, as it comes at a time when we see pubs struggling to make ends meet, due to extraordinary cost and overhead increases for brewers, pubs, and their customers.

“And yet we see cask beer thriving and a big driver in getting people out of their houses and into the pub. A pint of cask beer down the pub is not something that can be replicated at home.”

Second overall was Woild Moild, a 4.8 per cent strong mild brewed by the Wolf brewery of Besthorpe.

The beer is described in the Good Beer Guide as “rich and complex with malt, vine fruit, bitterness and roast vying for dominance”.

Third was Season of the Witch, a 4.8 per cent porter, from the Bull of the Woods brewery in Kirby Kane near Bungay. 

Judges’ notes described it as having: “A powerful introduction with well-balanced malt, roast, raisin, and treacle to the fore. Initial plummy sweetness slowly dries out.”

Norfolk panel chair Alan Edwards paid tribute to the brewers and panel members: “We are fortunate to have so many Norfolk breweries producing some spectacularly good beers. Members of the CAMRA tasting panels work hard to taste and update beer and brewery information to keep drinkers well informed and publicise their products.”

WHO WON WHAT 

CHAMPION CASK BEER OF NORFOLK 2024

WINNER           GRAIN LIGNUM VITAE 

RUNNER-UP    WOLF WOILD MOILD 

THIRD               BULL OF THE WOODS SEASON OF THE WITCH 

MILD

WINNER           MR WINTER’S FUSIONEER 

SESSION BITTER

JOINT WINNER WOODFORDE’S WHERRY

JOINT WINNER WOODFORDE’S FLAGONDRY

THIRD                FAT CAT TABBY

PREMIUM BITTER

WINNER          FAT CAT MARMALADE 

RUNNER-UP   WOODFORDE’S NELSON’S

IPA

WINNER          GRAIN LIGNUM VITAE                              

SESSION PALE BLONDE & GOLDEN ALE

WINNER          BOUDICCA QUEEN OF HOPS 

RUNNER-UP   MOON GAZER JIGFOOT

PREMIUM PALE BLONDE & GOLDEN ALE

WINNER           LACONS LEGACY

RUNNER-UP    MOON GAZER CHEEKY JACK

THIRD               FAT CAT TOM CAT

RED ALE, BROWN ALE, OLD ALE & STRONG MILD

WINNER           WOLF WOILD MOILD 

RUNNER-UP    WOODFORDE’S NOG 

SESSION STOUT & PORTER

JOINT WINNER CHALK HILL BLACK ANNA 

JOINT WINNER CHALK HILL BOUNTY HUNTER

THIRD                FAT CAT MILK STOUT 

STRONG STOUT & PORTER

WINNER            BULL OF THE WOODS SEASON OF THE WITCH 

SPECIALITY ALE

WINNER            MR WINTER’S VANILLA LATTE