S&P owner and head brewer Andy Keely was left almost speechless when told his Plum Porter was the Champion Cask Ale of Norfolk 2026.

Keely, who is preparing to retire, said: “It’s good to see that us experienced elders can still teach the youngsters a thing or two.”

This is the first time Horseford-based S&P has taken the top award although its Blackberry Porter (4.4 per cent ABV) won the Speciality Class in 2025.

The 4.6 per cent winning beer was described by one of the judges as having: “Rich, fruity, blackcurrant notes in both aroma and taste. A vinous maltiness with a dark chocolate edge imposes a mature, lasting, memory. Just like a tawny port.”

Production at the brewery started in 2013 using a 10-barrel plant constructed on land once owned by prominent Norfolk brewers Steward and Patteson (1800-1965), hence the name. Locally produced malts are used as is water from the brewery's borehole.

The winning beers were tasted and scored by members of the Norfolk CAMRA Tasting Panel.

Panel chair Alan Edwards said: “It’s a well-deserved award as Andy has been producing quality cask ales for several years. Norfolk breweries may be small in size but big on quality, as the awards below will testify.”

Runner-up was Woodforde’s Wherry (3.8 per cent), a session bitter from the Woodbastwick brewery. In joint third were Winter Ash (5 per cent), a speciality beer from the Grain brewery in Alburgh and Sirius Dog Star (4.4 per cent), a red ale from Attleborough-based Wolf.