Champion Beer of Wales
# Champion Beer of Wales

The Champion Beer of Wales is a beer award presented annually by the Campaign for Real Ale at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival in Cardiff, Wales.

The award is selected by a multi-tier system. First, individual branches of CAMRA nominate beers that have been in regular, non-seasonal production for at least one year from Welsh breweries in a series of CAMRA-defined categories. The most commonly nominated beers in each category are then presented to tasting panels, with one panel consisting of four to six people tasting each beer in a particular style in a blind tasting. These tasting panels are selected from CAMRA members and other individuals, including members of the brewing industry (although representatives of nominated beers' breweries are excluded). The winners in each of these categories are then presented to a new panel consisting of local celebrities, politicians, and brewers, who, again blind tasting, selects an overall champion, silver medalist, and bronze medalist. Awards are given for the top beer in each category and the three overall top places.

## Winners

Current & previous winners are summarized:

| Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1996 | Plassey Brewery Dragon’s Breath | N/A | N/A |
| 1997 | Plassey Brewery Dragon’s Breath | Bullmastiff | Tomos Watkin OSB |
| 1998 | Flannery’s Oatmeal Stout | N/A | N/A |
| 1999 | Bullmastiff Gold | Tomos Watkin Old Style Bitter | Pembroke Brewery Old Nobbie Stout |
| 2000 | Bullmastiff Gold | Warcop Pit Prop | Plassey Brewery Dragon’s Breath |
| 2001 | Tomos Watkin Merlin's Stout | Brains Dark | Swansea Brewery Original Wood |
| 2002 | Bryncelyn Brewery Buddy Marvelous | Bullmastiff Gold | Brains Dark |
| 2003 | Bryncelyn Brewery Oh Boy | Tomos Watkin Merlin Stout | Bryncelyn Brewery Buddy Marvelous |
| 2004 | Breconshire Brewery Golden Valley | Bullmastiff | Bryncelyn Brewery Buddy Marvelous |
| 2005 | Bullmastiff | Tomos Watkin Merlin Stout | Bryncelyn Brewery Oh Boy |
| 2006 | Otley O8 | Brains Dark | Otley OG |
| 2007 | Rhymney Dark | Bryncelyn Brewery Holly Hop | Bryncelyn Brewery Buddy Marvelous |
| 2008 | Otley O8 | Brains Gold | Brains Dark |
| 2009 | Purple Moose Snowdonia Ale | Otley OG Bitter | Otley Porter |
| 2010 | Otley, O-Garden | Bragdy'r Nant, Mwnci Nel | Rhymney, Export |
| 2011 | Rhymney Dark | Rhymney Export | Otley O8 |
| 2012 | Heart of Wales, High as a Kite | Heart of Wales, Welsh Black Stout | Rhymney, Hobby Horse |
| 2013 | Tiny Rebel, Dirty Stop Out | Tiny Rebel, Fubar | Tiny Rebel, Urban IPA |
| 2014 | Tiny Rebel, Fubar | Purple Moose, Dark Side of the Mouse | Great Orme, Welsh Black |
| 2015 | VOG Brewery, Dark Matter | Tudor Brewery, Black Mountain Stout | Purple Moose, Dark Side of the Moose |
| 2016 | Tudor Brewery, Black Rock | Boss Brewing, Boss Black | Monty's, Old Jailhouse |
