Indie beer

Windsor & Eton Brewery was the big winner at this year’s Indie Beer Can Festival, grabbing the Best in Show and Best Ale gongs for its Treason West Coast IPA (6% abv).

Other winners included Williams Bros Brewing Company, which won Best Lager with Brotherhood Lager (rsp: tbc, 3.5% abv); Firebird Brewing Company, which was victorious in the Best Other category with Fireweisse (rsp: £2.19/330ml, 5% abv); and Redwell Brewery, which scooped Best Design with Steam Lager (rsp: £15/6x330ml, 4.6% abv).

Out of 130 entrants, 36 semi-finalists were shortlisted and 13 chosen as finalists. Some entries, including Treason, were canned specifically for the final, meaning they are not yet commercially available in a tin. 

“It’s been a real but brilliant shock,” said Kieran Johnson, production manager at Windsor & Eton. “I am personally very influenced by the US market. It has spent the past 10 years showing the world market that the can is the way forward, and I’m so glad that the UK is following suit.”