London Ale Taster Found in Ancient Role Revival

Spitalfields, London, UK, 18th June 2010 – The battle for the title of London Ale Taster 2010 reached it’s thrilling climax in an event that took place in the historic setting of Old Spitalfields Market, London. The competition was tough, but Steve Williams, a 48-year-old Chartered Accountant from South West London, took the coveted crown in front of the assembled crowd. Each of the six, short-listed contestants faced four rounds of ‘blind’ tastings, where they had to match four named beers to four samples. Each of the rounds covered a beer style, starting with Porters and Stouts, then Premium Bitters, Pale Ales and finally a mixed round that included locally-produced lagers and blonde beers. The five other contestants were Christine Green, Nancy Rundhammer, Tom Harman, Daniel Durban and Jane Peyton, all from London. The fifth and final round saw each contestant make a one minute presentation to a panel of judges that included: Pete Brown, a leading beer writer and historian; Steve Wellington, master brewer with the famous White Shield micro-brewery; George Philliskirk, former brewer and known to many TV viewers as the ‘Beer Doctor’ and Malcolm Ball, chief executive of the Wellington Market Company, the company responsible for Old Spitalfields Market and the revival of this historic role. London Ale Taster, Steve Williams, stepped off the City treadmill in 2003 to enjoy life a bit more. He now works as an accountant part time and was CAMRA's Regional Director for London from 2004 to 2009. He said: "I am delighted to be the winner of this coveted role. The judges decided that my passion for beer was the deciding factor and I will do my best to make sure I live up to the title of London Ale Taster. Cheers!" Malcolm Ball, one of the event judges and chief executive of Wellington Market Company, said: “I’d like to congratulate Steve on winning the 2010 London Ale Taster competition. I know that the blind tasting rounds were closely contested, but his presentation to our judging panel was outstanding. He managed to somehow shoe-horn all of his passion and enthusiasm for the subject of beer into a one minute presentation.” “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that contributed to the success of the event, the brewers, my fellow judges and perhaps most importantly, the two runners up, Jane Peyton who came second, Tom Harman, third and the other three candidates Christine, Nancy and Daniel for making the event so entertaining for the audience. “We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people that attended the competition and beer market and I can assure you that this will become an annual event. It’s widely reported that real ales are making a comeback as consumers seek-out better taste and quality. These well-crafted beers will become a regular feature in our events calendar here at Old Spitalfields Market.” Malcolm Ball went on to explain that the London Ale Taster will have a much more modern-day role: “Steve, or should I say, The London Ale Taster, will be given a weekly beer budget so that he can carry out the role of ‘mystery drinker’ in the capital’s pubs. We’ll shortly be setting him up with a blog (website diary page) on the www.londonaletaster.co.uk domain so that he can report back to consumers on what he finds on his travels. “We are planning a number of food and drink-related events at our market this year and the successful candidate will hopefully preside over a number of beer-related activities, such as tasting classes, food / beer matching sessions and the launch of a new beer called Old Spitalfields Bitter (OSB) which we hope will be produced with the help of the public and London’s brewers. “I’d like to stress that the London Ale Taster is all about responsible drinking and in no way are we promoting binge drinking – I guess you could sum up the role with the phrase ‘quality, not quantity’!” The event was supported by a plethora of local brewers, including Brodie’s Beers (Leyton), Fullers (Chiswick), Meantime (Greenwich), Redemption Brewing Company (Tottenham), Sambrook’s Brewery (Battersea), Sharps (Rock, Cornwall), The Kernel Brewery (SE1) and the White Shield micro-brewery (Burton). The Beer Academy and Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) also attended the event to promote their respective organisations activities. One of the London Ale Taster judges, Pete Brown, leading beer writer and historian, whose books have charted the history of brewing and drinking, added: “There’s an unprecedented level of interest in great beer these days and a lot of that interest is coming from people who love locally sourced, flavourful, crafted food and drink of all types and don’t see why beer should be any exception.” “This post should help spread the appreciation of beer even further and help turn more people on to the variety and depth of flavour in great beer.” Further information can be found at find out more at the London Ale Taster website www.londonaletaster.co.uk Old Spitalfields Market is a short walk from Liverpool Street Station and Aldgate East Tube – please visit www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com for further information.

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