31/07/2026
Following on from our clutch of new Great Taste Awards, a very gracious post from one of the judges Laura Hadland
I've been judging beer for the Great Taste Awards for an unbelievable 8 years now. The best bit is always when the winners are announced and I get to triangulate my carefully compiled judging notes against the star awards and figure out who made the beers I really, really loved!
I've been through the process again for 2026 and I've whittled down my top 10. These are beers that actually won a 2* or 3* and which I awarded either 2* or 3*. It's always very satisfying to see a mixture of old favourites and new-to-me breweries popping up and this year was no exception.
In no particular order, the first beers on my list are:
* Brulo - Lust for Life 0.5% IPA - an old favourite this, been scoring it highly for years!
* Stone Daisy Brewing - Snail Creep Hanging Best Bitter - new to me!
* Weetwood - Cheshire Beers and Spirits - Vienna lager - been making plenty of great beers for a while now, but this one is a cracker.
* Lidl GB Crafty Irish Red Ale - I've been doing taste tests of the supermarkets for a couple of years now, but this one had slipped my radar so far.
* Gan Yam Brew Co. - Aye IPA - another newbie to me, so more exploring to do there!
* Rye River Brewing Co. Grafters Night Shift American Brown - no surprise to see this name on the list. Top beer.
* Jennings Brewery - Sneck Lifter - needs no introduction, but delighted to see the newly invigorated Jennings get some well-deserved stars.
And finally, my top 3 are all beers that I awarded 3*, but obviously not enough people in the room agreed, I think they all got 2* in the end. But they were my personal favourites from the 65 or so beers I judged on my day at the Guild of Fine Food.
* First & Last Brewery - Belgian style plum ale - new brewery to me and I need not get more of this beer. It was everything I like.
* Missing Link Brewing - Pygmy Hazy Table Beer - wonderful mid-strength beer at 2.8%, so sessionable.
* Three Tuns Brewery - Castle Embers Ruby Porter - lovely to see that not only did one of my local Shropshire brewers crop up on the list, but that I wanted Three Tuns to pick up 3* for this delicious beer.
I hope that gives you all some new breweries to keep an eye out for, as it has done for me!