Black Gold is a champion discovery in Aviemore!
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Aviemore can boast to being home to Scotland's best beer – and here is the picture to prove it.
CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Scotland competition was held at the Ayrshire Real Ale Festival in October.
After a close competition, Cairngorm Brewery’s Black Gold, a 4.4 per cent Session Stout, was judged to be the Champion Beer of Scotland for 2023.
CAMRA’s Scotland Director Stuart McMahon said “Cairngorm Brewery, which is based in Aviemore, is making some great beers at present.
"Black Gold was a very worthy winner, despite the strong competition from the other category winners.
"It is a very good example of a rich stout, with the strong roast and burnt malts to the fore, but with a lovely smooth, bitter but sweet aftertaste.”
Black Gold is described as having roast malt which dominates throughout, slight smokiness in aroma leading to a liquorice and blackcurrant background taste giving it a background sweetness.
Mr McMahon said: "The beer has a very long, dry bitter finish. No less than four colours of malt make the grist. Black Gold is a worthy championship winner."
The CAMRA boss visited the brewery on Aviemore's Dalfaber's industrial estate to hand over the trophy.
The same Cairngorm Brewery beer also recently won two awards in SIBA’s Scottish competition – a gold award in the cask session dark beers category, and also a silver in the overall champion Scottish cask beer final.
It has previously won CAMRA’s Winter Beer of Britain for Stouts in 2012.
Loch Lomond Brewery’s Bravehop IPA took the silver award at the CAMRA championship with Swannay Dark Munro winning the bronze award.
CAMRA is the Campaign for Real Ale an independent voluntary consumer organisation based in St Albans which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs.
