FARAMANIA 2022

Faramania Homebrew Competition

Valuable feedback

FARAMANIA is a homebrew competition with a valuable input into
making hop history.

The homebrewers are able to trial Charles Faram experimental hop varieties where only a handful of hop cones are yet in existence.

This quantity is way too small to send to commercial brewers for trial, so this process enables us to fast-track brand new varieties through the Charles Faram Hop Development Programme.

For more information on the Programme visit https://www.charlesfaram.co.uk/new-hop-varieties/ 

The winners

The awards were presented to the winning brewers after the judging sessions.

Faram’s will take the judges comments and scoring back to base to analyse and determine which hops to continue with in the programme.

Final BrewerHops
GoldPALE 04Stephen BevanCF276
SilverIPA 10Gareth OakesCF302
BronzeIPA 19Dave CutlerCF161
Pale Ale 4.0 – 5.5%    Brewer Hops
Gold PALE 15 Martin Cullwick CF247
Silver PALE 09 Sean O’Toole CF247
Bronze PALE 04 Stephen Bevan CF276
IPA 5.5 – 7.5%     Brewer Hops
Gold IPA 13 Ian Priddey CF247
Silver IPA 10 Gareth Oakes CF302
Bronze IPA 19 Dave Cutler CF161

The process

In February a standard bittering hop and a sample of a Charles Faram experimental variety were sent to the participating brewers from Midland Craft Brewers, Hereford Homebrew Club and Worcestershire Homebrew club.

We watched the progress of the brews through social media and reports from the WhatsApp group as brewers excitedly made regular updates.

The judging

In 2022 the judging took place Saturday 9th April at Sociable Beer in Worcester with commercial brewers and homebrewers on the panels.

Beer categories

Pale Ale 4.0 – 5.5% ABV 

  • Category includes Blonde, Golden, American Ales 
  • Beer must be pale and golden in colour
  • The beer must be hop forward with the hop character of the Charles Faram variety hop character to be noticed
  • Must not contain any speciality ingredient*
  • Beer may contain Wheat, rye and other cereal grains, but must remain true to style. We recommend <20%

*Spice/Herb/Honey/Coffee/Chocolate/Fruit/Vegetable/Wood Aged/Smoked Malts/Nuts and others as per the imagination of the Brewer.

IPA 5.5 – 7.5% ABV 

  • Category includes British IPA, American IPA, NEIPA and Strong British Bitter 
  • Beer should be pale and golden in colour
  • The beer should be hop forward with the Charles Faram variety hop character to be noticed
  • Must not contain any speciality ingredient*
  • Beer may contain Wheat, rye and other cereal grains, but must remain true to style. We recommend <20%

*Spice/Herb/Honey/Coffee/Chocolate/Fruit/Vegetable/Wood Aged/Smoked Malts//Nuts and others as per the imagination of the Brewer.