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 | Brewer | Hops | |||
| Gold | PALE 04 | Stephen Bevan | CF276 | ||
| Silver | IPA 10 | Gareth Oakes | CF302 | ||
| Bronze | IPA 19 | Dave Cutler | CF161 | ||
| 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.
