East Sussex village beer wins gold at national awards

Litlington-based Long Man Brewery’s Old Man has won gold at the Society of Independent Brewers Association’s (SIBA) Independent Beer Awards 2023 in the best bottled or canned bitter in the UK category. The ale won the regional award last year.

SIBA’s competitions chair Anneli Baxter said: “The quality of entries into these awards genuinely does go from strength each year, and 2023 was no exception with some superb beers across the board.

"To win at the regional competitions is tough, to then go on to win your national category [is] even harder – being named one of the very best beers in the whole of the UK by an expert panel of judges. Huge congratulations and well done to all of this year’s winners.”

On Long Man Brewery’s social media post celebrating its most recent accolade, customer Rod Smith said: “I'm not particularly a fan of dark beers but I like this one.” While Dave Curd added: “Fabulously tasty beer, great quality even from the bottle. My favourite for sure hence I have a crate at home (medicinal of course) after a second brewery tour. Get down there and take a peep at what’s happening. It’s a great Sussex beer and I’m proud that it’s only down the road. Keep up the good work lads and lasses.”

On the back of the bottle the brewery says the ale scores 4/5 for bitterness and 2.5/5 for sweetness.

The ale has a 3.54/5 rating on Untapped, a platform for enthusiasts to rate beer. On the app it says the ale has dark, coffee, malty, rich and sweet notes.

The brewery had won six awards at the World Beer Awards 2022 - including the ‘World’s Best Beer’ for its Old Man premium bitter for the second time.

The Old Man premium bitter, which is the brewery’s most decorated beer, won: World’s Best Dark Mild Beer 2022, Gold Winner (UK), Country Winner (UK) – Dark Beer.

Jacob’s review:

I am a big ale fan and have been ever since my uncle introduced them to me when I turned 18 – but I must admit that I rarely choose a dark ale.

Straight after opening the bottle I could smell the sweet notes of the ale and it was quite pleasant. Like the smell, the taste had a surprisingly sweet note which was welcomed. As mentioned in the video it reminded me of Spanish vermouth for some reason – which is not a bad thing as I do enjoy the occasional vermouth on the weekend.

On the back of the bottle it says you should experience a hint of coffee and you definitely notice this when you are drinking the ale. Overall the taste was quite strong, so I wouldn’t recommend this for someone who was an ale novice.

In my opinion, after drinking around 200 different beers throughout the years, it is not the best in the world – but obviously this is just my opinion as someone who is not the biggest dark ale fan. As far as dark ales go it is definitely up there, although I still wouldn’t say it is the best I have ever had. Looking back I would get the Old Man again if I was to see it in a pub and would recommend it to any ale fans out there.

As I said in the video I imagine it would hit the spot a bit better if the ale was just slightly colder and if the environment I was in was also cooler. This isn’t a beer you are going to want to drink on the beach in summer, but it is one that would fit the vibe perfectly in a traditional pub in the middle of winter.

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