Broughton Champion Ale

This is another dark ale. It was much nicer than the Milk Stout, probably because it was a bit more lively as well as having a bit more taste. The brewery that produces it is situated in the village of Broughton in the Scottish Borders. Broughton lies between the towns of Biggar and Peebles on the A701 about 25 miles south of Edinburgh. Founded in 1980, Broughton Ales now produce 11 different bottled beers, including three organic beers, an own label product for Waitrose and an organic beer for Marks & Spencer. Find out more at http://www.broughtonales.co.uk/

This beer is a blend of a strong ale and a porter style beer, each brewed in their own way, but married together in a conditioning tank to produce an interesting mix of flavour and aroma. It was the Tesco Beer Challenge winner 2006, though I don't know how much of a recommendation this is. Champion Double ale has also been judged to be in "The World's 50 Best Beers" in the Bottlers International Competition 2007 and a Gold medal winner in Scottish SIBA competition 2008, which are probably better indicators of its quality. The brewers say that "This fine ale takes on the double characters of two knights from the era of the “Border Reivers” during the reign of King David of Scotland."

It contains Optic Pale Ale Malt, Crystal Malt, Black Malt and pinhead oats. The hops used are English grown Challenger, Fuggles and First Gold. It is quite strong - 5.5% ABV.