The Salopian Brewery celebrates regional beer competition success

The Salopian Brewery took second and third place in the Campaign for Real Ale's West Midlands Champion Beer of the Year competition.

Its Lemon Dream and Darwin's Origin beers won over the tastebuds of judges.

The success is another accolade for the brewery, which is based at Station Road, Hadnall and produces more than 3.2 million pints of beer a year.

MD Wilf Nelson said he was pleased to get a good result in the competition, which follows its overall win the year before. He said Lemon Dream is made with fresh lemons and the best hops, adding: "We have never compromised on it."

Wilf said that Darwin's Origin had continued to prove popular since it was first created for the anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth in 2009. He said: "It is an interesting beer, Darwin's Origin. We decided because of what he did in terms of the theory of evolution we would look at the evolution of beer so it is a traditional British-based bitter but the flavour is far more modern and contemporary. The marriage of the two works really well which is why I think it is so popular."

The Salopian Brewery employs 18 and makes nine beers.

The contest was judged by members of Campaign for Real Ale. The winner Dark Ruby Mild, from the Beacon Hotel in Sedgeley, near Wolverhampton.