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An Edinburgh beer has been crowned the UK’s 'Beer of the Year' at the 2025 London Beer Competition.
Edinburgh-based Cold Town Beer clinched the top national accolade for its flagship beer, Barrel Aged Imperial Stout - Speyside Cask Matured.
The London Beer Competition, an international event, is now in its eighth year. As well as taste, it also rewards beers on the basis of quality, value and packaging.
This year’s competition brought together a panel of beer buyers, bar owners and industry experts from around the world. The judging took place in London, where hundreds of beers from more than 20 countries were blind-tasted, assessed and scored.
The base beer for Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is taken from Cold Town Beer’s Topic Thunder Stout, which took home a gold medal at last year’s London Beer Competition.
Euan Bain, director at Cold Town Beer said:
“From day one, we set out to create beers that were full of character and brewed with care—and our Barrel Aged Stout is the perfect example of that ethos. Maturing it in Speyside whisky casks was a passion project for the team, and the result has exceeded all our expectations. To see it recognised as Beer of the Year – United Kingdom is a huge honour and a testament to the dedication of everyone at Cold Town.”
Image: Cold Town Beer/London Beer Competition 2025
