Sussex brewer, Dark Star, was voted the 'Beer of the Festival' at this year's annual Eastbourne Beer Festival.
Dark Star's light golden bitter, Hophead, was chosen by the many real ale lovers attending the festival and beat off over 120 other ales from around the country to win the award.
Paul Reed, a director of Dark Star, was at the festival on Saturday night and received the award: "It was a tremendous night. The Eastbourne Beer Festival is one of my favourite nights out but amid the excitement of Jonny Wilkinson kicking us to victory over France, cheered on by us fans around the big screen TV provided by the organisers, I managed to miss the announcement of the beer and brewery awards. It was only at the end of the evening, after a chance conversation with one of the organisers, that I realised Hophead had won and an impromptu presentation ceremony took place in the entrance lobby of the Winter Gardens."
Peter Mitchell of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) who co-organised the event with the Eastbourne Borough Council was equally delighted that Dark Star was chosen. "We have some of the best beers in the country brewed right here in Sussex. For the last 5 years the festival goers here in Eastbourne have chosen Harveys as their favourite, another of Sussex's great brewers - in fact, chosen as the Champion Bitter of Britain in 2006. Anyone going into a freehouse in Sussex should do as I do and ask specifically for Sussex beers."