A HANDMADE Sussex ginger beer has won a husband and wife team a gold medal for the third time in three years.

Gran Stead’s Ginger Co's alcohol-free punch took the top prize in the Premium Soft Drinks category in the British Bottlers’ Institute (BBI) annual awards.

Chris and Rosemary Knox of Portslade were awarded the accolade for their spiced ginger punch, which is is prepared by hand at Mile Oak Farm in Portslade.

Ed Binsted, President of the BBI said the punch won over 17 other strong contenders in the blind tasting because it had “the wow effect.”

Seven judges tasted ginger beers, premium lemonades and elderflower cordials in the category and judged the drinks on colour, aroma, flavour, taste, aftertaste and carbonation.

It is the pair’s third ginger beer to have won gold, following success for their Mellow Ginger in 2013 and Fiery Ginger in 2014.

Chris Knox said of the highly-regarded award: “We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded our third gold.

“There is always strong competition, and even more so since the category we were competing in has been broadened.”

Their business is named after Cristiana Stead, known as Granny, a 19th-Century brewer from County Durham whose ginger beer recipe is still used to create the firm’s “Mellow Ginger” label.

Twenty years ago local couple Len and Dot Knox bought the rights to her 150-year-old recipe, and started preparing and bottling Gran Stead’s ginger beer from their home, selling initially at craft fairs and eventually into trade stockists.

Their son and daughter-in-law Chris and Rosemary now run the business which has expanded to a local farm site.

The couple will pick up their award later this month in Vinter’s Hall, London, but hope to find themselves toasting a second win later in the year.

Their Spiced Ginger Punch has also been shortlisted for a prestigious Quality Food Award.

“Our Mellow Ginger made the finals two years ago and that in itself is a real honour.

"We’re looking forward to the awards ceremony at Grosvenor House in November. We’ll certainly have our fingers crossed for another big win”

The BBI’s annual competition was established in 1953 to test the quality of beverages around the world.