A BREWERY in Firle has won a top honour at the Society of Independent Brewers National Independent Beer Awards.

Burning Sky brewery - which is sited in Place Barn, The Street - took gold in the keg competition.

The awards were the biggest of their kind ever seen in the UK with hundreds of cask, keg, bottled and canned beers judged across five days at Sheffield.

With 400 beers in the keg competition it was Burning Sky Brewery’s’ Easy Answers IPA that wowed judges and won them the top spot.

Head brewer Mark Tranter said: “It’s amazing to win this award as it’s judged by our peers, by other brewers in the industry as well as the hop and malt merchants that are so important to what we do.

“It’s a massive result for our whole team and we are so proud to accept this award from SIBA.”

Mike Benner, SIBA managing director, said: “It is fantastic to see such high quality beers across a range of formats in this year’s biggest ever beer competition.

“With hundreds of entries across cask, keg, bottle and can this really was the cream of the crop in terms of independent craft beers from the UK.

“Each of the three supreme champion gold winners should be extremely proud of their achievement.

“It’s also clear fantastic tasting beer is being produced by our members across the length of Britain.”

Burning Sky Breweryis positioned at the base of the South Downs in an old Sussex Barn that has been refurbished to a high standard.

The landscape and provenance of the location was a major factor in the brewery’s set up.

They have the ability to be ageing up to 14,500 litres of beer in a mixture of 225 litre oak barriques & 2500 litre oak foudres.

The website says: “The crux of the brewery is to brew the beers that excite us, without compromise in terms of ingredient costs and time – that all too often overlooked ingredient in beer.

“Whether it’s a fresh hoppy pale, or a oak aged beer – they are all considered and cared for beers that we want to drink.”

For more information email cheers@burningskybeer.com