A SEASONAL ale created by St Austell Brewery for Halloween has been named best beer by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) group in Swindon.

The brewery’s head brewer Roger Ryman and trade marketing manager Marc Bishop were presented with the award at a ‘Meet the Brewer’ evening on Tuesday, January 21, at the Carters Rest in Wroughton.

The award was voted for by members of the public who attended the 27th annual Swindon Beer Festival last October.

The event is organised by the Swindon chapter of CAMRA and is a celebration of British real ales, ciders and perries, held over three days at the Steam Museum.

Bucket of Blood, a seasonal cask ale first brewed in 2009, saw off competition from almost 100 other beers to be voted Beer of the Festival.

Named after the Bucket of Blood pub in Hayle, Cornwall, which is owned by St Austell Brewery, the beer is a 4.4 per cent abv red ale with a spicy flavour, which proved so popular when first released that St Austell has continued to brew it for Halloween every year since.

Hans Hoffbauer, chairman of Swindon CAMRA, said: “St Austell Brewery has been attending the Swindon CAMRA Beer Festival for a number of years, and their beers have always been appreciated by those attending. This time they scooped top prize – a clear vote for a quality beer.”