Sainsbury’s Great British beer hunt returns

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has launched its 2013 “Great British Beer Hunt”, which offers brewers the chance to win listings in Sainsbury’s stores. There are four regional and two national listings up for grabs in the hunt.

Now in its third year, the aim of the hunt is to “discover some of the finest beers Britain has to offer” and the supermarket is looking to its customers to help judge the beers.

This year there will be four regional beer hunts during April and May where customers can taste the offerings and meet the brewers. The winning beers from the regional stage will each be awarded with an immediate regional listing.

The three top selling beers from each region will then be part of the grand final in London later in the year.

Jack Rutherford, Sainsbury’s beer buyer, said: “We are delighted to be back with the Great British Beer Hunt as the competition is a great way to bring new and interesting beers to our customers.

“The competition is growing more popular every year and we are confident that we’ll see an increase in the number of brewers that enter to be part of this unique opportunity.”

The 2012 competition was won by Bateman’s Mocha and Jaclyn Bateman said the hunt gives people to opportunity to experiment with beers. She said: “We think it’s so important to introduce new people to the beer category and encourage them to experiment with different tastes and styles…We’d like to thank Sainsbury’s for helping to move forward the British beer industry, as the competition has been fantastic to be part of.”

The Sainsbury’s regional beer hunts will take place in London, Leeds, Bristol and Glasgow over April and May.