Beer from the Wood

On Saturday I travelled to York for the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood’s Woodfest presentations at the Swan. I was there on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Coopers, to present the award for the Best Beer from the Wood in place of my fellow Cooper, Leigh Johnson.

The Georgian stone front of York Crown Court under a bright, cloudy sky, its columned portico topped by a statue of Justice and a unicorn, with black iron railings along the pavement. — York Crown Court, at the Eye of York.

This year’s award went to Tigertops Brewery of Wakefield for its Edwardian Porter, with Harrogate Brewery’s Best Bitter a close second. The afternoon was hosted by Marcus Hodgson, chair of the York branch, and the SPBW’s vice chair, Angela Aspin, also made a presentation to the winners. Members came from York, West Riding, Greater Manchester and several London branches.

In the bar of the Swan, Liam Randall, in a brown tweed jacket, hands a small oak tankard bound with brass hoops to the smiling winner, who holds a framed certificate reading Tigertops Edwardian Porter. — Presenting the trophy for Tigertops Brewery’s Edwardian Porter.

Liam Randall shakes hands with a smiling representative of Harrogate Brewery, who holds a framed Woodfest 2026 certificate for Harrogate Brewery Best Bitter, in the bar of the Swan. — Congratulating Harrogate Brewery, runners-up with their Best Bitter.

The SPBW is older than it might sound. It was founded on 6 December 1963 by seven beer drinkers at the Rising Sun in Epsom, alarmed at what gas-pressure dispense and the new keg beers were doing to the quality of British beer. At the time, real draught beer still came from wooden casks, so “beers from the wood” was a natural name. Metal casks had taken over by the 1970s, but the name stayed. That makes it the oldest consumer group of its kind in the country, predating the Campaign for Real Ale by several years. Today it works through largely social, independent branches, champions naturally conditioned beer served by hand pump or straight from the cask, and supports the brewers and coopers who still use wood.

The Best Beer from the Wood trophy on a pub table: a small tankard of oak staves bound with two brass hoops, the upper band stamped Best Beer and an oval brass plate stamped SPBW. — The trophy: oak staves bound in brass hoops, like a miniature cask.

That last part is why it matters to the Coopers, and to this office. A wooden cask is a living thing: it shapes how a beer conditions and tastes, and only a skilled cooper can make and maintain one. As metal took over, the trade that built London’s casks for centuries all but disappeared. Every brewer who still fills a wooden cask, and every drinker who seeks one out, helps keep that craft alive. Woodfest and its awards, running since 2017, give those beers a stage.

As far as anyone could recall, it was also the first time the award had been presented by a Cooper who is also one of the City’s Ale-Conners.

My congratulations to Tigertops and Harrogate, and my thanks to Marcus and the York branch for a warm welcome. I hope the office can support the SPBW’s work in the years ahead.

Liam Randall

Ale-Conner, City of London · Citizen and Cooper

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