GAVIN AITCHISON puts pen to scorecard to judge whether the Tykes or Scots brew the best beer.

IT was the mother of all battles. A fight for northern supremacy. Two rooms; 36 fantastic ales; all born from one simple idea: Yorkshire versus Scotland.

Respect; rivalry; reputations on the line. It was all to play for.

Last weekend, the stage was set. In the humble halls of St Aidan’s Church in Roundhay Road in Leeds, 18 Yorkshire ales went head to head against 18 Scottish ones, each beer paired against a broadly-similar counterpart.

It was every man for himself, each brewer hoping to secure a valuable victory for his team. A bit like singles day in the Ryder Cup, only without the golf. Or the Americans.

Each festival-goer was given a list of the matches and was asked to pick their preferred beer from each pair they helped to judge. Whoever scored most points, Yorkshire or Scotland, would be declared the proud champion of this, the North Leeds Charity Beer Festival 2013.

York’s breweries won two of their three ties to contribute to the home team’s tally. Treboom’s Yorkshire Sparkle beat Atlas Latitude by 59 votes to 49, while Hop Studio’s new Obsidian Black IPA beat Fyne Ales’ Vital Spark 69-20. But there was narrow defeat for Heslington’s Four Thorns Brewery, whose SMS stout lost 93-77 to the Double Espresso Stout by Traditional Scottish Ales.

The festival was an eye-opener for many, the Scottish selection including beers rarely seen this far south. Raj by Tryst Brewery in Larbert, for example, is a bold, punchy IPA; a tremendous beer which didn’t deserve to lose to its opposite number, Ridgeside Thunderstruck.

In the end, local tastes and loyalties won the day. Scotland triumphed in four of the ties but Yorkshire won 14, making for a convincing English victory.

As a proud Scot who has lived in York for 12 years, I had torn loyalties (though I resisted the temptation to turn up in kilt and flat cap). Friends back home who read this online will be screaming for a recount, but although two or three of the results were surprising and Scotland’s line-up was missing a few of its most exciting breweries, Yorkshire deserved the win on the whole.

Its big hitters were Peasholm Pale by North Riding Brewery in Scarborough, which crushed its rival 77-7; and Ridgeside’s Long Way From Home, which won 81-19.

If Yorkshire won the war though, Scotland can take pride in providing the two most-popular beers of the festival. Stewart Brewing’s Edinburgh Gold was first to sell out and romped home against Leeds Yorkshire Gold by 94 votes to 21, while the SMS stout mentioned above was only one point off first place overall.

Credit must go to Sam Parker, who did a great job sourcing the beers and organising the event, which raised £5,000 for Rotary charity work. Thanks too to Simon Jenkins, my counterpart at the Evening Post in Leeds, who chaired the bottled beer panel in the spectacular nave of the church itself. Old Bear Honey Pot from Keighley took the honours there, from a field of six.


YORKSHIRE v SCOTLAND

The Results

Caledonian Golden XPA 72-33 Roosters YPA

Caledonian 80/ 21-66 Ilkley Black

Harviestoun Schiehallion 87-16 Wharfebank Fair Dinkum

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil 12-64 Revolutions Clash Porter

Atlas Latitude 49-59 Treboom Yorkshire Sparkle

Cairngorm Black 19-81 Ridgeside Long Way From Home

Deeside Abhainn 7-77 North Riding Peasholm Pale Ale

Fyne Ales Vital Spark 20-69 Hop Studio Obsidian Black IPA

Highland Scapa Special 12-57 Roosters Rude Boy

Houston Sweetness Stout 4-76 Leeds Midnight Bell

Inveralmond Independence 29-42 Ilkley Joshua Jane

Kelburn Red Smiddy 12-34 Revolutions Beat Red

William Bros Seven Giraffes 37-92 HDM Citronnade IPA

Orkney Red Macgregor 6-33 Magic Rock Rapture

Stewart Edinburgh Gold 94-21 Leeds Yorkshire Gold

Strathaven Duchess Anne 16-33 Outlaw Lowlife

Tryst Raj IPA 29-32 Ridgeside Thunderstruck

TSA Double Espresso Stout 93-77 Four Thorns SMS