Amber Ales, based in Hammersmith, has scooped the bronze award in the speciality category at the prestigous Champion Beer of Britain awards run by real ale group the Campaign for Real Ale.

The full flavoured Stout was a joint idea between the brewary, which has also been named one of the most exciting in the country national newspaper The Independent, and the Wagon and Horses pub in Alfreton and has proved to be a big hit with customers.

Amber Ales owner and brewer Peter Hounsell said: "This has been an amazing journey. We set out on a simple path, to make interesting beer of the best quality. To get the recognition and awards we have in such a short time has been fantastic.

"We thought originally that chocolate and orange would be an interesting beer combination but we had no idea it would taste so great and be so popular.

"In fact there has been so much interest in our Chocolate Orange Stout we have been making it ever since and it has gone from strength to strength winning fans and critical acclaim at beer festivals and pubs across the country."

The beer is made from chocolate malts, curacao orange and vanilla which are added at the fermentation stage. This results in a traditional real ale with a modern twist.

The beer will be available at the Wagon and Horses, The George Inn at Ripley and the Crown Inn in Matlock and at a number of quality freehouses across the region.

Since it started brewing in 2006, the brewery has already been awarded 'Beer of the Festival' at the Mansfield and Ashfield Campaign for Real Ale beer festival in 2009 and at the Barrowhill Rail Ale 2009.

The Great British Beer Festival is the largest annual festival of Real Ale in the world, run by the Campaign for Real Ale each August in London.

As part of the festivities, the prestigious 'Champion Beer of Britain' competition is judged with expert tasting panels awarding gold, silver and bronze medals in several categories.