A BEER brewed by Burnley firm Moorhouse’s has been named as one of the world’s best real ales.

The Burnley brewer’s popular dark mild style beer Black Cat took the bronze medal for cask-conditioned beers of 2.9 to 3.8 per cent strength at the International Brewing Awards.

And ‘lucky’ Black Cat was the only cask mild-style ale to claim success at the bi-annual ‘Oscars’ of the brewing world.

David Grant, managing director at Moorhouse’s, said: “Black Cat went up against leading cask bitter brands in this class of strength, so the competition was very tough, and across all the classes it was the only mild ale to win an award.

“We have produced it for a long time, despite this traditional style going into decline some years ago when the trend moved towards blander, easy drinking golden ales.

“But now mild is showing something of a revival. Many brewers now compete against us in the category, so we are absolutely delighted with this top accolade for Black Cat.

“Perhaps publicans will now consider stocking it as an alternative to an ubiquitous dark mega brand.

“This is the top global brewing competition, so consequently we can now boast Black Cat as the best cask mild in the world.”

Professional brewers spent three days judging almost 1,000 entries from 45 countries at the National Brewing Centre, Burton-on-Trent.

Blackburn-based brewers Thwaites also scooped two awards at the ceremony.

Its 2.8 per cent Northern Light beer won the gold in the International Non and Low Alcoholic Beer category, while 4.7 per cent Tavern Porter took silver in the International Dark Beer category.