A wh-ale of a time was had at the second ever Chester Beer Awards.

Kash Taprooms hosted the annual celebration of the city’s breweries, bars and beers on Saturday (January 28).

Clinching the coveted Best Pub honour was Cellar Bar for the second year running, recognised for its beer selection and customer service.

Also among the top of the hops were doubly successful Deva Craft Beer for Best Local Brewery and Best Local Beer for their Dual IPA, Garden Lane newbie Goat and Munch and Kash for Best Pub Grub.

Chester MP Chris Matheson commended the community for coming together as he officially opened the ceremony.

“It has been a fantastic afternoon with great beer, celebrating great pubs and bar staff,” he said.

The awards, organised by Chester Beer Blog, also dished out an outstanding achievement nod to the team at The Centurion in Vicars Cross, which is now run by the community after they saved it from demolition.

More than 100 people cast their votes for their favourites, but the nominations will ultimately be judged by an expert panel of beer bloggers, beer club hosts and beer festival organisers.

Katja Knox, one of the organisers, said: “The pubs and bars are at the heart of our communities and it is really uplifting to see all the patrons and the staff come together to celebrate each other.

“The Beer Awards aim to be a positive event bringing recognition and to celebrate this fantastic community.

“Each nominee was a winner in a way as they were named the most loved by their customers so everyone should be really proud of themselves.”

All the winners

  • Best Pub – Cellar Bar

  • Best Newcomer – Goat and Munch

  • Best Local Beer – Deva Craft Beer's Dual IPA

  • Best Pub Grub – Kash Taprooms

  • Best Beer Shop – Chester Beer and Wine

  • Best Bartender – Craig Elliott from Cross Keys

  • Two Oustanding Achievements in Contribution to the Local Beer Culture – The Centurion and Andy Tabberer

Chester Beer Blog is made up of Katja and Tom Knox, who are passionate about good beer and roam the city in search of it, chronicling their thoughts online.