RAISE a glass to Brewhouse & Kitchen. The Bournemouth-based brewery has been ‘turning heads’ at the World Beer Awards with its popular blond ale.

The Belgian-style ale called Head Turner which is brewed in Southbourne, won gold, and a limited edition chocolate milk stout called Treason brewed in Bristol, earned the crown of best in the country.

The World Beer Awards are the globally recognised awarding body celebrating excellence in brewing.

Pete Hughes, head brewer at Brewhouse & Kitchen said: “This is fantastic news for Brewhouse & Kitchen and is great recognition of the hard work and dedication we have to the art of craft brewing.

“All of our locations have an onsite brewery, allowing us to explore a variety of exciting flavours and deliver the craft beer fans the level of quality beer that they deserve.

“While the winning beers have their roots in Bristol and Southbourne, we have been able to bring those exciting, award-winning flavours to the rest of the nation across Brewhouse & Kitchen’s locations.

“It is encouraging to see Brewhouse & Kitchen’s lovingly crafted beers officially recognised as some of the best in the world, placing Brewhouse & Kitchen alongside well respected brewers in the industry.

“We are proud that one of our award-winning beers is brewed in Southbourne, a community that has welcomed Brewhouse & Kitchen with open arms.”

Brewhouse & Kitchen was founded in 2011, and now has 22 sites across the country, 17 of which have opened in the past two years, with over 400 employees and a large award-winning beer portfolio.