It is the chosen tipple of thousands of beer drinkers in the Black Country – and Wolverhampton’s Banks’s Mild has now won international acclaim.

The amber-coloured ale, brewed at the city’s brewery in Chapel Ash, won a bronze medal at the prestigious International Beer Challenge 2011.

Beer aficionados tasted more than 400 pints from around the world before scoring them. Award bosses said the quality of the beer, from Wolverhampton’s historic Park Brewery was “very very good”.

And Banks’s bosses today spoke of their joy at winning international recognition.

The beer, which has a modest alcohol content of 3.5 per cent compared to modern premium lagers and stronger ales, has been a popular presence on the pumps in the region and beyond for generations.

It is brewed from local water and hops and described by Banks’s as “beautifully balanced, smooth and full-bodied with a malty, warming and slightly fruity taste”.

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