Chorus - Fine English Sparkling Beer has been awarded a 2-Star Great Taste Award 2026, judged blind by the Guild of Fine Food's panel of experts.
It is a third major award in Chorus's first year: Silver at the International Brewing Awards in March, Gold at the London Beer Competition, and now two Great Taste stars.
"On tasting," the judges wrote, "the flavour hits wonderfully somewhere between beer and champagne." They called Chorus "a remarkable taste experience that could easily replace a sparkling wine whilst retaining its own generous and rewarding, intriguing character," noting "excellent body and carbonation," a "classic sparkling wine character" arriving "after an initial apple orchard hit," and a "rich, complex, biscuit finish."
"We spent years developing Chorus, and we sent our early test recipes to Great Taste along the way for blind, honest feedback. Those early versions did not win an award, and the judges' notes helped make the beer better. To come back and be given two stars means the world to us. This one is for everyone who has raised a glass with us so far." Harry Baynham, co-founder and head brewer.
What is a Great Taste Award?
Great Taste has been run by the Guild of Fine Food since 1994 and is the world's largest food and drink accreditation scheme. Thousands of products are entered every year, and each one is tasted blind: no packaging, no branding, no backstory. The judging panels of chefs, buyers, retailers, restaurateurs and food writers go only on what is in the glass or on the plate. The coveted black and gold Great Taste sticker is a mark shoppers trust when choosing something special.
What does a 2-Star Great Taste Award mean?
Great Taste has three levels. One star means simply delicious. Two stars means "Outstanding: above and beyond delicious," and only around one in ten of the products entered each year achieves it. Three stars, awarded to fewer than one in fifty, means exquisite. Chorus holds two stars, out of a possible three.
The beer behind the stars
Chorus is a pioneering Fine English Sparkling Beer. Imagined and brewed in the heart of the New Forest by the Baynham family, Chorus was born from a simple idea: a beer worth sharing. For the table, the toast, and life's ups, big and small.
Fresh orchard fruit, fine bubbles, a delicate biscuity finish. 12% ABV. Serve chilled in glass flutes.
Beer, reimagined. Raise a glass together and join the Chorus.
