The award-winning George Wright Brewery has entered the prestigious Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) event, set to be held at Hawkshead Brewery in the Lake District.

Keith Wright, who runs the small independent craft brewery on the Rainford industrial estate, recently unveiled his latest tipple – a tribute to St Helens' Dream statue.

He said: "I'm really proud of St Helens and we created a new beer that was something different. We decided to call it Dream in celebration of the fantastic artwork and the way it has captured the imagination of people from St Helens and across the world!"

Three categories will be judged at Hawkshead on November 6 – bitter, strong ale and bottled beer – before the remaining categories are judged at the Scarisbrick Hotel in Southport in January.

The winners, chosen from 160 beers by a panel of expert judges, will then be entered into the national final in February.

This year, SIBA are also inviting up to 10 members of the public who love beer to join industry professionals and beer experts to decide the region's best beers.

Each judge will sample up to 16 beers in a blind tasting, scoring them on their appearance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste and saleability.

Alex Brodie, SIBA North Trustee and managing director of Hawkshead Brewery, said: "There's been an extraordinary boom in the number of small breweries in recent years.

"Proper beer has broken through and everyone is now starting to appreciate it. There were just four micro breweries in 1971 and there are now 600.

"SIBA represents nearly 500 breweries. These awards are a celebration of the region's best beers and we want to recruit a good cross section of judges from today's beer drinkers, including women and younger people.

"It's a chance to help choose the very best beers across the North of England, alongside some of the most experienced people in the brewing industry."

If you're over 18 and think you have what it takes to help judge the region's best ales you simply need to send your contact details, including postal address, with up to 100 words saying when and how you first discovered proper beer.

Your application should be sent via e-mail to: BeerCompetitions@SIBA.co.uk

Judges will need to be at Hawkshead Brewery in Staveley, Cumbria, from 10.30am to 3pm on November 6 and need to arrange their own transport and accommodation.