Truro-based Skinners Brewery swept the board in spectacular style at the Falmouth Beer Festival at the Princess Pavilion during the weekend.

Over three days more than 10,472 pints were sunk by more than 2,500 beer enthusiasts, plus more than 150 gallons of cider, perries and ginger beers.

The most beer consumed came in a single session between 5pm and 11pm on Friday evening with 329 gallons being guzzled and many types being sold out.

The cider and perry sold out first but all four bars at the pavilion were tipping the barrels to get the last drop out of each one as the day went on.

But top marks went to Skinners who beat off all-comers, including some of the national giants, to win three of the top categories and end up supreme champion in the festival's competition.

Betty Stoggs, Heligan Honey and Figgy's Brew respectively won the best bitter, speciality and premium bitter categories, with Betty Stoggs ultimately being judged the best of the lot and Heligan Honey second and Figgy's Brew third.

Betty Stoggs, a four per cent ABV bitter, also took the Cornish champion prize as the best of all competing Cornish breweries.

With all beers "blind-tasted" by a panel of expert judges, Skinners triumphed against 120 competitors from all over the country, including several previous Champion Beer of Great Britain winners.

Managing director Steve Skinner was understandably over the moon. "This is just fantastic. It is almost unheard of for one brewery to dominate a festival in such a way and it's all the more special for being on our home territory and up against some of the 'bigger boys," he said.

The three-day festival was organised by the Cornwall branch of the Campaign for Real Ale. and opened by the Rev Barrington Bennetts, landlord of the Seven Stars pub on Falmouth's Moor and who on December 5 will celebrate 30 years as its "mein host".

Skinners' Falmouth success caps another outstanding year at festivals for the Truro based brewery. At the 2005 Great British Beer Festival, Betty Stoggs was judged one of the top six bitters in the country.

More than £800 was also donated to the Royal British Legion by those who attended the festival.