THE CREATOR of the newly-crowned 'best beer in Oxford' hopes the brewery gets used to the taste of success.

Yabba Dabba Doo, brewed by Freeland-based Little Ox Brewery, won the 'beer of the festival' award at last year's Oxford Beer Festival.

The title was toasted at a ceremony hosted by Oxford's branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) at the St Aldates Tavern last week.

Read again: CAMRA Oxford names city's best pubs and beers

Founder Ian Hemingway explained the recognition helped vindicate his decision to set up Little Ox Brewery three years ago.

He said: “It’s probably the first award I’ve had since the wheelbarrow race at school.

“There’s so many breweries in Oxfordshire, so it’s really great to be judged against them and come away with the top prize."

The 52-year-old began brewing Yabba Dabba Doo last summer and revealed he let his imagination run wild to create the ale.

Oxford Mail:

The 4.8 per cent IPA has a citrus and tropical fruit flavour and captured the beer festival award after proving a hit in a blind tasting test.

Mr Hemingway said: “The name suggests what it tastes like.

“I was looking to create an IPA that has a great summer appeal.

“I broke with tradition and did something a little bit different to my normal beer.

“I went overboard on the hops really, but you can still have a few before falling over.”

Read again: The Masons Arms named Oxford's pub of the year

Little Ox Brewery has been based on an industrial estate in the village, near Witney, its whole life, but its founder admitted it had been difficult to raise the profile.

Yabba Dabba Doo has been a guest beer at the White Rabbit and the Gardeners Arms in Jericho and it is also served at the Oxbrew micro pub in Witney.

Mr Hemingway, who lives in Wootton, near Woodstock, hopes a plan to join forces with Oxbrew will boost both businesses in the long term.

Oxford Mail:

The pair will share costs and resources, which will be particuarly helpful for Mr Hemingway after running the brewery on his own for the last three years.

He said: “To try to cover all the tasks you have to do as an individual is almost impossible.

“Partnering with Oxbrew will make the whole process more efficient and hopefully we’ll both be stronger as a result.

“It’s been a family business up until now and hopefully with another brewery it’ll be much more professional.”

Read again: Oxbrew opens new Witney micro pub

The brewery is the latest in a string of interests for Mr Hemingway, who lives with his wife and two children.

He moved to Oxfordshire due to his previous job as a research scientist, while before that he had a kitchen and bathroom business.

He said: “I’ve had a few jobs - hopefully this one will be the last, but you never know.

“There might be another career left in me.”

At last week's ceremony, CAMRA named the Masons Arms in Headington as the best pub within the city boundaries, while the group crowned the Brewery Tap in Abingdon as the best town and village pub.