Rooster’s Brewing Co. has won a gold and silver award for two of its beers at one of the UK’s largest beer competitions. Judges declared Yankee, the brewery’s flagship pale ale, the overall winner in its category at the 2019 SIBA National Independent Beer Awards, with Baby-Faced Assassin, Rooster’s deceptively drinkable IPA, scooping second place in its section of the competition.
Both beers had previously won overall gold at the North East competition to qualify for the National final, earning the right to be judged against other regional winners from around the UK. The Awards judge a huge range of beers across a number of styles in separate cask, keg and bottle & can competitions and are judged by a selection of brewers, industry experts and beer journalists.
Oliver Fozard, Rooster’s Head Brewer, had this to say about the win, “It’s always a pleasure to be recognised for what we do and to have our efforts rewarded, especially on a National level. With Yankee winning gold in particular, it’s a beer that’s older than many of the other breweries we were up against, so it’s great to know it’s still more than capable of holding its own. It also helps to reinforce the level of consistency and quality we strive to achieve with every beer we brew.”
First brewed when Rooster’s was established in 1993, Yankee is a pale ale that is widely regarded as being the first beer in the UK to be brewed using Cascade hops – a modern, aromatic variety from the USA – and a beer that was a forerunner to the craft beer revolution. Having originally been conceived as a home-brew recipe in 2011, Baby-Faced Assassin became part of Rooster’s core range of beers, alongside Yankee, in 2012 and has developed a reputation as being one of the best IPAs in the UK. In fact, the latest awards received both Yankee and Baby-Faced Assassin adds to an already long list of gongs won at competitions across the UK, as well as on the International stage, in recent years.
In January, Rooster’s announced that its selection of beers provided in cask, keg and can are now suitable for vegans, making them available to a wider audience for the first time. To assist those serving and drinking the beers, this information is now highlighted on the brewery’s pump clips and website.
Having celebrated twenty-five years of brewing in 2018, Rooster’s is in the process of relocating to new premises at Hornbeam Park in Harrogate, close to where the brewery was originally formed in 1993. Currently based in Knaresborough, the relocation will see brand new brewing plant installed and the opening of a new, onsite taproom in May, serving a range of Rooster’s beers across 16 cask and keg lines, as well as limited edition beers in can. Brewery tours will be available from the summer, as well as a function space and beer garden.
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For more information contact Tom Fozard (tom@roosters.co.uk / 01423 865959)