Gloucester Brewery and Swannay Brewery have taken home Overall Champion Gold in the Cask and Keg Awards at the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2019, with Wibblers Brewery being named the best bottled or canned beer.
Judged by brewers and industry experts and organised by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) at their flagship BeerX UK event in Liverpool, the awards run across a huge range of beer style categories in cask, craft keg, bottle and can.
The Overall Champion Cask beer is Gloucester Brewery’s 9% ABV ‘Imperial Stout’ – a punchy beer described as ‘rich, smooth, and warming, with aromas of roasted coffee and sultanas.’
In the craft keg competition it was Scottish brewery Swannay that took home the Overall Gold with their ‘Muckle IPA’, explained by the brewers as such ‘Muckle means big and this is one mighty IPA, breathe in the hops!’.
In the can and bottle competition it was Wibblers Brewery’s ‘Port Infused Imperial Stoat’ which like the cask winner is another big and bold imperial stout, this time infused with the flavours of port, and also 9% abv.
Jared Brown, Founder of Gloucester Brewery accepted the award along with his team at BeerX UK,
“It means a lot to win this award amongst so many fantastic breweries and where the standard has been so high. Even to get [category] Gold was enough, but then to go on and win the overall Gold is amazing. It’s a really complex beer and at nine per cent you can really pack in loads of flavour and make the beer deep and complex.”
John Middleton was collecting the award on behalf of the Wibblers Brewery team, “To get two golds including the overall champion is a massive achievement and the team will be delighted. It’s got a really complex recipe of malts which contribute hugely to it’s flavour – it’s a really superb beer.”
The SIBA Independent Beer Awards at BeerX UK are the trade association’s National finals and in order to earn a place at the competition brewers must first win at their regional competition – making these overall Champions very much the ‘best of the best’ when it comes to British independent craft beer.
SIBA Competitions Chair Guy Sheppard, a brewer himself at Exe Valley in the South West, congratulated the winners on their huge achievement:
“The SIBA Independent Beer Awards represent the culmination of a year’s worth of regional awards in the run up to the National Finals held here at BeerX UK in Liverpool. These really are the best of the best independent craft beers in cask, keg, bottle and can, and I would like to congratulate all of the winners and in particular our overall golds. Very well done!”
The full list of winners is available on the SIBA website