For the second year running Marks & Spencer has been named Retailer of the Year at the International Beer Challenge, by a panel of expert beer judges who also awarded the retailer’s own-label beers an outstanding 27 medals
- Already well-known for its innovative, award-winning wines, which have repeatedly won M&S the Supermarket of the Year Award at the ‘Oscars of the wine world’ (International Wine Challenge and the Decanter World Wine Awards), the retailer is now receiving recognition for its innovation in the beer aisles
- The news follows the retailer’s announcement of a +41% increase in its beer sales on last year, and it seems that the growth has been fuelled by the original single hop variety beers and pale ales that have joined the retailer’s range this year
- M&S beers with ‘hop’ in the title are proving a hit with both expert judges and customers; silver medals were awarded to the new 9 Hop Kent Pale Ale and Single Variety British Hop Jester IPA, which are exceeding the retailer’s sales forecasts by +50% and +30%respectively, as well as the Nottinghamshire Single Variety British Hop Cascade Pale Ale, which has seen a sales increase of +35%on last year
- Jenny Rea, M&S Product Developer for Beers, commented, “We are really delighted with the IBC results, and it has also been particularly rewarding to see our customers getting to grips with the exciting new hops now on offer. Hops are to beer as grape varieties are to wine, and as our customers learn more about their distinct flavour profiles they are seeking out new varieties to taste. The names are certainly intriguing – Fuggles, Goldings, Pilgrim, Sovereign, Progress, Cascade and Jester, to name a handful – but now the question is whether you can tell your Fuggles from your Jester?”
- The new wave of hops being introduced to bring innovative flavours to the UK world of beer has seen varieties travelling from overseas, as well as a new surge in UK bred and grown varieties. In 1998 there were 13 commercially-grown British hop varieties, today there are 27.
- M&S was also awarded a gold medal for its Mosaic Pale Ale: a single variety hop beer made from the US Mosaic variety, which was only created in 2012 and offers intense mango, peach, lemon and lime flavours
- A bronze medal went to the retailer’s best-selling beer, the Single Hop Variety Citra IPA, another pale ale that puts the focus on a single hop. Citra was developed and patented in the US and was used in the UK for the first time in 2009. Its distinctive, refreshing citrus aroma has proved hugely popular ever since, with sales at +35% on last year.
- Jenny Rea added: “It’s been a year of discovery and we’ve left no hop unturned. Exciting beers were once the preserve of edgy pubs, but we’ve made innovative bottles available on the high street and our customers are clearly pleasantly surprised by what they’re discovering in the M&S beer aisles! This is just the beginning, as we have seven more beers due to hit the shelves in October. Watch this space!”
NOTES TO EDITORS
The IBC award-winning M&S beers are:
| BEER | MEDAL | PRICE |
| Mosaic Pale Ale | Gold | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Southwold 2.7% | Silver | £1.50 for 500ml |
| Bottle Conditioned Yorkshire Best Bitter | Silver | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Cornish IPA | Silver | £2.40 for 500ml |
| NEW Single Variety British Hop Jester IPA | Silver | £2.40 for 500ml |
| NEW Lowland Glen Amber | Silver | £1.85 for 330ml |
| NEW Ash Brook Red Lager | Silver | £1.85 for 330ml |
| NEW 9 Hop Kent Pale Ale | Silver | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Nottinghamshire Single Variety British Hop Cascade Pale Ale | Silver | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Greenwich Black IPA | Silver | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Southwold Summer Beer | Silver | £2.20 for 500ml |
| Belgian Wheat Beer | Silver | £2.40 for 500ml |
| NEW Battersea Rye | Bronze | £1.85 for 330ml |
| NEW Warwickshire Amber Ale | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| NEW Island Hopper Pale Ale | Bronze | £1.85 for 330ml |
| NEW Bottle Conditioned Cotswold Pale Ale | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| NEW Cambridgeshire Styrian Goldings Amber Ale | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Irish Stout | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| London Porter | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Gluten Free Belgium Premium Pilsner | Bronze | £2.00 for 330ml |
| Gluten free Belgian Golden Ale | Bronze | £2.00 for 330ml |
| Citra IPA | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Bottle Conditioned Norfolk Bitter | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Cambridgeshire Golden Ale | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Bottle Conditioned Cornish Red Ale | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Welsh Golden Ale | Bronze | £2.40 for 500ml |
| Southwold Blonde Ale | Bronze | £2.20 for 500ml |
Kate Beveridge
Account Director
T: 020 8682 9020
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