RedWillow Brewery Scoops Seven SIBA Awards
RedWillow Brewery crowned Category Champion five times at SIBA Indie Beer Awards North West 2026, sending five beers to the National Final
Macclesfield’s RedWillow Brewery has collected seven awards at the North West regional round of the Indie Beer Awards 2026, including five Category Champion titles, at the ceremony on 15 October. Run by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), the Indie Beer Awards are the UK’s leading beer awards.
The awards span both cask and keg and cover a wide range of styles, from crisp lagers to rich, dark speciality beers, reflecting the breadth of RedWillow’s brewing.
In keg, Restless, an Imperial Vietnamese Milk Porter, was named Category Champion in Keg Speciality & Flavoured Beer. RedWillow’s lager programme, built on traditional Bohemian and Bavarian methods and a minimum six-week lagering time, also took two titles: Guileless, a Pilsner, won Keg Session Lager, and Godless, a Helles, won Keg Premium Lager.
On cask, Breakfast Stout, a Coffee Stout, was crowned Category Champion in Cask Speciality Amber to Dark, and Shameless took the title in Cask IPA.
The brewery also took Silver in Keg Non-Alcoholic & Low ABV for Less Is More Mosaic, a Pale Ale, and Bronze in Session Pales for Dreamless, a NE Hazy Pale.
As Category Champions, Restless, Guileless, Godless, Breakfast Stout and Shameless now progress to the Indie Beer Awards National Final, held at BeerX in 2027 at Exhibition Centre Liverpool. There they will go head-to-head with the winning beers from SIBA’s eight other regions, competing for the title of best in the UK in their categories.
Caroline McKenzie, Co-Founder of RedWillow Brewery, attended the ceremony and collected the awards on behalf of the team.
Caroline says, “To come away with five Category Champion titles is something we’re incredibly proud of. What means the most is how wide-ranging the wins were, from our lagers, which we give a long, patient lagering time, through to cask IPA, a coffee stout and a big imperial porter. It’s a real credit to Toby and the whole brewing team, and to the people at our bars who look after these beers every day.
The Indie Beer Awards are judged by master brewers, beer sommeliers and expert judges, so recognition like this means a great deal to us. Now we’re looking forward to taking five beers to BeerX in 2027 and seeing how they fare against the best from across the country.”
RedWillow beers can be found at the brewery’s bars in Macclesfield and Buxton, and in pubs across the UK.
Notes to editors
About RedWillow Brewery
RedWillow Brewery was founded in Macclesfield in 2010 by Toby and Caroline McKenzie. The brewery is known for three distinct programmes: traditional cask and modern ales with strong CAMRA heritage, a Bohemian and Bavarian-influenced lager programme with a minimum six-week lagering time, and a mixed and wild fermentation programme using foeders and barrels. RedWillow operates bars in Macclesfield and Buxton alongside national pub distribution.
About the Indie Beer Awards
Run by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) across nine geographical regions, the Indie Beer Awards are the UK’s leading beer awards, judged by master brewers, beer sommeliers, brewing industry representatives and expert beer judges. Regional winners progress to the Indie Beer Awards National Final at BeerX, held each March at Exhibition Centre Liverpool.
Images:
A few pictures available to download via Swisstransfer here
For further information please contact Charlie Harding via charlie@redwillowbrewery.com.
Third-party news items are published as received for informational purposes. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Guild. Please use the contact details within the post for any enquiries.
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