Wolf Brewery, North Brewing Co and Tring Brewery named best in the UK at SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2018

Wolf Brewery and North Brewing Co have taken home Overall Champion Gold in the Cask and Keg Awards at the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2018, with Tring 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 event in Liverpool, the awards run across a huge range of beer style categories in cask, craft keg, bottle and can.

The Champion Cask beer is Sirius Dog Star from Wolf brewery and is described as being a ‘uniquely flavoured red ale, lightly hopped with American Galena and Cluster hops, a smooth beer with a soft fruity finish’, it was Transmission from North Brewing Co that took home the top gong in the Craft Keg competition with their ‘hugely drinkable Beer with a light body and dry finish’ , in the bottle and can competition (known as ‘smallpack’ by those in the trade) it was Death or Glory from Tring Brewery, A ‘rich, sweet barley wine with a heady, alcoholic nose and incredibly complex flavour profile.’

Georgina Edwards, Wolf Brewery:

“A lot of blood sweat and tears goes into that beer so it means a huge amount to win. It means the world to the family. We were aiming for a smooth, dark session beer that is accessible but with huge flavour – something I think we achieved!”

John Gyngell, North Brewing Co:

“This award means so much to the whole team, who have been hustling hard and constantly growing the business and making great beer. This beer started life as a trial brew before our brewer Seb even joined us full time. He’s still constantly improving it, and now with this beer we think we’ve nailed that combination of drinkability and a modern, full flavour.”

Sam reed, Tring Brewery:

“One of our original founders was a royal lancer and this beer is his creation – it’s proved so popular we’ve been brewing it ever since! We just think it’s a great barley wine and it’s nice to know that we’re doing the right things after all these years of brewing it.”

The SIBA Independent Beer Awards at BeerX 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 Chairman Buster Grant, a brewer himself at Brecon Brewing in Wales, congratulated the winners on their huge achievement:

“Making it to the finals is an achievement in itself, winning your style category is something to be even more proud of, and then going on to be named the Overall Champion Gold against such tough competition really is something truly special. These are the three best beers from independent craft brewers across cask, keg, bottle and can – beers which I would encourage both beer drinkers and publicans across the UK to seek out while they still can, as demand for these beers is surely about to go through the roof!”

SIBA’s National Independent Beer Awards 2018

Full Winners List

Overall Cask Champions 

Sponsored by Close Brothers Brewery Rentals Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Wolf Brewery  Sirius Dog Star 4.4
Silver  Oakham Ales  Green Devil IPA 6.0
Bronze  Bedlam Brewery Ltd  Porter 5.0

Cask Champion Standard Mild Ales & Brown Ales

Sponsored by Murphy & Sons Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Wolf Brewery Sirius Dog Star 4.4
Silver  Langham Brewery Triple XXX 4.4
Bronze  Jaw Brew Fathom 4.0

Cask Champion Standard Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Close Brothers Brewery Rentals Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Wye Valley Brewery  The Hopfather 3.9
Silver  Purity Brewing Company  Bunny Hop 3.5
Bronze  Lacons Brewery  Encore 3.8

Cask Champion Best Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Napthens LLP Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Grain Brewery Redwood 4.3
Silver  Brew York Ltd Keras 4.1
Bronze  Ludlow Brewing Company Blonde 4.0

Premium Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Thomas Fawcett & Sons Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Hooded Ram Brewing Company  Liberty East Coast Pale 4.8
Silver  Dark Star Brewing Co Ltd  American Pale Ale 4.7
Bronze  The Backyard Brewhouse  Gold 4.5

Cask Champion Strong Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Charles Faram & Co Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Oakham Ales Green Devil IPA 6.0
Silver  Rooster’s Brewery Ltd Baby-Faced Assassin 6.1
Bronze  Cairngorm Brewery Wildcat 5.1

Cask Champion Premium Strong Beers

Sponsored by Crisp Malting Group Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Big Smoke Brew Co  The Judge DIPA 8.5
Silver  The Loose Cannon Brewing Co ltd  Double IPA 7.5
Bronze  Brecon Brewing  Mind Bleach 10.0

Cask Champion Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales

Sponsored by SPAsoft Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Bedlam Brewery Ltd Porter 5.0
Silver  Northern Monkey Brew Co Underdog 6.0
Bronze  Windswept Brewing Co Wolf 6.0

Cask Champion Speciality Light Beers

Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Dancing Duck  Wot the Duck? Duck a l’orange 6.4
Silver  Loch Lomond Brewery  Out of Range 5.9
Bronze  Green Jack Brewing Co. Ltd.  Orange Wheat 4.2

Cask Champion Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Sponsored by Pentair Food & Beverage Solutions Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Orkney Brewery Dark Island Reserve 10.0
Silver  Blue Monkey Brewery Guerrilla Chocolate Amaretto 4.9
Bronze  Mantle Brewery Dark Heart 5.2

Champion Small Pack Beers

Sponsored by Croxsons Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Tring Brewery  Death or Glory Ale 7.2
Silver  Gun Brewery  Imperial Whisky Stout 7.4
Bronze  Wily Fox Brewery  Karma Citra 4.3

Small Pack Champion Standard Mild Ales & Brown Ales

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Wolf Brewery Sirius Dog Star 4.4
Silver  Brampton Brewery Impy Dark 4.3
Bronze  Inner Bay Brewery Jasper 3.9

Small Pack Champion Standard Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Norriq Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Wily Fox Brewery  Karma Citra 4.3
Silver  Loch Lomond Brewery  Southern Summit 4.0
Bronze  Ashover Brewery  Littlemoor Citra 4.1

Small Pack Champion Premium Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Vigo Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Thornbridge Brewery AM:PM 4.5
Silver  Tring Brewery Pale Four 4.6
Bronze  Rooster’s Brewery Ltd Twenty-Four Seven (24/7) 4.7

Small Pack Champion Strong Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Russell Scanlan Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Windsor and Eton  Uprising’s Treason 5.8
Silver  Maxim Brewery  Maximus 6.0
Bronze  Loch Lomond Brewery  Bravehop Amber 6.0

Small Pack Champion Premium Strong Beers

Sponsored by Beatson Clark Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Tring Brewery Death or Glory Ale 7.2
Silver  Knops Beer Company Black Cork 6.5
Bronze  Geipel Brewing Zoiglator Bock 6.7

Small Pack Champion Standard Lager & Pilsners

Sponsored by Vale Labels Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Stewart Brewing  Franz 4.0
Silver  Charnwood Brewery  Liska 4.0
Bronze  The Norfolk Brewhouse  DewHopper lager 4.0

Small Pack Champion Premium Lager & Pilsners

Sponsored by Saxon Packaging Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Calvors Brewery Premium Pilsner 5.0
Silver  Harviestoun Schiehallion 4.8
Bronze  Whitstable Brewery Co Ltd Whitstable Pilsner 4.9

Small Pack Champion Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales

Sponsored by Zoedale plc Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Black Sheep Brewery  Glug M’Glug 6.2
Silver  Loch Lomond Brewery  SilkieStout 5.0
Bronze  Ashover Brewery  Milk Stout 6.0

Small Pack Champion Speciality Light Beers

Sponsored by Anton Paar Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Flack Manor Brewery Ltd Romsey Gold 4.5
Silver  Salopian Brewery lemon dream 4.5
Bronze  Lymestone Brewery Cherry Stone 5.2

Small Pack Champion Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Sponsored by Cask Brewing Systems Inc. Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Gun Brewery  Imperial Whisky Stout 7.4
Silver  Windswept Brewing co  Bear 10.5
Bronze  Purple Moose Brewery Ltd  Chocolate Moose 4.5

Champion Keg Beers

Sponsored by Kegstar Brewery Product ABV
Gold   North Brewing  Transmission 6.9
Silver  Neckstamper Brewing  Elbow Crooker Session IPA 4.0
Bronze  Orkney Brewery  Dragonhead 4.0

Keg Champion Standard Mild Ales & Brown Ales

Keg Logistics UK Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Orkney Brewery  Dragonhead 4.0
Silver
Bronze

Keg Champion Standard Bitters & Pale Ales

Premier Systems Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Neckstamper Brewing  Elbow Crooker Session IPA 4.0
Silver   Brass Castle Brewery   Misfit 4.3
Bronze   Bewdley Brewery   Worcestershire Way 3.6

Keg Champion Premium Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Close Brothers Brewery Rentals Brewery Product ABV
Gold Ilkley Brewery  Alpha Beta 4.5
Silver  Gloucester Brewery  Session IPA 4.5
Bronze  Harviestoun Brewery  Broken Dial 4.5

Keg Champion Strong Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Muntons Plc Brewery Product ABV
Gold   Gloucester Brewery   American Pale Ale 6.4
Silver  Arundel Brewery Ltd  Uptown New England IPA 6.2
Bronze   Quantock Brewery   Titanium 5.1

Keg Champion Premium Strong Beers

Sponsored by Brewers Select Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  North Brewing  Transmission 6.9
Silver  Grain Brewery  Lignum Vitae 6.5
Bronze  Sambrooks Brewery  Russian Imperial Stour 10.4

Keg Champion Standard Lager & Pilsners

Sponsored by Kegstar Brewery Product ABV
Gold   Geipel Brewing  Aloha from Bala 4.4
Silver   Adnams   Dry Hopped lager 4.2
Bronze   Whitstable Brewery Co Ltd   Kentish Lager 4.1

Keg Champion Premium Lager & Pilsners

Sponsored by Festival Glass Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Otter Brewery  Tarka 4.8
Silver  Knops Beer Company  Cold Fury 5.2
Bronze Hogs Back Brewery  Hogstar 4.5

Keg Champion Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, Strong Milds & Strong Brown Ales

Sponsored by Schafer Container Systems Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Greyhound Brewery  Rainbow Eyes 5.2
Silver  Grain Brewery  Slate 6.0
Bronze  Cheddar Ales Ltd  Velvet Bottom 4.7

Keg Champion Speciality Light Beers

Sponsored by Brewfitt Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold Windsor and Eton Brewery  Uprising’s White Riot 5.3
Silver Merchant City Brewing  American Pale Ale 4.7
Bronze Barngates Brewery  Weiss 4.8

Keg Champion Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Sponsored by Rastal GmbH & Co KG Brewery Product ABV
Gold  RedWillow  Restless 8.5
Silver  Brentwood Brewing Company, Elephant School  Mallowphant 4.8
Bronze  Purity Brewing Company  Saddle Black 5.8

COPY ENDS

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