Hawkshead Brewery take home double Gold at SIBA North West Independent Beer Awards

Hawkshead Brewery in Cumbria have taken home the two top spots at the SIBA North West Independent Beer Awards, winning overall Gold in both the cask and small pack (bottle and can) competitions.

The prestigious awards, run by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and held at the Macron stadium in Bolton, are judged by brewers and beer experts and seen very much as the brewers’ choice awards in the industry.

Hawkshead’s “Windermere Pale” took home the overall Gold in the cask competition and is described as being a “highly refreshing, very pale ale, bursting with hop character and a fine fruity aroma”. Hawkhead’s “Brodie’s Prime Export”, a stronger version of their popular Brodie’s Prime bitter, was named overall small pack winner and is described as a “Rich, complex, strong dark ale, with aromas of dark chocolate, treacle sweet flavours, roasted bitterness, a surprising fruitiness and a long dry finish.”

Commenting on the win was SIBA Competitions Committee Chair Guy Sheppard, who presented the awards,

“These awards are judged in blind-tasting by brewers and industry experts, so to take home overall Gold across two categories is a first in England and something Hawkshead should be extremely proud of – I’d like to congratulate them and all of the other brewers who won awards as the quality of entries was high across the board.” 

Alex Brodie from Hawkshead collected their award and had this to say on their win, “We’re staggered, we’ve been coming to these awards for a very long time and you leave elated if you win one or two, so to win overall in two is just amazing. Our head brewer Matt is the genius behind all of this and the one who gives us amazing consistency, huge innovation, and style in our beers and these awards are down to him and the whole team at Hawkshead brewery. We’ll be cracking open the odd bottle to celebrate with the entire brewing team and bar staff!”

The competition took place prior to the opening of the Bolton Beer Festival 2017, at the Macron Stadium in Bolton, which continues through until saturday 7th October. Former details visit http://www.beer-festival.co.uk

Overall Champion of the Cask Competition

Sponsored by Napthens Solicitors Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Hawkshead Brewery Windermere Pale 3.5
Silver  Hooded Ram Brewing Company Conrod Hoppy Pale 4.8
Bronze  Northern Monkey Brew Co Underdog 6

Cask Standard Mild Ales & Brown Ales

Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons Brewery Product ABV
Gold The Borough Brewery Summertime Dark 4
Silver Coach House Brewing Co Ltd Gunpowder Mild 3.8
Bronze Watermill Inn & Windermere Brewing Co Blackbeard 3.7

Cask Standard Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Hawkshead Brewery  Windermere Pale 3.5
Silver  Blackedge Brewing Company Ltd  Session 3.5
Bronze  Prospect Brewery Ltd  Whatever! 3.9

Cask Best Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by SPASoft Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Spitting Feathers Brainstorm 4
Silver  Barngates Brewery Tag Lag 4.4
Bronze  Hophurst Brewery Ltd Cosmati 4.2

Premium Bitters & Pale Ales 

Sponsored by Charles Faram & Co Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Hooded Ram Brewing Company  Conrod Hoppy Pale 4.8
Silver  RedWillow Brewery  Wreckless 4.8
Bronze  Blackedge Brewing Company Ltd  IPA 4.7

Cask Strong Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Prospect Brewery Ltd Big Adventure 5.5
Silver  RedWillow Brewery Shameless 5.9
Bronze  Peerless Brewing Knee Buckler IPA 5.2

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

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Northern Monkey Brew Co Underdog 6
Silver  Brewsmith Beer Oatmeal Stout 5.2
Bronze  keswick Brewing Co Dark Horse 6

Cask Speciality Light Beers

Sponsored by CBI Insurance Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Fool Hardy Ales  Riptide 5
Silver  Coach House Brewing Co Ltd  Elderflower 4.1
Bronze  Blackedge Brewing Company Ltd  Ginger 4.5

Cask Speciality Mid to Dark Beers

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  RedWillow Brewery Smokeless 5.7
Silver  Lancaster Brewery chestnut red 4.5
Bronze  Cumbrian Legendary Ales Vanilla Oatmill Stout 4.8

Champion Small Pack Beers

Sponsored by Beatson Clark Ltd Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Hawkshead Brewery  Brodie’s Prime Export 8.5
Silver  Wily Fox Brewery  Karma Citra 4.3
Bronze  Brightside Brewing Company  Amarillo Single Hop IPA 5

Small Pack Standard Mild Ales & Brown Ales 

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Brimstage Brewery Scarecrow 4.2
Silver  Southport Brewery Ltd Dark Night 3.9
Bronze  Keswick Brewing Co Keswick Bitter 3.7

Small Pack Standard Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Muntons Plc Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Wily Fox Brewery  Karma Citra 4.3
Silver  Bollington Brewing Co.  White Nancy 3.6
Bronze  Brimstage Brewery  Sandpiper Light Ale 3.6

Small Pack Premium Bitters & Pale Ales

Sponsored by Rastal GmbH & Co KG Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Wily Fox Brewery Black Pearl Black IPA 4.9
Silver  Keswick Brewing Co KSB 4.8
Bronze  Hawkshead Brewery Sundown 4.5

Small Pack Strong Bitters & Pale Ales

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Brightside Brewing Company Amarillo Single Hop IPA 5
Silver  Hawkshead Brewery NZPA 6
Bronze  Weetwood Ales Oregon Pale 5

Small Pack Premium Strong Beers

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Hawkshead Brewery Brodie’s Prime Export 8.5
Silver Watermill Inn & Windermere Brewing Co Shih Tzu Faced 7
Bronze  Spitting Feathers NSFW 7.5

Small Pack Premium Lager & Pilsners

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Hawkshead Brewery  Hawkshead Lager 5
Silver  Joseph Holt Ltd  Crystal Gold 4.6
Bronze  Brightside Brewing Company  Helles Lager 4.8

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

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Blackedge Brewing Company Ltd Black Stout 4
Silver  Windmill Brewery Liverpool Porter 4.5
Bronze  Weetwood Ales Maori Sidestep 4.4

Small Pack Speciality Light Beers 

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Coach House Brewing Co Ltd  Blueberry Classic Bitter 5
Silver  Joseph Holt Ltd  Humdinger 4.1
Bronze  Hawkshead Brewery  Chuckleberry Sour 3.5

Small Pack Speciality Mid to Dark Beers 

Brewery Product ABV
Gold  Prospect Brewery Ltd Clementine 5
Silver  Hawkshead Brewery Tiramisu Imperial Stout 10
Bronze  Alphabet Brewing Co Flat White 7.4

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