Salopian Brewery take Overall Gold in first ever Digital Beer Awards

July 29, 2020| Neil Walker | SIBA National

An English Bitter from a brewery in Shrewsbury has beaten almost 500 different beers from across the UK to be named overall Gold at the inaugural SIBA Digital Beer Awards 2020.

‘Darwin’s Origin’ from Salopian Brewery is a copper coloured Bitter given an international twist with an eclectic mix of US, New Zealand and European hops – which give the beer its distinctive lemony aroma and dry finish.

Middlesbrough brewery Play Brew Co’s ‘Los Bandito’, a hazy double-dry-hopped pale ale with big flavours of mango and stone-fruit, took the overall Silver having wowed judges in the Premium Pale Ales category. In the Bronze position overall was London Beer Lab’s Session IPA, a wonderfully aromatic, fruity and bitter beer from the Brixton-based brewers which beat out rivals in the hotly contested Session IPA category.

Judging took place live via Zoom with 50 expert beer judges

Organised by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and open to all independent breweries in the UK, the Digital Beer Awards 2020 were a landmark competition, entered by over 180 British breweries. The awards saw almost 500 different beers judged by 50 expert tasters across two live video judging days.

Competition Chair Guy Sheppard, congratulated winners and praised the quality of entries overall

“Congratulations to our very worthy winners who really did have to beat stiff competition from the rest of the UK to take the top spots, the quality of entries was incredibly high and testament to the passion and talent of British brewers in these trying times. I’d like to thank all of the breweries who took the time to enter the competition and send in their beers for judging.”

Salopian Brewery’s Darwin’s Origin, which achieved the highest overall score of any beer in the competition to take the Overall Gold in the National rankings, was first brewed in 2009 to celebrate the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s Birth in Shrewsbury, where the brewery is based. It is described by the brewer as being a “copper coloured beer that evolves with a pronounced hop character which leads to a refined malt finish”.

Judges were hugely impressed by the beer’s ‘great lemony aroma’ and commented that it was a ‘very good example of a dry bitter with good drinkability’. The timing could also not be more apt – in a year when best bitters have been coming back into fashion with beer drinkers, Darwin’s Origin fits snuggly into the resurgence.

Jake Douglas a Director at Salopian noted “the past few months have been a challenging time for Salopian, but we have adapted as many have had to and I am extremely pleased that one of the beers we brewed and bottled during lockdown has gone on to win such a prestigious award. Our bottling line has been creaking at the seams recently – earning it’s keep – this award is testament to the hard work and diligence of all my team.”

Expert beer judges, beer sommeliers and experienced brewers were used to judge beers for their flavour, aroma and quality, marking them against internationally recognised beer styles to determine which beers were most deserving of awards. The ‘blind’ tasting sessions took place via live video judging sessions across two days.

“The quality of beer in the UK has never been higher and the variety and flavour of beers submitted for the Digital Beer Awards was astounding. The UK is quite simply brewing some of the best beer anywhere in the World and in these awards showcased the full breadth of beer styles now available from independent craft breweries – from modern IPA and Pales Ales, Belgian style saisons and sour beers, to traditional British beers such as bitters, stouts and porters.” Guy Sheppard added.

Sponsored by Croxsons		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	Salopian Brewery	Darwin’s Origin	4.3
	Silver	PLAY BREW co	LOS BANDITO	5.3
	Bronze	London Beer Lab Ltd	Session IPA	4.2

Sponsored by Simpsons Malt		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	Black Sheep Brewery	Milk Stout	4.4
	Silver	Stewart Brewing	Stewart’s 80/-	4.4
	Bronze	Dawkins Ales	East Bristol Session Porter	4.1

Sponsored by Murphy & Son Ltd		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	Palmers Brewery	Palmers 200	5
	Silver	Gower Brewery Co Ltd	Gower Power	5.5
	Bronze	The Oaks Brewing Company	NZ Pale	4.6

Sponsored by Clearmark Solutions		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	London Beer Lab Ltd	Session IPA	4.2
	Silver	Salopian Brewery	Keepsake	4.2
	Bronze	Dog Falls Brewing Co	Colloidoscope	4.3

Sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	Brew York Ltd	Big Eagle	6.4
	Silver	Windsor and Eton Brewery	Uprising’s Treason	6
	Bronze	Thornbridge Brewery	Jaipur	5.9

Sponsored by Lemontop Creative		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	Fallen Acorn Brewing Co.	Crystal Haze	7.2
	Silver	Padstow Brewing Co	Sundowner 3.0	6.8
	Bronze	Brass Castle Brewery Ltd	Disruptor	7.4

Sponsored by Kegstar		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	Thornbridge Brewery	Lukas	4.2
	Silver	Signature Brew	Studio Lager	4
	Bronze	Weetwood Ales	Kuhl Lager	4.2

Sponsored by Core Equipment		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	Turpin’s Brewery Cambridge	Underback Pilsner	4.6
	Gold	Elusive Brewing Limited	Overflow	4.8
	Bronze	Bays Brewery Ltd	Devon Rock Craft Lager	4.5

Sponsored by Pattesons Glass		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	Utopian Brewing	Rainbock – Maibock Lager	7
	Silver	Fyne Ales	Origins Brewing – Elegy	11.5
	Bronze	The Chiltern Brewery	Bodgers Barley Wine	8.5

Sponsored by Croxsons		Brewery	Product	ABV
	Gold	London Beer Factory	Skin Contact	5.5
	Silver	BLACK TOR BREWERY LTD	Saison	5.2
	Bronze	Tyne Bank Brewery Ltd	Summer Breeze	3.9

Salopian Brewery take Overall Gold in first ever Digital Beer Awards

Author: Neil Walker

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