Brewers are celebrating after scooping gold medals at the fifth annual Scottish Beer Awards.
Local drink producers enjoyed an amazing night at the Scottish Beer Awards, striking gold for their amazing products.
Six°north, Laurencekirk, scooped two gold medals at the fifth annual awards, while new brewery, Reid’s Gold Brewing of Stonehaven, won gold in Speciality Beer for Bounty Like It, a biscuit pale ale with toasted coconut.
Dundee company 71 Brewing won the Sales Team of the Year award.
Amazing work from our sales team over the past year as we've had to completely reinvent our production and sales strategy, a proud moment and a LOT of hard work during circumstances that were unimaginable 12 months ago. Thank you @Scotbeerawards for this recognition! https://t.co/6wCVbqviwE
— 71brewing (@71brewing) November 26, 2020
The managing director of six°north, Robert Lindsay, said: “We’re delighted to have won two gold awards for our beers at this year’s Scottish Beer Awards.
“We are particularly proud of the win for Wanderlust Wheat, a beer that has been with us since we started brewing back in 2013. It’s been a firm customer favourite for some time, so it’s great to see it win the accolade of Best Session Beer!
“Both Aldi and The Scottish Beer Awards do a grand job of supporting our industry. It has given all of us brewers a real boost on what has been an incredibly difficult year. The awards are also a great time to reflect on the sheer quality that is coming out of Scotland right now!”
On their success, Duncan Alexander, from 71 Brewing, added: “Hugely gratifying to win the Sales Team of the Year award at the Scottish Beer Awards last night in what has been a tumultuous year for anyone in the beer industry.
“The fact that we have managed to grow the business to double last year’s output under such difficult circumstances is testament to the hard efforts of everyone in the team and our fantastically loyal customers.”
WANDERFUL 🥇🥳 https://t.co/3fXK40xZEb
— Six°North Brewery (@sixdnorth) November 26, 2020
Loch Lomond Brewery won the top award being named Scottish Brewery of the Year after a year in which they trebled production with a new brewery, managed a detailed rebranding and built relationship with UK and online suppliers.
But Aberdeen-based brewer Fierce Beer stole the show with four gold medals among their 14 gongs.
Expert tasters
The fifth annual ceremony attracted a huge entry attracting 35 breweries and 314 beers, all of which are made in Scotland, and blind tasted by a judging panel of 30 expert tasters.
The results reveal a tantalising list of 19 of the highest rated beers in Scotland, judged purely on appearance, flavour and taste according to leading industry experts.
Ferry Brewery won Beer of the Year for Ferry Black, an 8% Liquorice Porter after it scored the highest average mark in the competition.
Hilary Jones, chair of the Scottish Beer Awards judging panel, said: “Like most businesses, especially those involved with the hospitality sector, it has been a deeply difficult year for breweries.
“The great news is that despite multiple obstacles thrown their way in 2020, many Scottish breweries, more than just survived – they adapted and innovated.
“They have shown resilience, looked after their staff, and continued to produce high quality product despite a rapidly changing business market.
Deserved recognition
“The Scottish Beer Awards has shown us once again the strength, skills and great people at the heart of our brewing sector and we are delighted to reward the best of them with deserved recognition and medals in advance of the all-important Christmas sales period.”
The competition was sponsored by Aldi, who have backed the awards since their inception.
Graham Nicolson, group buying director, Aldi Scotland, commented: “The quality and diversity of Scottish beer continues to be applauded and we are delighted to offer our customers a growing range of interesting and popular beers at all our Scottish stores. Congratulations to all the winners and we look forward to continuing our hard work together in 2021.”
Woop 🥳 https://t.co/KCzgBaca13
— Six°North Brewery (@sixdnorth) November 26, 2020
Local winners were:
Best Session Beer: Gold – Wanderlust, six°north;
Best Sour Beer: Gold – BA Hopocrisy; six°north.
Best Speciality Beer: Gold – Bounty Like It, Reid’s Gold Brewing Company.
Sales Team of the Year: 71 Brewing.
