Castle Rock picks Duvel Moortgat
Duvel Moortgat has won the top brewer award
Duvel Moortgat has won the top brewer award in the annual Castle Rock Brewery Beer of the Year night held at the Canalhouse pub in Nottingham.
Their win, in the 14th year of the competition, is the first to have been awarded to a continental brewer and is the first time the award has gone to a brewer that is not known for brewing conventional real ale. Making the presentation to Duvel Moortgat’s John Leape, Castle Rock’s operations director, Steve Bramley, said the award was well deserved. “This is a long standing brewer of unpasteurised and unfiltered beers in keg and bottle and their success reflects not just the increasing interest and importance of this sector in our industry, but also the high level of support our pubs receive in sales, menus, and training from the Duvel Moortgat team.”
John Leape, Duvel Moortgat’s national sales account manager, said: “It’s a huge honour to be recognised as the first winning foreign brewer in the history of the awards. There is a real upsurge in the marketplace for top quality niche products, and we believe Duvel Moortgat UK is at the forefront of this movement. The Moortgat family brewery prides itself on the quality of its beers and the support offered to customers. Staff training is a vital component of our success and Castle Rock has really embraced this. We look forward to continuing success within the Castle Rock estate, and the forward-thinking attitude within the marketplace today. Finally, I’d like to thank everyone involved for voting for Duvel Moortgat UK.”
Other winners included Titanic Plum Porter, selected as beer of the year by customers with Bradfield and Salopian Breweries as joint runners up; New Brewer, The Hop Studio; LocAle brewer, Lincoln Green Brewery; and supplier of the year, Big Wines.
Castle Rock chairman, Geoff Newton, said: “These awards celebrate the diversity and creativity in our industry. We have some great products available in our pubs, and we’re grateful to both the customers and suppliers for the strong bond we’ve built up over the years.”
Voting for the beer of the year competition was conducted in Castle Rock’s 20 pubs through the autumn with regulars putting forward their favourites from many hundreds of real ales available through the year. Voting is restricted to guest beers as those from Castle Rock Brewery are not eligible for the contest.
Castle Rock’s industry awards for the brewer of the year and the year’s best supplier are chosen by Castle Rock staff.
The award ceremony was held at the Canalhouse, Nottingham on Tuesday 26 February 2013.
