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 |
