Scottish brewers win historic triple Gold at UK’s biggest beer awards
The results are in for the UK’s biggest independent beer competition, with three breweries taking the Overall Gold across the Cask, Keg, and Bottle/Can competitions – and for the first time ever all the Overall Champions were from Scotland.
Cross Borders Brewing won the Overall Champion of the Cask Beer Awards with their India Pale Ale, Fyne Ales won Overall Champion of the Bottle/Can Beer with Mills & Hills Vintage – a barrel aged imperial stout – and Swannay won the Overall Champion of the Keg Beer Awards with their strong Orkney Porter.
On hand to collect the awards on behalf of his brewery and the other Scottish Gold Medal Winners was Jamie Delap, Owner of Fyne Ales and SIBA Scotland Regional Director; “We’re absolutely delighted, there’s so many fantastic beers here so to win a medal is always brilliant. So the fact that judges have enjoyed what we do, we love it. We’re just so honoured. I think in Scotland we’re proud, we’ve got lots of brewers doing some really good things and this just validates that great work going on in Scotland. So we’re delighted to win, really proud of everyone.”
Commenting on his Mills & Hills Imperial Stout which took home the Gold in bottle, he said; “It’s a big, proper, chewy Imperial Stout, nothing too fancy. And for me, it’s my nightcap beer so I am delighted we’re always going to have it in stock, because I always need that nightcap beer once in a while!”
Judged by brewers and industry experts and organised by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) at their flagship BeerX UK event in Liverpool, the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2025 awards run across a huge range of beer style categories including pale ale, IPA, stout and lager.
The Awards are the National finals and in order to earn a place at the competition brewers must first win Gold at their regional competition – making these overall Champions very much the ‘best of the best’ when it comes to independent beer. Finalists from Scotland the North East, North West, Midlands, East of England, Wales & West, South East, and South West all fought it out to take home the top spots.
“These awards are twelve months in the making and given to only the UK’s very best beers. Huge congratulations to all of this year’s medal winners and particularly our three Overall Champions, all hailing from Scotland for the first time in the competitions history – there must be something in the water up there!” Andy Slee, SIBA Chief Executive
The SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2025 are organised by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates at BeerX, the UK’s biggest beer and brewing trade event, taking place at Exhibition Centre Liverpool. This year was the event’s biggest ever, attracting a record 3,400 Delegates to a packed conference of talks, seminars, tasting sessions, and of course the beer awards which name the very best of the best in the independent beer industry.
To access the full list of winners: Click here
For supporting images: Click here
