The national awards programme for Scottish brewing has opened for entries in the sixth annual competition which recognises the nation’s best beers and brewers.
Each year, the competition assesses over 300 different beers brewed in Scotland and is judged by a panel of over 30 brewing and business experts from across the UK.
Despite the challenges of the last year, the competition has promised to celebrate all the achievements of the Scottish brewing sector and has renewed its long-standing with Aldi as headline sponsors.
Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director, Aldi Scotland commented:
“Celebrating the high quality and diversity of Scottish beer is part of our key objectives at Aldi. We are immensely proud of the strong partnerships we have built with local breweries in Scotland and look forward to launching our 25th Scottish Beer Festival in all Scottish stores this coming October.
“While the last year has been incredibly difficult for many brewers, we remain committed to providing a fantastic platform for Scottish brewers to showcase their incredible beers through our collaborations.
“We are delighted to be headline sponsor of the Scottish Beer Awards for a 6th consecutive year and encourage all breweries large and small to take advantage of this excellent opportunity in this highly regarded competition.”
There are 8 business categories and 16 taste categories across the competition. In the popular blind tasting competition, categories include Best Lager, Best Pilsner, Best IPA and Best Pale Ale. There are two new categories in the line-up this year which are the Consumer Engagement Excellence Award and Social Media Excellence Award.
The judging will be chaired for a 6th year by Hilary Jones who also heads up the Scottish Brewing Industry Leadership Group. She commented:
“Now in its sixth year, the Scottish Beer Awards has really made its mark on the brewing industry in Scotland. There is no better time to reward the innovation and creativity of the sector in its response to the pandemic. I am very honoured to chair the panel again this year and to welcome the many new judges. We look forward to meeting in a few months’ time to assess the written entries and to blind taste the products entered by breweries from across the country.
“This year we have designed the business categories to recognise excellence emerging from the unique and different trading conditions experienced by brewers of all shapes and sizes over the last year. In particular, to those brewers who thought outside of the box to create innovative thoughtful ways to engage with their loyal consumers - and undoubtedly new ones - and pave the way for permanent new routes to market.”
Full details for the 2021 programme including the category line-up, entry guide and terms and conditions are available on the Scottish Beer Awards website and entrants have until Wednesday 21 July 2021 to collate and complete their submission for consideration.
The winners will be announced at the Scottish Beer Awards dinner and digital event which takes place in Glasgow on Friday 8 October 2021. The awards will again support The BEN, the Benevolent Society of the Licensed Trade of Scotland.
For details on available sponsorship opportunities, please contact maxine@kdmedia.co.uk.
Judging Panel
Tim Blades, Account Manager, New Wave Distribution
Fergus Clark, Consultant
Christie Clinton, Buying Director, ALDI
Joe Dick, Beer Importer & Distributor, James Clay
Ritchie Duncan, Brewer, Fallen Brewing
Rosalind Erskine, Senior Journalist, The Scotsman
Ruth Evans, CEO, BFBi
Aidy Fenwick, Freelance Beer Marketer, Beer Pressured
Seoridh Fraser, Beerhive
Andrew Gibson, Marketing Manager, Vault City Brewing
Rob Gilmour, Senior Buyer, Flavourly
Wesley Hall, Sales Manager, Black Isle Beer
David Hannah, Area Sales Manager, Muntons
Adam Hardie, Partner & Head of Food & Drink, Johnston Carmichael
Ian Herok, Director, Still Brewing Company
Colin Johnstone, Craft Brewing & Distilling Sales Manager, Crisp Malting
Hilary Jones, Non-Executive Director, WEST and Chair of the Judging Panel
Deb Kennedy, Leadership and Management Support Consultant
Keith Lugton, Group Liquid Development Manager, C&C Group
Rob Mackay, Creative Director, Drygate Brewing Co
Dr Dawn Maskell, Director, International Centre for Brewing & Distilling, Heriot Watt University
Aly Mathers, Head of Bars, Fierce Beer
Sara Mele, Hospitality Consultant
Isla Mercer, Project Manager at Shaw
Christopher Miller, Director, Craft Beer Clan
Sean Murphy, Digital Journalist
Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, Professor, International Centre for Brewing & Distilling, Heriot Watt University
Robert Percival, Regional Sales Manager, Lallemand
Nix Prabhu, Craft Beer Passport
David Reid, Director, Because Brands Matter
Anna Rogan, Beer Buyer, Luvianns
Pete Sherry, Owner, The Beer Hive
Ali Stewart, CEO, Flavourly
Steve Stewart, Managing Director, Stewart Brewing
Rachel Sutherland, Assistant Professor, International Centre for Brewing & Distilling, Heriot Watt University
Amélie Tassin, Founder, Beers Without Beards
Dan Unwin, General Manager, Brewers Select
Graeme Walker, Professor of Zymology, Abertay University
Marc Watson, Head Distiller & Distillery Manager
Chris Williams, Director, Williams Bros Brewing Co
Dominic P Wright, Director, Oude & Gruit
Business Categories
Scottish Brewery of the Year
Brewer of the Year
Sustainable Brewery of The Year - NEW
Branding Excellence Award
Product Development Team of the Year
Consumer Engagement Excellence Award - NEW
Best Beer Bar
Social Media Excellence Award – NEW
Taste Categories
Best Lager
Best Pilsner
Best Pale Ale
Best IPA
Best Session Beer
Best British Style Ale
Best Amber or Dark Ale
Best Porter
Best Stout
Best Amplified Beer
Best Sour Beer
Best Fruit Forward
Best Barrel Aged Beer
Best Juicy or Hazy Beer
Best Speciality Beer
Best Low or No Alcohol Beer