The national awards programme for Scottish brewing has revealed the names of the best beers brewed in Scotland this year as part of its annual competition.
The 6th annual Scottish Beer Awards, sponsored by Aldi, has named 18 gold medal winning beers as the highest rated beers in Scotland according to 34 expert tasters who participated in a wide-ranging blind tasting competition.
The competition judges various according to their beer style with marks awarded for quality, appearance, and flavour without judges having any information on brewers, branding or labels.
The ultimate award of the competition, Scottish Brewery of the Year, went to Aberdeen’s Fierce Beer who collected 10 medals and a record breaking 6 gold medals. The brewery was commended by the judges for its transformational journey which resulted in phenomenal sales success and high-quality production. The team also collected the prize for Product Development Team of the Year.
Glasgow’s Drygate Brewery were the second most successful brewer in the competition after collecting 8 medals including 1 gold medal. In Edinburgh, Bellfield Brewery collected the gold medal for its Marzen Festival Lager in the Best Lager category and newcomer, Cold Town Brewery collected the Gold Medal for Best Pilsner for their popular Cold Town Lager, brewed in pilsner style.
Hilary Jones, Chair of the Judging Panel commented,
“The Scottish Beer Awards is quite possibly the largest and most comprehensive beer competition now in the UK. The results are endlessly fascinating, and this is helped by the fact we rate our entered beers against some of the world’s biggest selling brands which are also assessed. The results show that Scottish beers are simply the best in the world.
“Congratulations to all our winners and we wish them every success as they continue their journeys out of an incredibly challenging year and into a busy Christmas period and successful 2022.”
Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director, Aldi Scotland commented:
“It’s a huge priviledge for all of us at Aldi to be able to show out support to the world leading Scottish brewing industry by sponsoring the Scottish Beer Awards for the sixth year in a row. There’s no denying it's been a really tough couple of years for the beer industry but we at Aldi remain completely committed to providing a platform for sharing amazing beers with our Scottish shoppers.
“This month we celebrate our 25th Scottish Beer Festival and we are already looking forward to planning our next 25 festivals and working with more breweries than ever before. Congratulations to all the winners.”
The awards programme was broadcast live on digital media to ticket holders and nearly 200 guests working in Scottish brewing attended the live dinner in Glasgow, presented by comedian Des Clarke.
HIGHLIGHTS
· Three brewers collected multiple Gold Medals Fierce Beer, Aberdeen (6) Stewart Brewing (2) and Born Brewery (2)
· Bellfield Brewery’s Marzen Festival Lager won Gold Medal for Best Lager.
· Cold Town Lager won Gold in Best Pilsner for their Cold Town Lager, brewed in pilsner style
· Fierce Beer collected the most Gold medals in the competition winning 6
· Coco-Noco by Drygate won Gold in Best Stout for the first time and ended a three-year run of Gold Medals for their Orinoco Stout which still came in 2nd place with Silver.
THE SCOTTISH BEERS THAT BEAT THE GLOBAL BRANDS
· Bellfield Brewery’s Marzen Festival Lager scored higher than Budweiser
· Drygates’ Coco Noco, a Stout, scored higher than Guinness
· Fierce Beer’s Late Shift, a Hazy IPA, scored higher than Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing
· Jump Ship’s Yard Arm, an alcohol free lager, scored higher than Heineken 0.0
· Cold Town Lager, a Pilsner, scored higher than Budvar
For full details visit www.scottishbeerawards.co.uk.
#scotbeerawards21
Full List of Winners:
Scottish Brewery of the Year
WINNER: Fierce Beer
Bellfield Brewery
Cold Town Beer
Drygate Brewing
Tennent Caledonian
Windswept Brewing Co.
Best Lager or Pilsner
GOLD: Bellfield Brewery, Marzen Festival Lager
SILVER: Tennent Caledonian, Tennents Lager
BRONZE: Drygate Brewing, Bearface Lager
Finalists:
Bellfield Brewery, Craft Lager
Brew Toon, Weekend Hooker
Innis & Gunn, Innis & Gunn Lager
Loch Lomond Brewery, Helles Glen
Stewart Brewing, Stewarts Lager
Tennent Caledonian, Tennents Light lager
Top Out Brewery, Kellerbier
WEST, St. Mungo
WEST, Munich Red
WEST, 4% session
WEST, DRK
Williams Bros, Caesar Augustus
Best Pale Ale
GOLD: Stewart Brewing, Ka Pai
SILVER: Williams Bros Brewing Co, Talking Head
BRONZE: Loch Lomond Brewery, Southern Summit
Finalists:
Cross Borders Brewing, Braw
Dog Falls Brewing Co, Inside Line
Dookit Brewing Co, Southside Pale
Fyne Ales, Avalanche
Six°North, Echelon
Stewart Brewing, Small Giant
Stewart Brewing, Hollyrood
The Ferry Brewery, Ferry Pale
Top Out Brewery, Gipfel
WEST, GPA
Winton Brewery, Barryswally
Best IPA
GOLD: Stewart Brewing, New Relic
SILVER: Dog Falls Brewing Co, Resinate
BRONZE: Cross Borders Brewing, India Pale Ale
Finalists:
Aldi, Aldi’s Anti Establishment IPA
Bellfield Brewery, Jex-Blake Mosaic IPA
Bellfield Brewery, Lawless Village IPA
Bellfield Brewery, Rational Creatures IPA
Born Brewery, Born Brewery IPA
Drygate Brewing Co, Gladeye IPA
Drygate Brewing Co, Crossing the Rubicon
Fierce Beer, Fierce IPA
Fyne Ales, Workbench IPA
Loch Lomond Brewery, Lost in Mosaic
Stewart Brewing, Masterplan
Stewart Brewing, Radical Road
The Ferry Brewery, West Coast
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Tin Man
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Ten Cents
Winton Brewery, Peelywally
Best Session Beer
GOLD: Loch Lomond Brewery, Zoom Time
SILVER: Dog Falls Brewing Co, Colloidoscope
BRONZE: Six°North, Omnium
Finalists:
Cross Borders Brewing, Wee Braw
Drygate Brewing Co, Seven Peaks
Fierce Beer, Field of Simcoe
Fierce Beer, Heffen Heff
Innis & Gunn, Session IPA
Stewart Brewing, Session IPA
The Ferry Brewery, Dunkelweizen
The Ferry Brewery, 3 Bridges
WEST, Heidi-Weisse
Windswept Brewing Co, Hurricane
Best Pilsner
GOLD: Cold Town Beer, Cold Town Lager (Pilsner Style)
SILVER: Bellfield Brewery, Bohemian Pilsner
BRONZE: Harviestoun Brewery, Schiehallion
Finalists:
Bellfield Brewery, Three Rivers Pils
Drygate Brewing Co, Kelvin Pilsner
Six°North, Peloton Pilsner
The Ferry Brewery, Ferry Pils
WEST, Feirerabend
Best Juicy or Hazy Beer
GOLD: Fierce Beer, Late Shift
SILVER: Stewart Brewing, Clara Rosa
BRONZE: Cross Borders Brewing, Oatmeal Pale Ale
Finalists:
Brew Toon, Juicy Belter
Brew Toon, Mayday!
Cold Town Beer, New England IPA
Dog Falls Brewing Co, Split the Tree
Drygate Brewing Co, Unsmashable
Fierce Beer, Stuff and Nonsense
Fierce Beer, Fierce Hazy IPA
Overtone Brewing Co, Mosaic Oat Cream
Overtone Brewing Co, Ella-Mentary
Six°North, Crab With The Golden Claw
Stewart Brewing, Skeleton Blues
Stewart Brewing, Hazy IPA
The Ferry Brewery, SunKiss
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Juice Tiger
Winton Brewery, Mon Then!
Best Imperial or Double IPA
GOLD: Overtone Brewing Co, Heavy Pop
SILVER: Overtone Brewing Co, PLUR
BRONZE: Drygate Brewing Co, Double Disco
Finalists:
Fierce Beer, Fancy Juice 4
Six°North, Arenberg
The Ferry Brewery, Ferry Juice Double IPA
Up Front Brewing, Mosaic And Strata Nectar IPA
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Sapien
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Double Joker IPA
Best British Style Ale sponsored by Wolffe
GOLD: Born Brewery, Born Brewery Dark
SILVER: The Ferry Brewery, 40/- Fine
BRONZE: Windswept Brewing Co, Wolf
Finalists:
Cross Borders Brewing, What the FX! Export Ale
Cross Borders Brewing, Heavy
Fyne Ales, Hurricane Jack
Harviestoun Brewery, Bitter & Twisted
Innis & Gunn, Inveralmond Ossian
Isle of Arran Brewery, Arran Blonde
Stewart Brewing, St Giles
Stewart Brewing, Edinburgh Gold
Stewart Brewing, Stewarts 80/-
WEST, G40
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Fraoch
Windswept Brewing Co, Blonde
Best Amber or Dark Ale
GOLD: Born Brewery, Born Brewery Amber
SILVER: Fyne Ales, Vital Spark
BRONZE: Brew Toon, The J’Ale
Finalists:
Dog Falls Brewing Co, Red Hook
Top Out Brewery, Altbier
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Pavlov's Dog
Best Porter
GOLD: Fierce Beer, Café Racer
SILVER: The Ferry Brewery, Milkshake Porter
BRONZE: Dookit Brewing Co, Beelzebub
Finalists:
Bellfield Brewery, Daft Days Porter
Stewart Brewing, Gallus Porter
The Ferry Brewery, Sugar Bush, Maple Porter (John Martine Series)
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Midnight Sun
Windswept Brewing Co, Clavie
Best Stout
GOLD: Drygate Brewing Co, Coco Noco
SILVER: Drygate Brewing Co, Orinoco
BRONZE: The Ferry Brewery, Oatmeal Stout
Finalists:
Fierce Beer, Moose Mousse
Loch Lomond Brewery, Silkie Stout
Loch Lomond Brewery, Mocha Doodle Dhu
Williams Bros Brewing Co, March Of The Penguins
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Chokka Blokka
Windswept Brewing Co Ltd, 1806
Windswept Brewing Co Ltd, Witch Pricker
Best Amplified Beer sponsored by Cara Technology
GOLD: Fierce Beer, Very Big Chomp
SILVER: Fierce Beer, Very Big Moose
BRONZE: Fierce Beer, Big Night In Part 1
Finalists:
Cross Borders Brewing, Bier Gegen Profitgier $E£
Drygate Brewing Co, Nightmare of Cake 2021 Edition
Fierce Beer, Big Night In Part 2
Fyne Ales, Mills & Hills
Glasgow Beer Works, Jaggery Imperial Stout
Innis & Gunn, The Original
Loch Lomond Brewery, Waiting for the Rain
Six°North, Chapeau
The Ferry Brewery, Marty, Imperial Milk Porter (John Martine Series)
The Ferry Brewery, Big John, Imperial Nut Porter (John Martine Series)
Best Sour
GOLD: Fierce Beer, Dark Amber Sour
SILVER: Fyne Ales Origins Brewing, Home 2019
BRONZE: Fierce Beer, Lots of Nelson
Finalists:
Brew Toon, Sour House
Fyne Ales Origins Brewing, Nàdar Celeia
Fyne Ales Origins Brewing, Nàdar Jester
Best Fruited Sour
GOLD: Windswept Brewing Co, Summit Sour
SILVER: Brew Toon, Dark Fruit
BRONZE: Up Front Brewing, Das Ist Techno Sex
Finalists:
Brew Toon, Sour to the People
Brew Toon, Cherry Crush
Drygate Brewing Co, Analogue Rock Watermelon and Basil
Drygate Brewing Co, Trinitone Blast Calamansi
Fierce Beer, All Gose South
Fierce Beer, Wild Stone Fruit Sour
Top Out Brewery, First Ascents - Scarlet Sour
Top Out Brewery, Triple Lemon Sour
Up Front Brewing, Scottish Blackcurrants
Up Front Brewing, Imperial Passionfruit And Kalamansi Gose
Winton Brewery, OH YA CAN'T (make a cherry sour this guid!)
Winton Brewery, OH YA BASSA
Best Fruit Forward Beer
GOLD: Fierce Beer, Cranachan Killer
SILVER: Williams Bros Brewing Co, Paolo
BRONZE: Williams Bros Brewing Co, Roisin
Finalists:
Aldi, Aldi’s Memphis Boulevard
Brew Toon, Mango Unchained
Brew Toon, Raspberry Carronade
Brew Toon, Pineapple Pils
Cold Town Beer, Pornstar Martini Ale
Drygate Brewing Co, Rancho Rosa
Drygate Brewing Co, Jammy Bastart
Drygate Brewing Co, Disco Forklift Truck
Drygate Brewing Co, Orange Gates of the West
Fierce Beer, Fierce Rhubarb
Loch Lomond Brewery, Exiting Piers
Six°North, Framboise
Six°North, Maglia Rosa
Stewart Brewing, Island Getaway
Stewart Brewing, Bellini Brut
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Rubus
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Che Guava
Williams Bros Brewing Co, Otis
Windswept Brewing Co Ltd, Citrus Tsunami
Best Low or No Alcohol Beer
GOLD: Jump Ship Brewing, Yardarm
SILVER: Tennent Caledonian, Tennent’s Zero
BRONZE: Jump Ship Brewing, Flying Colours
Finalists:
Harviestoun Brewery, Wheesht
Jump Ship Brewing, Goosewing IPA
WEST, Nix
Best Speciality Beer
GOLD: Williams Bros Brewing Co, Ginger
SILVER: Drygate Brewing Co, Dessert Menu: Christmas Pudding
BRONZE: Six°North, Brevet
Finalists:
Cross Borders Brewing, Liberté, Égalité, Pas de Frais Cachés!
Dog Falls Brewing Co, Awaroa
Drygate Brewing Co, Big Dumb Object
Six°North, Hopclassic
Stewart Brewing, First World Problems
The Ferry Brewery, Belgian Saison
Best Barrel Aged Beer
GOLD: Fierce Beer, B.A Maple VBM
SILVER: Glasgow Beer Works, Ex-Bourbon Whisky Cask Aged Jaggery Imperial Stout
BRONZE: Fyne Ales, Deep Space Echo
Finalists:
Drygate Brewing Co, Crimson Corsair
Drygate Brewing Co, Can I Just Shock You?
Fierce Beer, B.A Imperial Café Racer
Fyne Ales, Cognac Barrel-Aged Mills & Hills
Fyne Ales, Moscatel Barrel-Aged Mills & Hills
Glasgow Beer Works, Glenfarclas Cask Aged Jaggery Imperial Stout
Innis & Gunn, VP05
Innis & Gunn, Caribbean Rum Cask
Innis & Gunn, Islay Whisky Cask Laphroaig
Isle of Arran Brewery, Milestone - Special Reserve
Overtone Brewing Co, Twisted Sense
The Ferry Brewery, Black Bourbon (John Martine Series)
Windswept Brewing Co, Wolf of Glen Moray
Windswept Brewing Co, Bear
Scottish Brewer of the Year
WINNER: Trevor Sproul, Brew Toon
Euan MacEachren, Loch Lomond Brewery
Peter Samson, Drygate Brewing
Beer Bar of the Year
WINNER: Cold Town House
Bellfield Brewery and Tap Room
West Brewery and Tap Room
Winton Brewery Tap Room
Excellence in Branding
WINNER: Cold Town Beer
Bellfield Brewery
Dookit Brewing Co.
Glasgow Beer Works
JUMP SHIP BREWING LTD
Overtone Brewing Co.
Six°North
Stewart Brewing
The Ferry Brewery
Top Out Brewery
Consumer Engagement Excellence Award
WINNER: Windswept Brewing Co
Brew Toon
Cold Town Beer
Dog Falls Brewing Co
Fyne Ales
Harviestoun Brewery
WEST
Product Development Team of the Year
WINNER: Fierce Beer
Cold Town Beer
Cross Borders Brewing Company
Loch Lomond Brewery
Stewart Brewing
Williams Bros Brewing Co
Excellence In Social Media
WINNER: Bellfield Brewery
Aldi
Brew Toon
Cold Town Beer
Sustainable Brewery of the Year
WINNER: Tennent Caledonian Breweries
Arran Brewery