Stroud Brewery is celebrating winning not one but four gold awards in the West & Wales Regional section of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) annual Beer Competition, the equivalent of the Oscars for the craft brewing world.
For the brewery, it’s a fantastic recognition that taste and quality aren’t compromised by using organic ingredients and greener brewing methods. The brewery is now urging all breweries to embrace sustainability and produce drinks that can help to regenerate the planet as well as give customers a great product.
The four beers which have received Gold Awards are:
- Budding for the category for Cask Pale Ales of 4.5 – 5.5% ABV. A characterful pale ale named after Edwin Beard Budding from Stroud who invented the lawnmower in 1830.
- Hop Drop for the category for Bottled and Canned Pale Ale of 4.5-5.5% ABV. A hoppy beer with an explosion of tropical fruits from aromatic American hops to give a highly flavoured session pale ale.
- Easy Peasy for the category for keg beers in Class 1 up to and including 4.4% ABV. A soft light easy drinking session pale ale with light floral aromas and a fresh,citrus flavour from organic Elderflowers and Lemons.
- LOL (Light Organic Lager) for the category for Bottles & Cans Session Lager up to 4.4% ABV. A light unfiltered Helles style organic lager, traditionally conditioned for one month to give a crisp refreshing finish.
The SIBA Independent Beer Awards represent the very best beer from the UK’s independent brewers and are judged by fellow brewers and industry experts making these awards the “Brewers’ Choice” awards in the UK. The above beers will now go forward into the national awards next March at the sector’s annual beer festival, BeerX.
Founder and MD of Stroud Brewery, Greg Pilley, said: “From my very first thoughts about opening the modern brewery to revive Stroud’s brewing tradition, I wanted to show how it’s possible to mix running a successful business with being ethical and responsible to the planet, people and local communities.”
He continued: “At that time, this idea was virtually unheard of. The idea grew out of my 5 years in Africa researching the role of locally brewed alcoholic drinks within communities, and also working at the Soil Association, the charity which certifies organic production.
There has been scepticism that products made sustainably could be as good as those made ‘conventionally’. I’m heartened by how the sale of organic food and drink has been steadily going up for some time now, and we’re absolutely delighted that so many of our beers have done so well in awards which judge just on taste. We hope this will encourage more people to try organic food and drink in general, not just our beers. But do feel free to visit our taproom any day and try those too – we have organic cider available as well.”
SIBA’s national competitions committee chair, Anneli Baxter, said: “The quality and variety of beers being brewed in Wales and West really is incredible, with not only traditional UK styles well represented, but also a huge range of European and American styles, too.”
