Australian breweries Brick Lane, BentSpoke Brewing Co., James Squire and Lion have taken home various medals in the International Brewing and Cider Awards.

The awards, which have been held since 1886, opt for an Olympic-style grading system where only one bronze, silver and gold medal is awarded for each class.

Judging for the awards took place between 16th – 18th November at the National Brewery Centre in Burton-upon-Trent in the UK. The team of judges, led by Rob McCaig, Chair of Beer Judging, also included Australians Bradford Tetlow and Bill Taylor.

BentSpoke’s Crankshaft IPA won gold for the Smallpack Ale (abv range 5.5% – 6.9%) class after it also won first place in the 2020 GABS Hottest 100 earlier this year.

The brewery also took home silver in the Smallpack Ale (abv range 2.9% – 4.4%) class for its Barley Griffin pale ale. While its Red Nut IPA won silver in the Strong Beer (abv range 7% – 9.9%) class.

Head brewer and co-founder Richard Watkins said it was a great achievement to see BentSpoke succeed in the reputable awards.

“It’s a fantastic achievement for the whole BentSpoke team. BentSpoke has done very well previously in both the 2017 and 2019 and now again in 2021 awards. This is equally the most prestigious beer awards in the world and the longest running beer awards as well,” he said.

“At BentSpoke we pride ourselves on our beer quality. It is great recognition for the whole team winning awards overseas for our beers.”

Brick Lane’s Sidewinder won silver in the Non & Low Alcohol (0.06% to 1.1% abv) class while its Baba Yaga Russian Imperial Stout also took silver in the Strong Beer (10% and above abv) class. The brewery also won bronze in the Fruit speciality (abv range to 6.9%) class with its Someday Sour Blood Orange.

Lion’s James Squire Zero won bronze in the Non & Low Alcohol Beer (zero up to 0.05% abv) class while its Hahn Ultra Crisp won silver in the Speciality Gluten class.

Meanwhile in the cider awards, South Australia’s Sidewood Estate won the International Flavoured Cider trophy for its Strawberry Apple Cider.

Each winner will be able to collect their medals and trophies at an awards luncheon to be held on 6th April 2022.

The full list of winners can be found on the International Brewing and Cider Awards’ website.

Read the full media release below.

A total of138medal and trophy winners have been announced atthe world’s most historic international beer and cider competition,the International Brewing&Cider Awards,which has taken place this week at the National Brewery Centre in Burton-upon-Trent.

Brewers and cider-makers from24countries received accoladesatthe International Brewing & Cider Awards2021.126medals and12trophies were awarded to beers and ciders from all over the world, includingentrants fromAustralia,China, Japan,Luxembourg,South Korea,Taiwan, Thailand,USAandtheUK.

Nine beer Trophy winners were announced which included winners from Japan and Malta. Tokyo-based Spring Valley Brewery’s Juicy Hop won Speciality Beer, while Ise Kadoya Beer, also from Japan, won the Strong Beer award for itsNougaTrokeruUltra Heaven 3xIPA.

Malta-based SimondsFarsonsCisk won the Non & Low Alcohol category for its Cisk 0.0, whilst other Trophy winners included Yorkshire’s Elvington Brewery (Keg Lager) and Jersey’s Liberation Brewing Company (Cask Conditioned Ale).

In the cider awards,Sheppy’sVintage Cloudy Cider from Taunton-basedSheppy’sCider, won The International Classic Cider Trophy, while overseas entries triumphed in the other two Trophy categories.

SidewoodEstate from South Australia picked up The International Flavoured Cider Trophy for its Strawberry Apple Cider whileRambornCider from Luxembourg won The International Innovative Cider Award for itsRambornIce Perry.

The competition, whichdates back to1886, has a long history of championing the world’s best brewersand cider-makers, and the competition’s unique approach to the judging process sets it apart from other awards, earningitthereputation asthe ‘Oscars of the brewing and cider world’.

Judging took placebetween16th– 18thNovemberat the National Brewery Centre in Burton-upon-Trent, UKandcomprisedworking professionals in the brewing and cider making industries from across the globe, led byChairofBeerJudging, Rob McCaig andChair of CiderJudging, Gabe Cook.

The stellar panel was chosen to reflect the currentexpertisein the tasting and commercial evaluation of beers and ciders going into the marketandjudgesblind tastedmanyhundreds ofbeers and ciderssubmittedby brewersand cider-makersfrom around the world.

Ruth Evans MBE, Director of the International Brewing&Cider Awards, said:“It’s been an honour to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary beers and ciders that both brewers and cider-makers have worked so hard to produce during what has been such a difficult18 monthsfor the industry.

“Despite being forced to postpone the Awardsdue to the pandemic, our brewing and cider community across the globe rallied together and continued to produce outstanding and innovative produce and it’s this determination and success that’s worth celebrating.

“I’d like to personally thank all the judges as well as all the brewers and cider-makers who entered their productsand make this year’s Awards one to remember, and we’re delighted to reward the best of them with the recognition theyso trulydeserve.”

Rob McCaig, Chair of Beer Judging, said:“For three days,we have seenand tastedsome of theverybest beers from around the world, crowning winners fromall corners of the globe.

“Despite what has been probably the most challenging period in recent memory for the brewing industry, producers from around the world havepresentedsomeexceptional beers, ales and lagers.

“It has made the job of our judging panel extremely difficultbecause of the quality of the beers.Japan isproving itself as an evolving brewing nation producing quality productsacrossthe beer spectrum.”

Gabe Cook, Chair ofCiderJudging, said: “It has been a privilege to be able to chair the most importantand prestigiouscompetitionof its kindfor the cider industry.

“Wehavewelcomed internationaljudges,includingrepresentatives from America,Ireland andJapanandthe UK, topreside over world-class entries fromacross the world.

“Consumers’ palettes are becomingmore discerning and, as wehaveseenother drinks categories expand and diversify, the same is true for cider. Cider-makers are expanding their offer and we have seen some remarkable examplesthese last three days.

“To crown winning ciders from the likes ofCanada, China,Luxembourg and Switzerland – nations not widely known for their cider production– shows how the category is increasingitsinternationalfootprintandgrowinginpopularity.”

This year,new categories were announced to reflect key trends that haveemergedin the beer and cider markets since the last eventin 2019.In the beer competition, a new Zero Alcohol category was added to reflect the growth and interest in this market segment and in the cider competition a Rosé category has been added to reflect the growing trend for ‘pink’ ciders.

A full list of all 2021 medal and trophy winners canbe downloaded here.

Thegold,silver andbronze winners will collect their medalsand trophiesat an Awards luncheonto beheldon 6thApril2022.