BREWERS from across Scotland are celebrating after picking up prizes in the inaugural Scottish Beer Awards.
Tempest Brewing Co in Galashiels took the top award when it was named Scottish Brewery of the Year at the event in Edinburgh, which was sponsored by discount supermarket chain Aldi.
The Borders-based brewer also collected four gold medals for its Old Parochial, Brave New World, Red Eye Flight and Mexicake beers; silver in Best Pale Ale for Armadillo; and picked up the prize for Growth Business of the Year after increasing sales by over 200%.
Other breweries that notched up multiple wins included Ellon-based Brewdog, which took Innovation of the Year for its DIY Dog Recipe Manual, Excellence in Marketing for its Equity for Punks IV scheme, and silver and bronze awards for its 5AM Saint and Punk IPA respectively; Edinburgh’s Caledonian Brewery, which was awarded gold in the Best Pale Ale category for its Coast to Coast and also took the award for Product Development Team of the Year; Stirlingshire-based Fallen Brewing, which picked up gold in Best Lager or Pilsner for its blonde ale New World Odyssey and silver in Best British Style Ale for its Local Motive; Black Isle Brewing in the Highlands, which was awarded silver in Best IPA for its Gold Finch and silver in Best Porter for its Black Isle Brewing Co Porter; and Orkney Brewery, which took bronze in Best Amber or Dark Ale for its Dark Island and bronze in Speciality Beer for its Dark Island Reserve.
Hilary Jones, chair of the judging panel, said the Scottish Beer Awards recognised the “fantastic range of beers now brewed in Scotland”.
“With such a large amount of high quality premium product available, the brewing industry in Scotland can continue its growth in the UK and internationally with great confidence,” said Jones.
“Winning a Scottish Beer Award is a tremendous badge of honour.”
