For the first time ever, all three overall champions at the UK’s biggest independent beer competition were from Scotland.
Organised by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates, and judged by brewers and industry experts, the SIBA Independent Beer Awards 2025 awards encompass the full range of beer categories.
In order to earn a place at the National finals, held at the society’s flagship BeerX UK event in Liverpool, brewers must first win gold at their regional competition – then the finalists from Scotland, the North East, North West, Midlands, East of England, Wales & West, South East, and South West are gathered to fight it out for the overall championships.
Which makes it all the more remarkable that, from such a huge field of competition, Scottish businesses should emerge as ’best of the best’ in the overall national categories for best cask, keg, and bottle/can.
Cross Borders Brewing won that overall cask beer championship with their India Pale Ale; Fyne Ales was overall champion of the bottle/can beer with its Mills & Hills Vintage barrel aged imperial stout; and Swannay won the overall champion of the keg beer awards with their strong Orkney Porter.
Another Scottish firm on the prizelist, albeit away from that overall hat-trick, were Stewart Brewing Ltd, taking gold in the Keg British Ales category with, appropriately enough, Edinburgh Gold.
On hand to collect the awards on behalf of his brewery and the other Scottish gold medal winners was Jamie Delap, owner of Fyne Ales and SIBA Scotland regional director: “We’re absolutely delighted, there’s so many fantastic beers here so to win a medal is always brilliant.
“So the fact that judges have enjoyed what we do, we love it. We’re just so honoured. I think in Scotland we’re proud, we’ve got lots of brewers doing some really good things and this just validates that great work going on in Scotland,” said Delap.
Commenting on his Mills & Hills Imperial Stout, he said: “It’s a big, proper, chewy Imperial Stout, nothing too fancy.
“And for me, it’s my nightcap beer so I am delighted we’re always going to have it in stock, because I always need that nightcap beer once in a while!”
SIBA chief executive Andy Slee said: “These awards are twelve months in the making and given to only the UK’s very best beers.
“Huge congratulations to all of this year’s medal winners and particularly our three overall champions, all hailing from Scotland for the first time in the competitions history – there must be something in the water up there!”
This year’s BeerX beer and brewing trade event was the biggest ever, attracting a record 3400 delegates to a packed conference of talks, seminars, tasting sessions, and of course the beer awards.
