Antrim-based Our Brewery is celebrating an incredible 11 Great Taste Awards, including three of the prestigious three-star accolades — the highest possible honour.
Two of those beers — Untamed and Razma — are now nominated for the Golden Fork, one of the top prizes in the international food and drink world.
Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, the Great Taste Awards are presented as the largest and most trusted accreditation scheme for food and drink. Every product is blind-tasted by panels of industry experts, with no branding or packaging visible, making it purely about one thing: taste.
Of more than 14,000 entries from 110 countries, fewer than 2% achieved the coveted three-star rating. Our Brewery’s award winners include: Untamed, a wild ale spontaneously fermented with native microflora and aged in oak barrels for 27 months; Low Land, an Oud Bruin aged in Bordeaux oak barrels; and Razma, a barrel-aged beer inspired by Lithuanian Keptinis.
Judges were glowing in their praise for each beer, describing them as “extraordinary”, “next level”, and “a thrill to judge.” Speaking about Untamed, one judge commented that the beer has “clearly been through a labour of love and nurture, and it is phenomenal”.
Left to right: Michael Bateson, Deborah Mitchell, and Jonathan Mitchell
Our Brewery co-founder Jonathan Mitchell said: “I was overwhelmed with pride, mainly for the team to get the recognition for all their hard work. I felt that it was deserved. The quality of the beer is phenomenal, the work ethic of the team is phenomenal, and I’m really appreciative of that.”
Head brewer Michael Bateson added: “I think these beers are really special because there is nothing like them locally. It all started with Jonathan’s passion and his desire to do something really different with beer. I feel lucky to be a small part of that.”
The beers are made using ingredients from sister brand Getrebrewed, a microbrewery and homebrew supply store. Owner and managing director, Deborah Mitchell, said: “It’s been our vision to create world-class products that put Northern Ireland on the world beer map, and I’m so proud of what the team have acheived.”
