Vale of Glamorgan and Geipel breweries have taken overall champion golds in cask and bottle at the SIBA Wales and West Independent Beer Awards.
Competion winners with their awards
The awards were run by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) prior to the opening of the popular Ludlow Beer Festival at Ludlow Castle.
Vale of Glamorgan’s hefty 8.4% ABV Russian Imperial Stout was specially brewed for the competition and proved a huge hit with judges in the cask imperial and strong beer category. It went on to win to be named overall cask champion against all of the other beer style category winners.
Brewery owner Craig Edmunds said: “It’s been a bit of an experiment, to be honest. We knew we wanted to do an imperial stout and we targeted this competition as we really wanted to step up our game up this year. It means the world to us to win this award.
“We bought the brewery in 2021 and built the new brewery this January. It is a brand with an incredible pedigree, and we thought we could raise the level even further. For us, this win means we’re headed in the right direction.”
Geipel’s Bock (6.5% ABV), a traditional German-style dark lager, with complex flavours and a bittersweet finish, was named the top beer in the bottled and canned beer competition.
Brewer Erik Geupel said: “It’s a strong dark lager, and when people first have it they’re often surpised, because it doesnt taste like what you’d expect from a lager. But it’s got so much flavour and depth that it really surprises and impresses people.
“We’ve been brewing it for 10 years now and coming to the SIBA Wales and West for 10 years, and to win the top prize in any of the categories is really something, but to win the overall champion is just amazing.”
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.
“Our best cask being a British style Russian imperial stout, and best bottle being a German-style Bock shows this off perfectly, and I want to congratulate Vale of Glamorgan and Geipel, and of course all of our other winners, for taking home the medals.”
