The Dig Brew team
Birmingham’s Dig Brew has boosted its global ambitions after winning a
competition to find the best up-and-coming craft beer brewers in the country.
The brewery, on River Street in Digbeth, has been invited to brew three new
beers on a commercial scale for 70,000 people at a leading Belgian brewery, as one of the four winners of this year’s Raise the Bar award.
The prize also includes an invitation for Dig Brew to showcase its beers at some of the UK’s leading craft beer festivals, in Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham and London.
The competition, run by craft beer festival organisers We are Beer in association with craft beer subscription service, Beer 52, was open to breweries that are less than two years old, and attracted more than 65 entries.
Dig Brew entered a lager, stout, fruited sour, bitter, IPA, double IPA, session
pale ale, and a sour fruit smoothie beer for tasting, from which the judges singled out the lager (called Hell), double IPA (Dagger Dagger) and the sour fruit smoothie (California) as winners.
Travelling to Belgium
Greg Wells, We are Beer founder and one of the judges, said: “Consistently nailing hop-forward pales and IPAs, as well as roasting stouts, Dig Brew’s branding isn’t the only thing putting them in the same league as some of the
US’s great brewers.”
Dig Brew will now travel to the world-renowned Brouwerij De Proef in Belgium next month to collaborate in the creation of three beers that will be delivered to all 70,000 of Beer 52’s UK subscribers.
It will also showcase its beers at: the Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival, at The Biscuit Factory, Leith, on May 24 and 25; Bristol Craft Beer Festival, at Lloyds Amphitheatre, on June 7 and 8; Beer Central England, in Digbeth, Birmingham, on July 5 and 6; and the London Craft Beer Festival, at Tobacco Dock, Docklands, from August 9 to 11.
Oliver Webb, who founded Dig Brew with the support of Peter Towler, of Mad O’Rourke’s Pie Factory in Tipton, last year, said: “This award is thrilling news as we look to establish ourselves within the craft beer movement and export our beers worldwide. Credit goes to our brewing team and the support of iZettle in helping us to boost our range, quality and brand presence.
“Working with De Proef will result in a guaranteed 210,000 of our beers being drunk across the UK, while participating in some of Britain’s biggest craft festivals will bring our beers to the attention of buyers from across the
globe.”
