Wye Valley Brewery has won Gold at the SIBA National Independent Beer Competition in the Cask Champion Standard Bitters & Pale Ales category for its red ale, The Hopfather.

The prestigious awards, run by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), were held at Beer X in Liverpool on Thursday, March 15th.

“Judges had a tough job separating the pack as the standard was extremely high once again. The winners from the SIBA competition are officially the best independent craft beers in the UK, something brewers should be extremely proud of.” Buster Grant, SIBA Chairman.

The SIBA National Independent Beer Awards judged a huge range of beers across a number of styles in separate cask, keg and small pack (bottle and can) competitions. As the awards are judged mostly by brewers, industry experts and beer journalists, the SIBA Independent Beer Awards are very much seen as the prestigious ‘Brewers’ choice Awards’ by the industry.

The competition saw Wye Valley Brewery’s The Hopfather pitted against seven other Regional Winners, including the Purity Brewing Company’s ‘Bunny Hop’ and Lacons Brewery’s ‘Encore’, which won Silver and Bronze respectively.

Abbie Gadd, Marketing Manager at Wye Valley Brewery, comments: “We are absolutely thrilled to have received this award. We know how good our beers are, but it’s always hugely humbling to get a high-five from our peers, and The Hopfather is certainly a worthy winner!”