There was an eclectic mix of winners big and small, old and young, at the Royal Adelaide Beer & Cider Awards last night, with Coopers, Lobethal Bierhaus, Beer Garden Brewing, Boston Brewing and Fixation all taking out multiple trophies. The awards, which followed the first day of Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival at the Adelaide Showground, saw Australia's oldest independent brewery’s iconic Sparkling Ale declared both Champion South Australian Beer and Most Outstanding Beer in Show.
Coopers was also named Champion Large Brewery and collected another trophy in the reduced beer category for mild ale. Adelaide’s other most recognisable beer name, West End, also picked up silverware in the shape of Champion Australian Style Lager for Swan Draught.
“We are very happy with the win," said David Medlyn, technical brewer at Coopers. "We are very happy with the Sparkling Ale and trying to keep it as consistent as we possibly can, that’s our job."
The team at Mismatch Brewing, who only last week won Champion Australian Beer at The Indies for Mismatch Lager, added to their trophy cabinet when they were named Champion Medium Brewery.
Brewery co-owner Ewan Brewerton was a man of few words when asked how he felt about Mismatch’s latest trophy: “I feel really, really f@#$ing happy. The work we have put in is coming into fruition.”
Mismatch brewer Owen Lyons added: “There is no one who works harder in this company, there is no one who deserves it more than Ewan. The last two weeks are obviously an absolute honour of his hard work, so he deserves it all.”
Smiling Samoyed, from the tiny town of Myponga an hour’s south of Adelaide was named Champion Small brewery, continuing a fine run of form at the awards over the years for founders Kate Henning and Simon Dunstone (pictured below collecting their trophy).
“We feel fantastic actually. This is the one I wanted," Simon said. "I feel it is about brewing consistently across the board, so we're very excited about that.
"This is the best one; before we won awards and trophies for specific beers but tonight we have won Champion Small Brewery, which means all the entries were good. It means we are producing consistent, good beer.”
Among the other breweries to take out multiple trophies was Lobethal Bierhaus for its Bohemian Philsner and Chocolate Oatmeal Stout in the Champion Pilsener and Champion Stout Beer Awards category respectively. The brewery is no stranger to award success but had taken a short hiatus before returning this year.
“It’s great," said brewery owner and head brewer Al Turnbull. "We had a little bit of a break from competition, so it was nice. We are in year 12 now and to do this is great.”
Port Lincoln’s Beer Garden Brewing won awards for its Cage Diver IPA and Section 49 Wheat Beer, with co-owner Janine Butterworth saying: "[It's] pretty exciting to win some awards; a lot of hard work has gone into this and we are happy that has paid off.”
While the vast majority of the awards on the night went to local breweries, those from interstate also snared their fair share. Fixation's Tom Delmont is becoming a familiar face on awards stages across the country, with the brewing company he launched with the Stone & Wood Group winning Champion Other Ale for Obsession, a session IPA, with the beer also taking out the media choice award ahead of the Incubator brewpub opening in Collingwood.
"I feel thrilled, thrilled to be a part of this amazing industry," said Tom. "The little brother in the family got the win."
Completing the beer trophies was Western Australia’s Boston Brewing, who impressed the judges and won in both the Champion American Style Pale Ale and Best New Exhibit classes, Bridge Road with another gong for its Robust Porter and Gulf Brewery, from the Adelaide Hill, which collected Champion Hybrid Beer for its rauchbier. In the world of cider, it was Kangaroo Island Cider's Colony Coast Cider which was declared both Best South Australian Cider and Best Cider in Show.
RABCA’s chief judge Tony Jones said this year the awards attracted 252 entries from 54 breweries in Australia and New Zealand.
Award Winners
Champion Small Brewery
Smiling Samoyed Brewery
Champion Medium Brewery
Mismatch Brewing Company
Champion Large Brewery
Coopers Brewery
Champion South Australian Beer
Coopers Brewery – Coopers Sparkling Ale
Most Outstanding Beer in Show
Coopers Brewery – Coopers Sparkling Ale
Champion Reduced Alcohol Beer
Coopers - Mild Ale
Champion Australian Style Lager
West End Brewery – Swan Draught
Champion Pilsener
Lobethal Bierhaus – Bohemian Philsner
Champion Other Lager
Coopers Brewery – Sapporo
Champion Traditional Australian Style Pale Ale
Coopers Brewery – Sparkling Ale
Champion American Style Pale Ale
Boston Brewing - Boondie
Champion India Pale Ale
Beer Garden Brewing – Cage Diver IPA
Champion Other Ale
Fixation – Obsession Session IPA
Champion Stout
Lobethal Bierhaus – Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
Champion Porter
Bridge Road Brewers – Robust Porter
Champion Wheat Beer
Beer Garden Brewing - Section 49 Wheat Beer
Champion Hybrid Beer
Gulf Brewery – Smoke Stack Rauchbier
The Simon Fahey Prize For Best New Exhibit
Boston Brewing – Boondie
Best Cider in Show
Kangaroo Island Ciders – Colony Cove Draught Cider
Best Perry in Show
Harcourt – Pear Cider
Media Choice Award
Fixation – Obsession Session IPA
Best South Australian Cider
Kangaroo Island Ciders – Colony Cove Draught Cider
Matt King is a beer-loving sports nut who dabbles in homebrewing and writes about beer to seek solace from his full-time job as a primary school teacher.
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer:
My good beer experience began in London, when I was taking a tour of the Greenwich Meantime Brewery in 2010. All the ingredients were laid out in front of me and we were able to eat the malts and smell the fresh hops; the fresh beer out of the tanks probably helped as well. This is the moment I realised "beer can be better", opening my mind to all the possibilities.
I then began exploring London for all the great beer spots and ticking off beers from smaller breweries; it was mind blowing. On my return to Australia, I continued to explore, starting where a lot of people started, with Stone and Wood Pacific Ale.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
There needs to be a good cross-section of styles when doing this, I believe; you never know what beer will be the hook. I would come armed with a tropical pale ale, an IPA that is on the sweeter/sticky side (not one that is too bitter) and probably an oatmeal stout.
The last beer you enjoyed:
The last beers I had came from The Wheaty and all of their beers are always great.
Name three things that represent you.
- Very long road trips
- Watching and playing any sport
- Beer, beer, beer, beer.
