Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Award winners named at Sydney Showground.

Australia’s emergence as a force in quality craft beer and cider making has been celebrated with the staging of the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider awards at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.

The announcement of the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider awards was the culmination of weeks of expert judging of both the KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show and the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show.

While the connection between beer competition and the Agricultural Society of NSW dates back to 1824 (the awarding of ten Spanish dollars for a hogshead of the best beer at Parramatta), there was no beer competition at the Sydney Royal Easter Show from 1918-2007.

The Sydney Royal Beer and Cider competition earned its own stand-alone status in 2013 and has gone from strength to strength as its popularity among Australian beer and cider devotees grows.

Chair of the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Awards Neal Cameron said the standard of entries is improving year on year.

“The quality of the beers we are getting through is just incredible, to the point that if brewers don’t reach a certain marking standard, Judges become a little annoyed that you have made them drink that beer,” Cameron said.

“The quality of ciders was also exemplary this year,” he said.

Of the 225 entries received this year, five champions were chosen.

The winners were:

• Champion Packaged Beer – Pirate Life Brewing – Mosaic IPA
• Champion Draught Beer – Lord Nelson Brewery – Nelspresso Brown Ale
• Champion Experimental or Specialty Beer – Hope Brewhouse – Barrel Aged Extra Stout
• Best NSW Beer – Australian Brewery – Australian Seis Hermanos
• Champion Cider – Flying Brick Cider Co – Flying Brick Original Cider

Blair Hayden, Managing Director of Sydney’s Lord Nelson Brewery (winner of Champion Draught Beer) said the Australian Beer and Cider industry watches closely international influences and innovation to help satisfy the developing tastes of Australian drinkers, but is devoted to Australian product.

“It is a very strong growth industry within Australia and I think the influence of established brewers such as ourselves who are 100 per cent natural and obviously using Australian malted barley and supporting the country’s needs augurs well for the industry in this country,” Hayden said.

Flying Brick Cider Co. from Wallington near Geelong in Victoria, flew the flag for the Cider sector as the sole champion amongst the five champions declared at the Sydney Showground presentation.

All Sydney Royal Beer and Cider competition results can be found here.