International Brewing & Cider Awards 2017

Entries to the International Brewing & Cider Awards 2017 are set to exceed that of previous years, say organisers Brewing & Technology Services, who attribute the uplift in the number and diversity of entries to new classes introduced to the competitions this year, as well as growing awareness of the Awards among producers and brand owners worldwide.

Three new classes have been added to the beer competition: for sour beer; zero gluten beer and extra strong beer (ABV of 10% and above), while in the cider competition, classes have been extended to accommodate two classes of flavoured cider/perry or pear cider: one for fruit flavoured cider and one for ciders flavoured with other ingredients, such as herbs, spices, plants and honey. In addition, a new ‘speciality cider' class caters for cider and perry or pear ciders made using innovative or atypical process, such as ice cider, barrel-aged cider or apple win.

Chair of judges for the competitions Bill Taylor said: “We always review the classes ahead of the launch of our competition and this time, we added new ones for beers and ciders. The aim is to make sure the Awards are always up to date, reflecting current market trends as well as brewing and cider making traditions”.

Entries to the Awards are open until 31 January 2017 and should be made online at brewingawards.org or ciderawards.org.uk.