Some of the country’s top boutique breweries have won big at this year’s New World Beer and Cider Awards. Some of the winners of the Best in Class included Epic, Emerson’s, Garage Project, Tuatara, and Eagle Brewing.
Each of the 458 different beers and ciders from 83 brewers across 13 categories were blind judged in a two-day process by a 15-strong independent panel of beer and cider experts. Each entry was judged and assessed on its merits using a collaborative approach to evaluate qualities such as technical excellence, balance and most importantly, drinkability. Over 40 Gold Medals were awarded with 13 taking home the over ‘Best in Class’ award. Chari of the independent judges, beer writer and author Michal Donaldson believes that the results are a reflection of the growing maturity of the industry with relative newcomers able to reach award-winning standards in such a short time as well as the continued quality of the established breweries.
