2009 Awards

(left), John Gardner and (right) Peter Amor of Wye Valley Brewery, Overall Winner in the SIBA Brewing Business Awards 2009, with (centre), Awards judge Pete Brown.

An innovative ‘green’ brewery, a music festival and a social media campaign to find ugly pets were among the winners of the Society of Independent Brewers’ Brewing Business Awards 2009, announced yesterday at a presentation in London.

The Awards, now in their fourth year, celebrate the business development skills and entrepreneurial flair of SIBA members. Last night, 16 brewers were recognised for their achievements in areas such as customer service, marketing, innovation and, in a category introduced this year, environmental endeavour. The 2009 Overall Winner’s title went to Wye Valley Brewery who, in the words of the judges, “demonstrated a clear sense of vision, backed by excellence in implementation and a skill for creating maximum impact for their initiatives.”

Beer writer Pete Brown, one of the experts on the judging panel, said, “The local brewers represented here are living proof that success can be achieved without a large chequebook. All the entries showed creativity and resourcefulness in everything from brewery design to sponsorship, and choosing the winners from this very strong field wasn’t easy. With talent and determination like this driving our local brewing sector, it’s no wonder that it’s enjoying growth while the overall beer market is in decline.”

Julian Grocock, SIBA chief executive, added, “ The Awards showcase the entrepreneurial skills that are just as important as brewing ability in building a successful brewery, and it is pleasing to see that both the number of entries and their standard has risen again this year.”

For more details on the SIBA Brewing Business Awards, visit http://siba.co.uk/businessawards