Farsons beers Cisk Excel and Blue Label have each won an award at this year’s International Brewing & Cider Awards, commonly known as the ‘Oscars of the brewing industry’.
Cisk Excel was awarded Bronze in the International Smallpack Lager Competition Class 1 for Lager 2.9% – 4.4% ABV category while Farsons Blue Label was also awarded Bronze in the International Smallpack Ale Competition Class 2 for Ale 4.5% – 4.9% ABV category.
The judging for the competition took place in Manchester between 19th and 21st March and provided an unparalleled opportunity for brewers and cidermakers to have their products evaluated by internationally acclaimed, commercially practicing international brewers and cidermakers.
The competition’s unique approach to the judging process sets it apart from other awards, which ensures each beer and cider is judged fairly and rigorously on its quality and commercial value. The 38-strong judging panel was chosen to reflect the current expertise in the tasting and commercial evaluation of beers and ciders going into the market and blind tasted hundreds of beers and ciders submitted by brewers and cidermakers from around the world. It is these values that has earnt it the reputation as the ‘Oscars of the brewing industry’.
“It is with great pride that we accept these awards. Any recognition from such a well-respected and esteemed competition is an honour and cause for celebration. Awards such as this are only possible thanks to the dedication and consistency of our brewing team,” said Eugenio Caruana, Chief Operations Officer at Simonds Farsons Cisk plc.
Blue Label was the first ever Farsons beer to be awarded in this highly regarded competition. Back in 1952, then called the Brewing, Bottling & Allied Trades’ Exhibition, the competition awarded Blue Label Silver in the Ales Category Class 1 and Gold in the Championship. In fact the competition recognises Simonds Farsons Cisk plc as one of the first international successful breweries taking the top awards in the 1950s.
In 2021, only months after its launch, another Farsons beer, Cisk 0.0, was awarded Gold in the Non & Low Alcohol Beer – Class 1 category as well as overall Trophy winner of the Gold winners of the three classes of the same category of the same competition.
Mr Michael Farrugia, Deputy Chief Executive (Beverage Business) at Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, commented, “Prestigious awards such as these continue to reaffirm our Brewery’s commitment to quality and consistency. They also boost our efforts in growing our business in international markets.”
Ruth Evans MBE, Director of the International Brewing & Cider Awards, said, “It’s been an honour to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary beers and ciders across the world at our new home here in Manchester.
“This year we’ve had some of the best brewers and cidermakers in the world judge our prestigious competition. We’re thrilled to be able to continue to provide a platform to reward the best beers and ciders with the recognition they so truly deserve.”
Rob McCaig, Chair of Beer Judging, commented, “This year proved to be one of the toughest yet to determine which of the beers were deserving of a medal. We had an exceptional amount of great quality beers enter this year, making the job of our judging panel extremely difficult. It’s a shame we couldn’t award more medals, as there were so many beers that were deserving of the accolade – some of which narrowly missed out.”
A full list of all 2024 medal winners can be found here: www.brewingawards.org.
Both Cisk Excel and Farsons Blue Label, brewed, distributed and marketed by Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, are recipients of other numerous international awards.