The rebrand means the formerly known SIBA South West Beer Competition will now be judged this Thursday (14 April) at the Tuckers Maltings Beer Festival as the South West Independent Beer Awards.
All of the SIBA regional competitions will follow suit as the organisation looks to highlight the importance of independent in the beer industry at a time when the term 'craft beer' has become less relevant due to multi-national brewers using the term.
Importance
Managing director of SIBA, Mike Benner, said: "The SIBA regional beer competitions are very important for our brewing members. Winning these prizes can open many new business doors not only in pubs and supermarkets but also other outlets such as restaurants, bars, hotels and even coffee shops.
“Changing the name of our awards to SIBA’s Independent Beer Awards ensures it is crystal-clear which beers are being judged in our competitions and that only SIBA members are allowed to enter. We have decided to change the name of the awards to reflect our exciting part of the beer industry that continues to grow.
"The new title for our awards plays part of a wider re-positioning for SIBA which acknowledges the need to highlight the difference between genuinely independent craft-brewed beers and ‘crafty’ beers from multinational companies.”
Styles
The competition is separated in to 8 cask beer categories and 9 ‘smallpack’ (bottled and canned) categories, covering the full range of styles now available in the UK including Bitters, Brown Ales, Milds and Pales Ales, Porters, Stouts, Old Ales, and Speciality Beers as well as craft brewed lagers and pilsners.
The overall Gold winners from these categories will go forward to be entered in the SIBA national finals in March 2017.
The society represent over 850 independent brewers across the UK producing more than 5,000 craft-brewed beers in cask, craft keg, bottle and can.
Competition
Tuckers Maltings Beer festival, organised by SIBA and now in its 24th year, will be showcasing more than 270 beers from across the South West.
Last year’s event saw 24,000 pints drunk across the three-day festival and attracted 5,500 visitors.
For more on SIBA's awards, go here.