John Gardner and Peter Amor of Wye Valley Brewery, Overall Winner in the SIBA Brewing Business Awards 2009, with Awards judge Pete Brown

Awards recognise entrepreneurial flair of SIBA members

16th October 2009, 9:36am

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."

SIBA Brewing Business Awards 2009 winners:

Best Support for an On-Trade Customer
Thornbridge Brewery: achieving a 400% increase in sales at Coach & Horses pub at Sheffield Football Club.

Best Support for an Off-Trade Customer
Titanic Brewery: launching a range of seasonal beers for Morrison's

Best Packaging/Point of Sale Initiative
Moor Beer Company: developing striking new design, including an innovative 'refillable' pump clip

Best Innovation
Mill Green Brewery: restoring a pub and building a new micro-brewery on site

Best Environmental Initiative
Mill Green Brewery (as above)

Best Use of Electronic Media
Purity Brewing Co: developing a fresh, engaging and effective social media strategy using Twitter and Facebook

Best PR/Promotional Initiative
Derby Brewing Company: launching a new beer with the local radio station, with a charity tie-in

Best Launch
Wye Valley Brewery: developing Morgan Centenary Ale to celebrate the local car maker's 100th year

Best Sponsorship
Freedom Brewery: creating 'Freedom Heart Fest', a three-day festival in association with Heart FM

Overall Winner
Wye Valley Brewery: launch of two new beers, opening a new pub, and a project to start barley growing in Herefordshire

Related Articles:

• 16 Jan 2012 - Timothy Taylor joins Society of Independent Brewers
• 05 Jul 2011 - SIBA introduces 2011 Business Awards
• 11 Oct 2010 - The Society of Independent Brewers launches new logo today
• 16 Aug 2010 - Last Chance to enter SIBA Brewing Business Awards as competition deadline looms

Click here to submit a comment!

Have your say!

To comment on this article, simply enter your name and email and send us your views. Please note that your comment will appear publicly below this article once it has been processed. For enquiries please email info@eatoutmagazine.co.uk.