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Having to taste hundreds of different beers and ciders from 8.30 in the morning until 4.30 in the afternoon might test the resolve, and stomach, of even the keenest of drinkers, but that’s what three local experts were faced with at the recent New World Beer & Cider Awards in Wellington.
Sam Williamson, brewery manager at Sawmill Brewing, and winemaker Justin Oliver of Free Range Wines were both judges in the competition’s two cider classes, while Warkworth New World’s Jeremy Ross was an associate judge in four different beer categories.
They each spent two days at Westpac Stadium, sniffing, tasting and scoring more than 100 of the 464 beers and ciders entered, and helping to decide on medal and trophy-winning brews that will be announced on April 11.
Both Sam and Justin have had cider industry and judging experience in the past, and they say this year’s New World competition showed how the category is developing and maturing.
“There are a lot more winemakers getting into the game, and a lot more entries this time were not just cold fizzy cider, but really well made and complex ciders,” Sam says. “They were a huge step up from previous years.”
Justin agrees, saying there are more interesting ciders being made all the time.
“I found that the overall standard of apple and pear cider has jumped a bit. We’re seeing more of the traditional style ciders that are drier, less loaded with sugar and people making more effort to get different apple varieties.”
It was the first time Jeremy has judged at a national competition, but he loved the experience. As a long-time craft beer enthusiast who prides himself on tasting every new beer or cider that’s listed at New World, he relished the opportunity to study so many different brews in one place.
“I did about 140 beers and the first one was at 8.30am,” he says. “You quickly get used to it, though. It was a great experience.”
He first got into craft beers eight years ago, when he was running a New World store in Wellington, and since moving to Warkworth has greatly increased the range of unusual and boutique beers available in the store.
