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It was all smiles at McLeod’s Brewery in Waipu following a stellar showing at the 2021 New Zealand Beer Awards.
Judges declared McLeod’s Champion Medium Brewery after its beers won a string of medals at a virtual awards ceremony held on October 21.
Chief among the honours was a trophy for the best amber/dark ale, which was awarded for McLeod’s Harvest Moon Dark IPA. McLeod’s also won gold medals for its Smugglers Bay Belgian Strong Ale and Black Sour 2020.
In addition, they were awarded a swag of silver and bronze medals for other beers.
The Champion Medium Brewery is awarded to a brewery producing between 201,000 litres and two million litres of beer per annum, which covers most breweries in New Zealand.
McLeod’s co-founder Clayton Gwynne says it is a highly sought-after award.
“We have regularly won awards since our inception seven years ago. We have got close to Champion Brewery on a couple of occasions, but to win it is something special,” he says.
Other local breweries that won medals included 8 Wired, Puhoi Beer and Sawmill Brewery.
Sawmill Brewery also won the Sustainability Award for the second year in a row.
Judges said Sawmill continued to stand out for a raft of sustainable actions that covered every aspect of environmental stewardship.
