Gage Roads sails to top Aussie beer prize
Ross Lewis - The West Australian on May 19, 2016, 10:33 am
Gage Roads managing director John Hoedemaker and brewing boss Aaron Heary celebrate the AIBA win. Pic: Ross Lewis
A beer most of the country hasn’t had the chance to taste has claimed a key award for WA’s Gage Roads Brewing.
The Palmyra-based team collected the top prize at the Australian International Beer Awards in Melbourne tonight when their Little Dove draught was judged the champion national brew from almost 1800 entries.
Little Dove also picked up a gold medal and was judged best new World Style Pale Ale category.
It was also a big night for some expatriate Sandgropers, who have moved east to continue their craft.
Two Birds Brewing, headed by WA’s Dani Allen and Jayne Lewis who are now based in Melbourne, was awarded Champion Medium Australian Brewery while Pirate Life, led by Jack Cameron and Jared Proudfoot, won Champion Small Australian Brewery,
Pirate Life’s Throwback India Pale Ale claimed the Best Reduced Alcohol Award while Two Birds’ Sunset Ae was the Best Amber/Dark Ale.
It has been a rollercoaster month for Gage Roads who announced earlier in the week it would gradually cut the volumes it produces for its major client Woolworths.
Gage Roads management had decided to go back to its roots and embark on a stronger craft beer approach and the AIBA triumph shows the company was again heading in the right direction.
Brewing manager Aaron Heary said Little Dove, a 6.2 per cent Pale Ale, had only been produced for six weeks and the AIBA awards was the beer’s first serious outing.
“This was a beer that involved all our brewers coming together over three days and trying beer after beer in the search for something we all like,” Heary said.
“It wasn’t one person behind it. It was our whole team and I guess that what makes it so much more special. Everyone at Gage (Roads) can share in this.
“This is a brewers’ beer for brewers from Gage Roads.
“When we designed a beer for the core portfolio we wanted to have a beer that was brewers’ beer and that is what this is. There was no economics to it, no worries about the cost, let’s just make a beer we want to make.”
Gage Roads has expanded on their range with Catalpa, an American Pale Ale, and the latest in the its Backyard brew series hitting pubs in recent months.
The company will look at more specialty craft beers over the next few months in a move that will invigorate the 14-year-old business.
Mash (XPA) and Eagle Bay (ESB) collected gold medals in the Best International Pale Ale class.
Feral (Warhead) and Mash (Copy Cat) won the gold in the India Pale Ale category.
Eagle Bay’s Black and Tannin also got a top medal for Specialty Beer, as did Feral for Barrel Fermented Hog.
