Media Release: Golden opportunity for local brewers

Golden opportunity for local brewers  

Entries open to New World Beer & Cider Awards 2023  

Entries are now open to the New World Beer & Cider Awards 2023, presenting a golden opportunity for brewers, cidermakers and crafters of other fermented delights. 

In addition to getting to sport a shiny gold award on their pack, the Top 30 winning brews will receive comprehensive promotional support and shelf space in 140 plus New World stores nationwide. The next 70 Highly Commended will also be celebrated in an overall Top 100 list on the New World website.  

Beer writer and Chair of Judges Michael Donaldson says the competition, now in its ninth year, has become a well-recognised fixture in the brewing calendar for good reason.  

“This competition is unique for combining professional and independent judging with the chance to get in front of beer and cider fans all around the country. 

“Each year, more than 100 breweries put forward their best entries for judging, with the aim of earning a spot on the list and on New World’s shelves.” 

The Top 30 is now eagerly anticipated by New World customers as a trusted source of great quality products to choose from, and a particularly handy guide for exploring new brands, styles and flavours. 

“It’s a great place to be for both established and new brew brands,” says Donaldson. “A win can help build the reputation of well-known brands, while new brew businesses can make the most of almost overnight access to hundreds of thousands of shoppers.”    

The team at Canterbury’s Southpaw Brewing experienced the flurry of a win after earning a coveted Top 30 spot for their Say Hey Kid IPA in 2022. Founded in 2016, the company had only recently stepped-up production after buying their own 1,200 litre brewery, and soon found their winning beer among the awards top-sellers. 

“Being in the New World Beer & Cider Awards Top 30 was a great opportunity to have our beer available in places around Aotearoa that we hadn’t previously been,” says Southpaw’s Cameron Burgess.  

“So, it didn’t matter where a potential new customer lived, if anyone asked us where they could get our beer we could just say “your local New World!” 

“The sales information we got each week was great and the New World team were super helpful throughout the campaign, which meant we could focus on the important task of brewing enough beer to keep every store stocked.”  

The awards are also a chance for new styles and offerings in beer and cider to capture new interest, and taste buds.  

“The introduction of a new dedicated class for low alcohol beers, those under 1.15% ABV, helped deliver not just one, but two, non-alcoholic beers in the 2022 Top 30, which went on to become two of the top sellers in the awards line-up,” says Donaldson.  

This year, to continue to cater to consumers’ ongoing thirst for new and exciting brews, specific classes have also been formed for the more unusual and creative beers and ciders, giving styles like sour beers, barrel-aged beers, and ciders with spices, botanicals or honey their own time to shine. 

The judging will be held in March 2023 in Christchurch, with a 29-strong panel of beer and cider professionals who will taste, debate and score each entry based on technical excellence as well as balance and, most importantly, drinkability.  

The New World Beer & Cider Awards are open to all breweries and cidermakers from around New Zealand as well as internationally. The key requirements are the ability to provide supermarket compliant product and meet minimum stock amounts. 

Entrants don’t need to be an existing New World or Foodstuffs supplier to put their best brews forward for judging and new entrants are actively encouraged. 

All entry details can be found at newworld.co.nz/nwbca. Entries close on Friday 17 February. 

Results will be released later in 2023. 

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