STOP PRESS UPDATE16 MARCH – CHEEKY JACK WAS AWARDED THE BRONZE MEDAL IN THE NATIONAL FINAL !!!
We are extremely chuffed to be named as a national finalist in two categories for the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) awards.
The SIBA Awards 2024 highlight the breweries and beer industry businesses in the running to be named the best in the UK.
We have been selected for our charity and community engagement for our efforts in raising funds and awareness of testicular cancer and Norfolk based charity It’s On the Ball. ( Our Cheeky Jack IPA is also a finalist at the awards as best IPA so its a triple scoop!)
These efforts included Mr Moon Gazer pushing a 75kg barrel of beer the distance of a marathon every day for 7 days completing a 186-mile tour of Norfolk and seeing fundraising top £42,000.
It’s a great accolade. First and foremost, we focus on being able to use our small platform of brewing beer to raise awareness and stop young men needlessly dying of this cancer, but to have SIBA recognise those efforts is extra special.
We really value the importance of pubs as part of the community hub and so many pubs help us spread the message and host events to help us, that really this achievement is as much down to all of them as it is us. It’s very much a team award.
The second category we are a finalist in for is Best Collaboration – which seeks to highlight collaborations which amplify the reach of the businesses involved, appeal to new audiences and capture the imagination of beer lovers.
We received the accolade for our part in the Norwich City of Ale project which last year saw the city of Norwich twin with Belgian brewing city Leuven in order that the two regions can promote the brewing heritage, the social value of brewing as well the commercial value brewing adds to sectors from farming to tourism.
The project saw ourselves and three other 4 Norfolk brewers; Grain Brewery, Poppyland Brewery and Tindall Ales collaborate and create new beers with brewers from Leuven; Hof ten Dormaal, Braxatorium Parcensis, De Coureur and Adept. All eight breweries will share the award if we win!
The idea of bringing the two cities together was the brainchild of beer writer Roger Protz and it was an amazing experience to join the other Norfolk brewers and creating new friends in Belgium.
The links between the Flanders region of Belgium and Norfolk date back hundreds of years with the immigration of the Flanders ‘strangers’ to Norwich. It was fantastic that by using beer and brewing we could create a project which captured the imagination in both countries.
We are delighted again that the efforts were noted and win or lose in the final we are proud to be flying the flag for Norfolk and Norwich.
The SIBA Business Awards 2024 will be presented on Wednesday 13th March at BeerX UK, in Liverpool, by acclaimed beer author and broadcaster Pete Brown.