Abbeydale Brewery are celebrating this week, with their popular beer “Black Mass”, a 6.66% Black IPA, taking home a top prize at the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Independent Beer Awards 2023.
Sheffield based Abbeydale Brewery, most famous for their Moonshine pale ale, received the accolade of Overall Champion of the bottle and can competition for their Black IPA at the beer trade association’s national finals, held at BeerX, the country’s largest brewing industry event, in Liverpool last week. Brewer Christie Mcintosh, from Abbeydale Brewery, said: “Black Mass is a joyous, strong, bitter, fruity dark ale. Winning the National as a Black IPA is pretty wild – we won the Speciality IPA which we were really pleased about, but to then go up again and win the Overall Gold is just amazing.”
The award, judged by a panel of industry peers and experts, recognises the very finest in UK brewing. SIBA Chairman Richard Naisby congratulated the winners on their huge achievement and said: “Judges had a tough job separating the pack as the standard was extremely high once again. The winners from the SIBA competition are officially the best independent craft beers in the UK, something brewers should be extremely proud of.”
Abbeydale Brewery are well known for producing a huge range of beers, blending innovation with heritage and reflecting these values across their beers. Black Mass, a 6.66% Black IPA, has been part of Abbeydale Brewery’s permanently available beers since the business was founded in 1996, and the team believe it to be one of the world’s first and longest standing beers of this style in existence. Sales Director Dan Baxter says of the award: “Black Mass has been with us since our very beginnings as a brewery, and we’re absolutely thrilled that it’s being recognised as being at the very top of its game. It’s classic and familiar, yet simultaneously unique and boundary defying, and a true favourite of many of the team here!”
