International awards for two Northern Irish cider processors

Two Northern Ireland cider processors have won medals in the recent annual international Brewing and Cider Awards. The Northern Irish medal winners were: Mac Ivors, Portadown - Gold medals for Its Sweet cider, Traditional Dry, and Plum and Ginger and Tempted, Lisburn - Silver for its Medium Dry and also for its Elderflower.

Greg MacNeice of Mac Ivors Cider, said, "After winning the Cider Championship two years ago, we were keen to benchmark our ciders again in an international arena. These awards attract a diverse range of high quality ciders and are judged by professional cider makers who command huge respect, so we were delighted to win three Gold medals at this year's competition.

"We were particularly pleased to win a Gold medal for our Plum & Ginger Cider, alongside golds for our more traditional ciders. And with three of our ciders now in the running for Champion Cider, we'll be hoping for a repeat of our success in 2015."

David Uprichard of Tempted Cider, added: "We are delighted with this important recognition as one of the leading and most innovative cider processors. Northern Ireland is now among the best in Europe for cider production because of our commitment to using pure apple juice rather than concentrates."

The medals consolidate Northern Ireland's position as one of the leading cider producers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There were no Northern Irish winners in the brewing section.

Brewers and cider makers from 21 countries received accolades in the International awards, as the winners of 125 medals were announced after three days of judging in Burton-upon-Trent.

Medals were awarded to beers and ciders from all over the world - Europe, Australasia, the Far East, North and South America - and to producers from a broad spectrum, from regional microbrewers and artisan cider makers to multinational companies.

The 45 judges assessed more than 1,100 beers and ciders - an uplift of 15 per cent on the last competition, held in 2015. The awards are unique in requiring that all judges are currently working as brewers or cider makers, who select the winners through a consensus approach.

Chair of judges Bill Taylor said: "The list of medal winners reflects both the quality and diversity of beers and ciders entered into the competition. Judges put in long hours assessing and debating the merits of the products to select the winners and the final list is an impressive showcase for the very best in brewing and cider making around the world."

One of the key criteria for judging at the International Brewing and Cider Awards is consideration of a product's commercial worth. Several of this year's first-time judges praised this requirement, including Oliver Wesseloh of Kreativ Brewery in Hamburg, who said, "The winning beers here are the ones that, once tasted, you would order again, or recommend to a friend. It's a different approach to many other competitions."

The Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners announced in Burton will collect their medals at an Awards luncheon held at London Guildhall on 26 April, when the 10 overall Championship winners - nine beers and one cider - will be unveiled.

The International Brewing & Cider Awards 2017 are supported by headline sponsors Barth-Haas Group and Krones. Trophy sponsors include: Brauwelt, Brewers' Guardian, Institute of Brewing & Distilling, BeerQX, drink Technology + Marketing, British Guild of Beer Writers and the Morning Advertiser. Molson Coors provided support in consolidation and dispense.