Thursday October 10th 2024
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Luke Jackson
Judged by the experts, Boadicea is awarded a Great Taste 1-star in world’s most coveted food and drink awards.
Midlothian-based microbrewery, Kerr’s Brewing Co. has been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, picking up a highly prized 1-star Great Taste award for its “Boadicea” Single Malt and Single Hop Ale (SMASH Ale).
This year, continuing the success of the Great Taste bursary scheme that was established in 2023 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Great Taste, the Guild of Fine Food again offered 50 micro producers the chance to put one new product in front of its expert panel of Great Taste judges for free.
The bursary is aimed at micro producers who have never entered Great Taste before or have a new product, which has never been entered before. The bursary panel, which consisted of Adrian Boswell, buyer at Selfridges, industry commentator and food entrepreneur Mallika Basu, and PR & marketing expert AJ Sharp, selected the 50 most eligible entries. The recipients of the bursary then participated in the same rigorous blind-tasting process as all 13,672 food and drink entries, with judges unaware of their bursary status.
With the news of a 1-star award for its Boadicea, Kerr’s Brewing Co. becomes one of the first cohort of bursary applicants to win a Great Taste award and joins 16 other successful companies who participated in the scheme this year.
Christabel Cairns, operations and marketing director at the Guild of Fine Food comments:
“After the success of last year, we are proud to have made the bursary an annual scheme. Great Taste has always been about celebrating fantastic food and drink and creating a level playing field for all in the business of producing good products.”
To be able to remove barriers to entry even further is important to us and it’s brilliant to see these bursary participants, who went through exactly the same process of all our entrants, doing so well. We’re looking forward to supporting them as they take the next steps to share their success.”
13,672 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process; and Kerr’s Boadicea Ale was dubbed as “punching well above its weight” at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards.
3,938 products (28.8%) were awarded a Great Taste 1-star – 2food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’, 1,386 (10.1%) were awarded a Great Taste 2-star – 2above and beyond delicious’, and 266 (just 1.9%) were awarded a Great Taste 3-star – 2extraordinarily tasty food and drink’.
Described as giving “appealing floral aroma notes and marked spiciness with hints of baked apple on the palate,” this Single Malt and Single Hop Ale was a big hit with the Great Taste judges.
Brewed with 100% Scottish Spring Barley and 100% British-grown Hops of the “Boadicea” hedgerow variety. Small batches are lovingly crafted in our microbrewery at the Rosemains Steading rural business hub on Rosemains Farm near Pathhead, Midlothian. Boadicea SMASH Ale was one of just 40.8% of products entered to have received a Great Taste award in 2024.
James Kerr, founder of Kerr’s Brewing Company comments:
“We are extremely happy to have been recognised for our dedication to craft, flavour and consistency. There are lots of award bodies out there, but its reassuring to know that the Great Taste Awards are blind-tasted and judged purely on flavour, because at the end of the day, the proof is in the glass.”
Katie Mathieson, Sales, Kerr’s Brew Co, concludes:
“I’m so excited for our Boadicea to be awarded a Great Taste Award 2024. I’m proud of the recognition it has received, and what a wonderful achievement for the whole team! Not only is it a testament to our hard work and the creativity of our brewers, it also allows us to showcase the produce of British Farmers who grow some of the best hops and malting barley in the world. I look forward to what we can do in the future.”
What is Great Taste?
Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.
This year, judging took place over 92 days in Dorset and London, with a panel of more than 500 judges putting the products to the test. The line-up saw food and drink products submitted from an extraordinary 115 different countries across the world.
Kerr’s Boadicea SMASH Ale is available in stores and online from Vino Wines in Edinburgh. RRP: £3.65 (330ml glass bottle).
For more information about Kerr’s farm Brewed Ales, visit www.kerrs.beer.
They are also active on Instagram, which is a good place to keep up to date with news, events and upcoming beer releases.
The full list of this year’s winners and where to buy them can be found at www.gff.co.uk/directory, as well as a wide range of the award-winning products are available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retailers across the country.
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