Esker Beer Co claims top award at 2024 Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show

Esker Beer Co’s Esker Citrus Gose has been named Australia’s best beer taking home the coveted Champion Beer or Cider trophy at the 2024 Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show following an awards ceremony held in Sydney tonight.

Amongst the 206 exhibits entered from across Australia, the Esker Citrus Gose was a standout claiming not only best beer but two additional trophies for Best NSW Beer or Cider and Champion Fruit or Sour, while Esker Beer Co also took home Champion Indian Pale Ale with its Esker West Coast IPA. 

In total, 11 champion trophies were awarded including the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW’s first Champion Reduced or No Alcohol Beer or Cider which was won by Hiatus Beers for its Non-Alcoholic Pacific Ale. 

Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show Chair of Judges, Ian Kingham said he was very impressed with the quality of entries this year and congratulates all entrants on a fantastic show. 

“This year’s competition has shown us that despite such a difficult time for the Australian beer industry our brewers are still producing world-class products and are doing so from all areas of the country,” Kingham said.  

“From regional areas like Bathurst and Geelong to city hubs in Sydney and Melbourne, the quality of beers and ciders being entered is phenomenal, and that is reflected not only in the champion winners announced tonight but also in the high percentage of medals awarded across the competition. 

“I was particularly impressed with Esker Beer Co. Following a rebrand and redirection in 2022, the Hills Shire brewery has not only won four champions and a plethora of gold and silver medals, but they have taken home the top award with the Esker Citrus Gose really impressing our judges.

“Another huge standout this year was the cider category. For me, it was the strongest it has ever been, and the four ciders presented for the championship trophy are all world-class ciders that should be recognised for that level of excellence.”

This year’s Champion Cider went to Flying Brick Cider Co for the Flying Brick Cider Co MC Cider while Philter Brewing won Champion Pale Ale with its XPA, and Champion Lager went to White Bay Brewery for the Czech Pilsner. 

On the dark side, it was Reckless Brewing Co which claimed Champion Amber or Dark Ale with the BX Old and Champion Experimental or Specialty Beer with the Baltic Porter, while 4 Pines Brewing Company struck gold with its 4 Pines Nitro Stout winning Champion Porter or Stout.

“This year we introduced nine new champion trophies and prizes to help better reflect industry trends in Australia and I think what has come out of that is a very deserving range of champion winners who are producing quality products that can be enjoyed by a wide demographic,” Kingham said.

“I encourage consumers to have a look at the results, try some of the champion winners but also explore our gold, silver and bronze medal winners, as I have no doubt there is a beer or cider for everyone to enjoy.”

Overall, the 2024 Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show results demonstrate a high proportion of gold medals presented with an 18% strike rate while 83% of exhibitors scored a gold, silver, or bronze medal.

Designed to provide Australian brewers with an opportunity to benchmark their products and receive invaluable independent feedback, the 2024 competition welcomed 20 judges from across the Australian beer and cider industry to use their expertise to identify this year’s winners.
 
“The team of judges we had on board this year was fantastic. We were lucky enough to welcome experts ranging from brewers and industry media to sensory teams and technical industry professionals, who come from both large and independent breweries, to ensure we were providing the best possible feedback to exhibitors.”

This included current Senior Judge and Toohey’s Brewery Team Leader, Tom Davies who was honoured at the 2024 judging by receiving a Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Youth Medal for his dedication to the competition. Davies first started as a Steward at the competition in 2017 before quickly progressing to an Associate Judge in 2018 and has now been a Senior Judge since 2021.

The RAS Youth Medal recognises those within the RAS community who have exhibited an outstanding contribution to a competition either as an exhibitor, competitor, steward, or judge and are 35 years of age or under.

This year’s 2024 Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show Awards were held alongside the organisation’s inaugural Sydney Royal Distilled Spirits Show Awards where fourteen of the country’s best distillers were also honoured. 

View the 2024 Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show results here.