The Renaissance Brewing Company was the major winner at the 2013 Brewers
Guild of New Zealand Awards, taking home three awards, including the coveted
Champion Brewery Award.
Andy Deuchars, the co-founder of Renaissance, hailed the teamwork at the
brewery, which was founded in 2006: “it’s a great achievement and I couldn’t be
more proud of the guys who put their heart and souls into making these
beers”.
Deuchars also paid tribute to the strength of New Zealand’s craft brewing
scene, which saw a record 541 entries into the competition, saying that it was
great to see how far craft beer in the country had come in the last decade.
As well as the Champion Brewery trophy, the Marlborough-based Renaissance
also won commendations in the ‘British Style Ales’ for their Tribute Barley Wine
and the Enlightnment Black the RIPA in the Wheat and Other Grain Styles
category – presented to them by Beer & Brewer Editor Stefanie Collins.
Renaissance’s success comes in the wake of similar recognition in Australia,
where the brewery won the Champion International Small Brewery prize at the
Australian International Beer Awards. The Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards
was held over three days in Wellington, from the 6th to the
8th of August.