Clonmel 1650 Wins Gold Medal at The International Brewing Awards

BELFAST, U.K. - Feb. 24, 2015 - PRLog -- A major international award has set the seal of success on Clonmel 1650, the new Pilsner-style draught Lager brewed in Clonmel and launched across Ireland last summer by Tennent’s NI.

The latest addition to the company portfolio is a determined mark of the company’s commitment to developing characterful, innovative beers and ciders, based on heritage and authenticity.  Recently that confidence was rewarded with an accolade in The International Brewing Awards, with Clonmel 1650 winning the International Keg Lager Gold Medal.

The annual Awards, first established in 1886, are amongst the most prestigious in the industry.  This year a panel of forty-three of the world’s leading judges, in conclave at the National Brewery Centre in Burton-upon-Trent, assessed close to 1,000 beers and ciders submitted from 50 countries.

Chair of judges, Bill Taylor, said, “One of the strengths of the International Brewing Awards has always been its ability to accommodate a wide range of beer styles and this year we have seen even more diversity in the entries.  The structure of the competition, with broad, style-based categories, means that there is a place for every beer and cider and all have an equal chance of winning a medal or even a trophy.”

The Awards are unique in requiring that all judges are currently working as brewers or cider makers, a distinction not lost on those who have sufficient faith in their products to enter the arena.  Sarah Shimmons, Beer Marketing Manager for Tennent’s NI explains, “It is certainly daunting to be judged by your industry peers, but it is enormously gratifying to earn recognition from the leading figures ‘at the coal face’ and we are all extremely proud to have received a gold medal accolade in The International Brewing Awards.”

Magners' hometown of Clonmel is, famously, the epicentre of great brewing in Ireland so, when it launches a new product, the industry sits up and takes notice.  Last year, when it developed a new Pilsner-style Lager for the modern consumer and named it Clonmel 1650 in recognition of its celebrated roots, expectations were high.

Sarah says, “We are justly renowned for innovation, coupled with quality, both of which are supremely evident in Clonmel 1650 which comes with a fine pedigree and heritage.  Consumers have responded with enthusiasm, welcoming a locally brewed alternative to the plethora of foreign beers which are currently so prevalent in the Irish marketplace. At 4.3 ABV, Clonmel 1650 is a well-balanced and medium-bodied lager which delivers the key attributes expected from a Pilsner, but with a  particularly memorable taste which hovers between ‘slightly fruity’, ‘estery’ and ‘subtly hoppy’.

“Right from the pulling of the first great golden pint, Clonmel 1650 has been a winner with consumers who appreciate authenticity and, quite simply, want to enjoy a great pint in their local.  Now they have the added assurance that their favourite Lager is one of the best in the world in its category.”

ENDS