Gage Roads sails to Sydney beer show success

The 'return to craft" ethos has again reaped rewards for Gage Roads with the WA brewery dominating the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Competition.

Gage Roads, still in the running to get the beer contract at Perth's new stadium, was deemed to have Best Beer in Show and Champion Draught Beer among a host of other prizes. It was the company's Red Rye IPA that impressed the judges so much.

But Gage Road's limited release Sea Devil Stout and Hefeweizen also collected gold medals.

Red Rye IPA is an American-style beer, characterised by citrus hop flavour, rich maltiness, and a dry finish courtesy of the malted rye.

“Rye is commonly used in the production of whiskey, so it’s quite unique to use it in a beer,” said Gage Roads Brewing Manager Dirk Penny.

“It gives the beer a very dry character that you can’t typically achieve with malted barley. It’s fantastic,” Penny said.

Gage Roads’ Head Brewer Aaron Heary, pictured above, was ecstatic with the returns from the awards.

“This is a fantastic result and I’m extremely proud of the guys at the brewery and the team effort that led to this,” Heary said.

“The Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Competition is one of the toughest in the country. This level of success is a ringing endorsement of the quality of beer we are producing.”

Last year Gage Roads adopted a 'return to craft" philosophy in which the ASX-listed brewery would concentrate more on its own artisanal beers and reduce its contract brewing.

The policy has resulted in a raft of gongs for its regular and seasonal ranges, including Little Dove and Sea Devil at the Australian International Beer Awards.

In three months Gage Road's ASX share price has almost doubled.