A new red ale available only in Dublin and Kilkenny, Ireland – and the Buffalo area – was awarded a gold medal at the 2017 International Brewing and Cider Awards.

A panel of judges bestowed Sullivan's Irish Maltings Red Ale with the gold in the Champion Keg Ale category April 26 in a ceremony at Guildhall in London.

Nine breweries and one cidery – hailing from three continents – received top awards, all but one for the first time in the prestigious competition established in 1886.

Other winners included Encore from the Lacons Brewery, Great Yarmouth, Great Britain, in the cask ale category; Rurik Russian Imperial Stout, from The Galbraith Brewing Co., Auckland, New Zealand, in the strong beer category; and Easy Jack, from Firestone Walker Brewing Co., of Paso Robles, Calif., in the smallpack ale category.

"To have our Sullivan’s Maltings Irish Ale awarded a gold medal in its class at these awards means a lot to me," winning brewer Ian Hamilton said. "Our Maltings ales, and other brews we are working on, will always be brewed with deep respect for classic ale brewing principles.”

Hamilton, a former Guinness beermaker with more than three decades of brewing experience, and other brewery staff helped launch the beer in the U.S. late last year, when their introduced Irish Maltings Ale in Buffalo. The beer features rich biscuit and subtle caramel notes.

Read more at source: Buffalo News