TWØBAYS IPA gluten free beer wins gold medal!

INDIES 2021: GOLD MEDALS FOR IPA AND STARGAZE HAZY PALE

Our brew team have collected a third and fourth gold medal for the year at the 2021 Indies, along with a second silver for Lager and five bronze medals!

After winning our first gold medal at the 2020 Indies for Pale Ale, and a second for No Doubt Stout at the 2021 Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), our IPA tinnies and Stargaze Hazy Pale kegs have won gold medals at the 2021 Indies (Independent Beer Awards Australia run by the Independent Brewers Association).

Unfortunately the IPA is so popular, it's sold out online at the moment, but can be found at independent bottle shops and venues across the country. 

TWØBAYS Indies 2021 Medals

2021 Indies Gold (Hybrid Beer Category)

• IPA (Tinnies)
• Stargaze Hazy Pale (Keg)

2021 Indies Silver (Hybrid Beer Category)

• Lager (Keg)

2021 Indies Bronze (Hybrid Beer Category)

• IPA (Keg)
• Pale Ale (Tinnies)
• Pale Ale (Keg)
• XPA (Tinnies)
• XPA (Keg)

Brewers Kristian Martin and Ajay Hill, who teamed up 16 months ago at our Mornington Peninsula brewery, have been working hard on all of the beers, but are especially proud of what they've achieved with the hoppier styles: "We've spent a lot of time balancing gluten free malts to let the hops really shine," Martin said.

"And it has really paid off with the recent success of our IPAs."

TWØBAYS IPA enjoys hoppy aromas up front that are quickly overrun by malt sweetness on the mid-palate, followed by a well-balanced, but nicely present bitterness.

The gluten free IPA journey started in our Dromana Taproom with an IPA named Hairy Legs (6.2% ABV). Then we put out a Mosaic IPA (5.4%) and Eddy, a Belgian IPA (5.8%), before settling on the recipe for our core IPA.

"It was tough choosing one to put into cans," explained CEO and Founder Richard Jeffares. 

"Originally we went with a Simcoe and Mosaic-hopped IPA that gave off beautifully fresh pine and fruit aromas. Kristian and Ajay have done a great job of improving all of the recipes, and we've since changed Simcoe for Galaxy in our IPA."

"We're ecstatic to pick up another eight medals, including two golds – seven of which went to our always available core range beers. Sarah and I started this brewery because we thought that everyone deserved access to a range of great beer," Richard said.

" – even those who avoid gluten. To win medals at beers awards (not just gluten free beer awards) is the icing on the cake. When we set out to source great gluten free malts four or five years ago – and then started to build a brew team and create great recipes over the last three-and-a-half years – I started to realise that we could compete for medals. But to win four gold medals from two Indies and one AIBA is a dream come true."

"I'm so proud of our brew team and what we have achieved together as a business since opening in December 2018. Kristian and Ajay are always working extremely hard on improving existing brews while they develop new recipes – our IPA (first released in May 2019) and Stargaze Hazy Pale (released in September 2021) are a shining example of that."

"The limited edition Hazy is an Australian first using gluten free malts and it's come up beautifully, with big tropical aromas and an explosion of pineapple flavour. It’s a juicy, punchy Pale Ale, showcasing new-world hops Mosaic, Strata, and Simcoe."

"We're stoked with the silver for Lager and the five bronze medals too (two for Pale Ale, two for XPA and one for IPA). We only released the Lager in April 2021 and it's picked up AIBA Silver and Indies Silver already."

"With an extremely high level of judging, winning any medal is tough and we're delighted with our biggest haul at a single awards ceremony yet. Now we'll go away and look at how we can continue to improve while continuing to innovate and push the boundaries of gluten free beer."

TWØBAYS echoes the sentiments of all the independent Australian breweries in raising a glass to the Independent Brewers Association for putting on another brilliant Independent Beer Awards, with such a high level of judging.

"It's great for us to measure our beers against some of the best barley beers in the country," said Richard.

"And we love getting feedback from the judging panel so that we can gather more opinions on how to continue improving our beer."