In the 2024 Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show, Esker Beer Co. stole the show with four champion trophies, including ‘Best Beer in Show’ and also two gold medals.
The Australian Brewery in Rouse Hill is the only brewery in the Hills Shire Council, with a Craft-beer company, Esker Beer Co. launched in 2022. The humble team of only six, including four brewers, is run by General Manager Dan Shaw, who has been with the brewery since its beginnings in 2010.
At the 2024 Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show, Esker Beer Co. stole the show with winning both the Champion Fruit or Sour Beer, Best NSW Beer or Cider and the coveted Best Beer in Show with their Esker Citrus Gose.
Head Brewer, Charlie Claridge, who has been at the Brewery since 2016, previously studied an industrial chemistry degree at UNSW. However, he switched over to beer after studying a postgraduate Certificate of Brewing at Fed Uni. He spoke proudly of their Citrus Gose, which is described having a tart aftertaste:
“We had an idea that we wanted to change beer and create a signature beer with the new brand and that is the citrus Gose. We wanted to focus locally on the Hills Shire and we wanted to pay tribute to the fruit growing history of the area”.
The local brewery’s successes didn’t stop there, they also took home Champion Indian Pale Ale with their Esker West Coast IPA, and won two gold medals for their Esker Old Dark Ale and Esker Hazy Pale out of the 206 exhibitors across Australia. While Charlie didn’t attend the award ceremony, he spoke of how proud he and his team are of the achievement:
“We are really stoked to win the Best in Show. We like to put our beers into the awards to be judged for some feedback from the judges, but we certainly weren’t expecting to win. It’s a great reward for the care and effort the team puts in”.
Esker Beer Co. has six beers in the core range, including the best selling beer, Esker Pacific Ale. They’ve previously won awards including the Best Modern Pale Ale for their Hazy Pale at last year’s Australian International Beer Awards.
For those who aren’t big beer drinkers, Charlie’s advice was to start out simple: “Of course my biased opinion is that Esker is the best place to start, but there’s lots of complex flavours out there and you just need to start with something simple. A Lager is the best to start with and then you work your way into it from there”.
Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show Chair of Judges, Ian Kingham, said he was very impressed with the quality of entries this year and congratulated all entrants on a fantastic show:
“I was particularly impressed with Esker Beer Co. Following a rebrand and redirection in 2022, the Hills Shire brewery has not only won four champions and a plethora of gold and silver medals, but they have taken home the top award with the Esker Citrus Gose really impressing our judges”.
Baker Crescent Meats at Baulkham Hills also won a Gold medal for their Boned and Rolled Ham at the 2024 Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show.
You can taste the magic of Esker Beer Co. at the Australian Hotel and Brewery, located at 350 Annangrove Rd, Rouse Hill NSW 2155.
