Cider Australia announced the winners of the 2024 Australian Cider Awards at a gala lunch in Melbourne last week.
South Australian producer Hills Cider was awarded Best in Show with Pear along with the Best Perry trophy.
A field of 190 local and international entries was judged by a highly skilled and diverse panel of nine judges led by chair Briony Liebich of consultancy Flavour Logic. Twenty gold medals and ten trophies were awarded.
“One of the standout aspects of this year’s competition is the clear improvement in cider quality, speaking to the rising standards across the industry”, said Briony.
“This year the Traditional Cider and Fruit Cider classes punched above their weight, claiming almost half of the gold medals awarded. The judges were particularly impressed at how skilful cider makers are becoming at integrating other fruits into their ciders”.
Judges predict a bright future for the new No/Low Alcohol Cider or Perry class, awarding New Zealand’s Peckham’s Cidery and Orchard a Gold medal for its Apple Zero.
A new perpetual trophy for the Best Single Varietal Cider was awarded to The Apple Thief for its Kingston Black. The trophy is named in honour of industry champion David Pickering who passed away earlier this year.
2024 Trophy winners:
- Best in Show: Hills Cider with Pear (SA)
- Best New World Cider: Plenty Cider with Original (TAS)
- Best Traditional Cider: LOBO with Lenswulf 2019 (SA)
- Best Perry: Hills Cider with Pear (SA)
- Best Specialty Cider or Perry: The Wild Beyond with Barrel-Aged Raspberry Sour Cider (WA)
- Best Intensified / Distilled Cider or Perry: LOBO with Apple Brandy – Lobodos (SA)
- Best Single Varietal Cider – David Pickering Memorial Trophy: The Apple Thief with Kingston Black (NSW)
- Best International Cider: Peckham’s Cidery and Orchard with Chisel Jersey (NZ)
- Most Successful Small Producer: Plenty Cider (TAS)
- Most Successful Larger Producer: Hillbilly Cider (NSW)
A full list of all the 2024 Australian Cider Awards winners is on the Cider Australia website.