Freedom Brewery
• • • Best Session Beer • • •
Robyn Gilmour
Saturday 21 October 2023
This article is from
10th Birthday Awards
issue 97
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This year we’ve dedicated our Best Session Beer award to a brewery, and indeed a style, that’s taking up more time and space within our industry. Staffordshire-based Freedom Brewery has been making craft lager since 1995, and just this year released the Sesh pilsner that’s taking home our Best Session Beer Award.
“2023 has been an exciting year for Freedom,” says sales director, Darren Boyd. “With the demand for proper craft lager driving growth in our business, we’re introducing a new canning line to cater for this demand. We are delighted to have won a World Beer Award, gold in the European Beer challenge and two silver awards in the London Beer Competition this year. We’ve also recently collaborated with beer expert and author, Mark Dredge, on a series of films focused on educating the consumers about what craft lager is, and why it’s a beer they’re likely to enjoy.”
Darren tells me that Freedom is proud to be British pioneers of craft lager, particularly because of its focus on using centuries-old traditions to make bright, full-flavoured, naturally carbonated lager for modern audiences. “There are many things that set us apart from the mainstream brewers” says Darren, “we use natural spring water straight from our bore hole, we ferment our beer cold for a minimum of two weeks, we mature (‘lager’) our beers for four weeks, we sterile filter our beers rather than heat pasteurise to retain flavour, and all our beers are Vegan Society certified.”
When I ask Darren what advice Freedom Brewery might give a younger version of itself, he says “simply, stick with it! In 1995, craft lager was brand new to the UK market, and while the time since then hasn’t always been easy, craft lager is now the fastest growing beer category in the UK. We are confident that our commitment and dedication to doing what we do best has brought us to where we are now, and we are so excited to continue delivering proper craft lager to Britain’s glasses!”
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