Amongst the myriad trophies awarded at the annual Brewers Guild Awards, the most elusive prize is also the one you have to give back, albeit with your brewery’s name forever inscribed on this coveted piece of metal (fashioned as a miniature fermenter).
With Champion Brewery recipients going back to 2008, those names read as something of a catalogue of the nation’s developing craft brewing community, as even big brewers Lion and DB feature in the early years.
Before this year’s awards, only two breweries had featured twice: Tuatara and 8 Wired, with seven and 11 years (respectively) between wins. But after the dust settled on 2024, Christchurch icon Three Boys had joined the ranks of the double dippers, and with only a scant year in between wins!
To understand how this came to be, and why it’s remarkable, some understanding of how this particular trophy is assigned is required, as there’s of an algorithm at work:
“To be eligible for this award a brewing business must enter at least four beers in three different style classes. At least one beer must be a gold-winning exhibit.
In determining the winner, points are awarded to each of the brewing companies medal-winning beers (gold = 3, silver = 2, bronze = 1) which are totalled and divided by the brewing company’s total number of entries.”
That “division by the total number of entries” is the key, meaning the Champion Brewer trophy isn’t about the most medals, but the most consistent performance. In this environment, a single un-medaled beer can tank a brewery’s chances. This is how Three Boys were able to win with their comparatively modest array of medals, against the colossal eight gold that McLeod’s achieved.
The reasoning behind this is essentially a levelling of the playing field, preventing the largest breweries winning through sheer saturation of entries.
Catching up post-awards with Three Boys founder Ralph Bungard, my first question to the one who had just come (by far) the closest in history to a back-to-back win was inevitable: What was the secret? To which Ralph replied after some thought: “Brew good beer, ensure that the judging samples are in top condition… and be lucky”.
I knew I wasn’t going to get a more definitive answer, because none exists, and Ralph is far too modest a brewer to imply that one might. But, if I were to offer my own opinion, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Three Boys has a winning edge when it comes to this particular trophy. I would suggest that the secret lies within the Three Boys core range, which represents both a broad spectrum of styles, and (crucially) beers which have been honed and refined for years, many for more than a decade.
Bringing this long history of brewing knowledge to bear, Three Boys can set their sights on any given style of beer and brew it confidently, as they demonstrated with gold medals spanning from Oyster Stout, through to a fruited gose.
Another factor is surely the addition of Damian Treacher, who came on board as production manager last year. Previously the head brewer at Beer Baroness, it was Damian’s inspired and surgical approach to modern hop-driven styles that lifted Beer Baroness into a consistent threat at any judging, with hazies and IPAs that were competing head-on with the rockstarproducers of the North Island. His effect on the brewery’s output, particularly with those hop-driven styles, is something I’ve been watching with some anticipation, and based on this result it is already bearing fruit.
For many (particularly North Island) readers, this news of the award will be one of the few times the Three Boys name will ping on the national craft beer radar. This isn’t a failing of branding or promotion, it’s by design. After finding themselves at something of a crossroads a decade ago, Ralph and the team decided to focus on sustainability rather than growth. Part of this direction was to leave behind the “ego and one-up-manship”and the “new release every fortnight” rat race, and instead double down on cultivating a local market and quality core range.
So don’t be surprised if Three Boys once again withdraws from the headlines once this post-awards press cycle winds down. At least until next time, when an unprecedented number of eyes are once again going to fall on this champion brewery. Will they achieve the unprecedented third (and similarly unprecedented two-in-a-row) title?
No pressure…