Vermont beer maker wins national Craft Brewery of the Year honors
A Vermont brewer has been named Craft Brewery of the Year by a nationwide trade publication.
Fiddlehead Brewing Co., based in Shelburne, was honored Nov. 29 at a conference held in Santa Monica, California, by Brewbound. The nationwide trade publication covers brewing trends and provides in-depth interviewers with industry leaders.
The Brewbound Awards, in their ninth year, “recognize large and small beverage-alcohol companies that thrived over the last year, while also celebrating notable industry figures, change agents, up-and-coming entrepreneurs and philanthropic initiatives,” according to Brewbound’s website.
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In awarding Fiddlehead its top Craft Brewery of the Year honors, Brewbound said the beer maker founded in 2010 has recorded double-digit growth each year and entered the national Brewers Association list of top 50 craft breweries by volume in 2021.
“Driving the Shelburne, Vermont-based craft brewery’s growth is flagship Fiddlehead IPA, which accounts for around 88% of the company’s sales,” according to Brewbound.
Focusing on Fiddlehead IPA
In a news release announcing the award, Fiddlehead said it entered the top-50 list “by bucking trends with a simplified playbook focusing on Vermont’s best selling brand, Fiddlehead IPA with a draft forward approach.” Fiddlehead noted that the brewery increased sales by 85% in 2021 and is on target to increase sales by 45% in 2022.
“This is an absolute honor to be recognized by the premier industry publication, Brewbound. Craft brewing has been my life’s work,” Fiddlehead president/owner Matt Cohen said in a news release. He gave credit “to our incredible team” as well as distribution partners and “our dedicated fans.”
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Previous winners of Brewbound’s Brewery of the Year award have included Lagunitas Brewing Co. and Allagash Brewing Co. Last year’s winner was Athletic Brewing Co., a nonalcoholic beer maker co-founded by Middlebury College graduate Bill Shufelt.
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont beer maker wins national Craft Brewery of the Year honors
