Powderkeg were declared ‘Champions of the South West’, taking 8 awards including Champion Keg Beer at the Indie Beer Awards SW in Newton Abbot this week, run by SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers).
The brewery rolled out The Eight, a line‑up that spans porters, bitters, IPAs and a full‑tilt Rauchbier, and entered them with their core beers into the different competition categories. And the results are staggering:
- Keg Amber, Brown & Red Ale – Gold: Paint The Town Red.
- Keg Belgian & Continental Style – Gold: Mic Drop.
- Keg Imperial & Strong Ale – Gold: 10-4 Over & Out (akaBrumation).
- Keg Session Lager- Gold: Harmony.
- Keg Alc-free – Bronze: Green Light.
- Keg Session Pale – Bronze: Hops & Dreams.
- Keg British Ales – Bronze: Is it, or No?
- Keg Specialty & Flavoured Beer – Bronze: Remember The Pig.
- Overall Champion Keg Beer: Paint The Town Red.
Head brewer and founder John Magill said of the win: “Wow – What a day! Eight awards and then Overall Keg Champion to crown it all off. It’s a real achievement for the team; we’re all delighted. Many of our winning beers were special releases for Indie Beer Week, brewed because we really want to showcase the diversity, creativity and quality of Indie beer. It’s important to us to keep highlighting that the real innovation and the genuine quality is in British beer in the independent sector.”
So who are The Eight?!
This cast of characters feels less like a tidy tasting flight and more like a roaming outlaw crew – each beer with its own attitude, its own story, and its own reason for rolling into town for a short stay. arriving like a dust trail on the horizon: small‑batch, short‑stay releases that don’t hang about.
Small batches with room to roam
The pilot kit has long been Powderkeg’s hideout for trying out niche styles and specialist ingredients – ideas that might not suit large‑scale production but allow the brewers to have fun and show their chops. Each release is capped at around 100 bottles, which means they vanish fast.
The 750ml format suits the whole ethos: something to crack open with friends, something that feels a little off‑the‑beaten‑track, something you won’t find stacked in a supermarket aisle. It gives the brewery space to explore styles that don’t always make it into the core range, the kind of side‑quests that keep things interesting.
This is the kind of experimentation that independent breweries are built for. When you’re not answering to shareholders or steering committees, you can follow instinct, curiosity and the occasional wild goose. It’s the sort of creative freedom the big brewcorps talk about but can’t actually pull off – not when every decision has to scale to millions of pints.
Powderkeg are No One-Trick Ponies
The brewery has built its reputation across a broad spread of styles – crisp lagers, hoppy pales, no‑and‑low options and modern twists on classic styles from Britain and Europe. Whatever the style, there’s still that unmistakable PK signature: clean, confident and more‑ish. The Eight leans into that versatility, pulling together beers that feel like a loose‑knit crew of renegades rather than a matched set. Some are new ideas, some are old favourites riding back into town, all carrying the same independent streak.
It’s a reminder that real innovation doesn’t come from focus groups or brand portfolios – it comes from small teams with big ideas, working on their own terms.
As category champion, Paint The Town Red will go on to compete at the nationals in March next year. Powderkeg’s helles lager Harmony took Silver at National level in March this year in the keg session lager category.
“The Eight” riding out in Indie Beer Week
- Paint the Town Red – American Red Ale 6.4% ABV. A big, soft n’ fruity Red IPA first brewed in 2019 for Exeter Beer Week. “The Best Red IPA I’ve had outside of America” said Chris Harper, founder of Hops & Craft, who is an actual American who knows a lot about beer.
- Good News! – Kveik NZ NEIPA 5.5% ABV. In fact, two great ‘News’ – A New Zealand hop cocktail in a New England Style IPA. Fermented on Kveik, a Norwegian Farmhouse yeast, this all adds up to one helluva fruity fruit-bomb.
- Is it, Or No? – Extra Special Bitter 6.0% ABV. An extra-special Extra Special Bitter with classic caramel tones and earthy nose. Pushed to the edge of acceptability in strength and hopping, but still true to style. So overall, yeah, “it is”, but only just.
- Plane Crash – Robust Porter 6.2% ABV. Smooth and sippable, dark but not black, there’s a hint of chocolate behind bolder notes of raisins and heavily caramelised fruit. If you’re going down you might as well enjoy the ride.
- Sleep Easy – Double IPA 8.4% ABV. Literally our flagship pale ale “Speak Easy” times two. A chunky, old-skool, West Coast Double IPA, this is hoppy and heady. If you like Speak Easy, you might like this twice as much.
- 10-4 Over & Out – Barley Wine 10.4% ABV. Big & beautiful . Smooth & sweet. Moreish & Merciless. Over & Out.
- White Noise – GrapeBrut IPA 6.8% ABV. What can be more ‘indie beer’ than an entirely made-up new style? Fermented to zero, this is ultra-dry, very crisp and bursting with grape and gooseberry notes from the generous Nelson Sauvin dry-hop.
- Mic Drop – Baltic Porter 8.4% ABV. Five malts of varying toastiness give characteristic dark fruit and caramel flavours, but the deep, dark complexity is considerably lightened by a long, slow and cold fermentation. The result is deceptively strong and dangerously smooth.
RRP: Prices range from £4.99 – £12.99 per bottle depending on ABV and ingredients. Available from powderkegbeer.co.uk and good independent retailers.
