SIBA Strips Gold Medal After Recipe Check, Promotes Silver to Top Honor

Stuart Hubbard left BeerX 2026 in Liverpool on March 20 holding a Silver medal. Twelve days later, SIBA confirmed he had won Gold.

The Society of Independent Brewers announced April 1 that the original Gold medallist from the 2026 SIBA Homebrew Beer Awards had been disqualified following a post-competition recipe check. "Sadly on this occasion we've had to disqualify the Gold Medal winner and award it instead to the Silver Medal winner, Stuart Hubbard," the organisation stated. The awards were presented on stage as part of the Indie Beer Awards 2026 on March 20, and SIBA's recipe vetting process began after the ceremony concluded.

That process exists to cross-reference winners' declared recipes against competition rules, confirming that ingredients, techniques, and category classification all conform to what was entered. The original Gold recipient's recipe failed that check, triggering SIBA's established protocol: the next qualifying entrant moves to the top position.

The stakes go beyond a medal swap. The Gold winner was slated to brew their recipe commercially at Copper Beech Brew Co in Worcester during summer 2026, with SIBA covering hotel and travel for a full brew day at the facility. That prize is now Hubbard's.

For anyone entering next year, the episode makes a precise argument for treating documentation as seriously as the recipe itself. SIBA required entrants to record and supply a complete copy of their recipe, and every ingredient, technique, and category declaration on that form needs to survive review after the judges have left the hall. The disqualification happened not at judging but afterward, which is the element most entrants don't anticipate until they're in it.

Reduce your exposure before submission: confirm every adjunct, yeast strain, and specialty ingredient is permitted under the specific category rules. If the recipe changed between registration and brew day, update the paperwork to match. SIBA limits entries to one per member per year, so there is no second submission to fall back on if a discrepancy surfaces during vetting. Category eligibility language in the rules deserves a full read, not a skim.

SIBA closed its statement by saying it looks forward to seeing and tasting next year's entries. For Hubbard, the 2026 record now carries his name at the top, and a commercial brew day in Worcester as proof.