Hop Federations' Simon Nicholas with his champion larger, the only one to be awarded a gold medal.

A 'refreshingly simple' lager from a little craft brewery in Riwaka has taken on the major players in the beer industry and come out on top at the 2018 New World Beer & Cider Awards.

The Hop Federation's lager was named Overall Champion Lager and was the only lager to be awarded a Gold Medal.

The awards are a huge achievement for Hop Federation owners Nicki and Simon Nicholas, with the win guaranteeing Hop Federation shelf space at every New World store across the country.

"This win lifts our brand and our profile tremendously" she said. "It's a great opportunity for us and we'll take advantage of that.

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We have great support locally and it will be awesome to increase that around the country."

Braden Fastier/Stuff Hop Federation beat some tough competition, including Heineken and Steinlager.

Up to 600 beers and ciders were entered into the awards by over 90 breweries from around New Zealand and the world. There were more than 50 entries and the lager category included beers from Steinlager which were all judged by a panel of 16 world renowned experts.

Nicholas is extremely proud of her husband and head brewer Simon, who had entered their lager into previous brewing awards.

"He has really listened to the feedback from judges," she said.

"He's asked questions, studied their tasting notes and tweaked things until he came up with the perfect brew, creating a