A YORKSHIRE Coast brewery has been highly commended at national industry awards event.

Hunmanby-based Wold Top Brewery received a highly-commended award for its farm diversification enterprise in the Rural Enterprise Award at the 2014 Farm Business Food and Farming Industry Awards.

The awards were presented during a ceremony at the Members Dining Room of the House of Commons in the historic Palace of Westminster and were presented by former Member of Parliament and entertainer, Gyles Brandreth.

The judges said the brewery has shown it can further develop past its initial concept with good brand awareness, evidence of strong financial growth in a tricky sector and a well-thought out strategy.

The brewery is one of three businesses owned by the Mellor family who also established Agricola Bottling Ltd and more recently, Muddy Souls Events at its Hunmanby Grange site.

Gill Mellor, brewery director, said she was pleased with the award.

“To be acknowledged by the Food and Farming Industry Awards means a lot to the team who work across all three businesses,” she said.

“We’re very lucky to have a committed and flexible work force and we’re very proud of them.”

The award follows a series of honours won for Wold Top Brewery that included four wins in two days – overall Business of the Year and the Best Small Business Award at the York Press Business Awards; the Best Small Business Award at the Hull Daily Mail Business Awards and the Best Green Business Award at the inaugural Scarborough News Business Awards.

The firm also gained national acclaim at the British Farming Awards in Droitwich where it was awarded Diversification Innovator of the Year earlier in the year.

Wold Top Brewery was founded in 2003 out of a need to diversify from farming and the distinctive character of the beer comes from the home-grown barley and the farm’s own source of chalk-filtered water.

Wold Top Brewery’s cask and bottled ales can be found in pubs, independent retailers, farm shops, delis, hotels, and off-licences throughout Yorkshire, Lincolnshire.