With a record number of entries for the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) being one of the judges must have been a festive day at the office.
The AIBA this year received 1,560 samples of liquid amber and dark creamy stouts from 294 brewers in 31 countries.
This annual competition under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society and the Federation University Australia the AIBA is the largest competition for the beer industry in the Asia Pacific region.
The winners of the competition were announced at a gala dinner on Thursday in Melbourne, Australia. The panel of expert judges included Australians, Norwegians, Belgians, Americans, Brits, Japanese and New Zealanders. The week long judging process took place at the Melbourne show grounds.
Does this mean that each judge had to cram almost 223 tastings into a single day, everyday? Forget working for Facebook and Google being an AIBA judge must be the nicest job in the world!
AIBA Head Judge, and Little Creatures Head Brewer, Warren Pawsey said, “It was a great privilege to lead such a talented panel of judges who brought a diverse mix of backgrounds and wealth of experience to the competition.
“All the beers that were entered were treated with respect, individually assessed, evaluated blind and without bias, and we hope that our comments and feedback provide great value and benefit to entrants.”
At the prize giving Royal Agricultural Society CEO, Mark O’Sullivan said, “The Australian International Beer Awards could not be a success without the support it receives from the brewing industry and we would like to thank all the brewers who participated.
“The program gives brewers an opportunity to benchmark their beers against international industry standards, seek advice from an independent panel of experts and promote and market award winning products using the Australian International Beer Awards seal of approval.
“Each year has seen standards continually improve and brewers continue to exceed our expectations and shape the brewing industry.”
Australian beers took top honours with 11 of the 25 awards going to local brewers.
Some of the beer trophy winners included:
The Barrett Burston Trophy for Champion Australian Beer awarded to MASH AIPA by MASH Brewing, WA.
The Bargo Events Trophy for Champion International Beer awarded to Obsidian Stout by Deschutes Brewery, Oregon – USA.
The Graincorp Trophy for champion large Australian Brewery awarded to Carlton& United Breweries, VIC.
The Barret Burston Trophy for Champion Large International Brewery awarded to Oriental Brewery Company, Gyeonggido – South Korea.
The Kegstar Trophy for Champion Medium Australian Brewery awarded to Thunder Road Brewery, VIC.
The Cryermalt Trophy for Champion Medium International Brewery awarded to Heller-Brau Trum KG, Bavaria – Germany.
The FB*Propak Trophy for Champion Small Australian Brewery awarded to 3 Ravens, Vic.
The City of Ballarat Trophy for Champion Small International Brewery awarded to renaissance Brewing Ltd, Marlborough – New Zealand.
The Gary Sheppard Memorial Trophy for The Best New Exhibitor awarded to Black Tooth Brewing Company, Wyoming – USA