20 May 2011
Australia’s beer night of nights saw US brewery Moylan’s Brewing Co. take out the Champion Exhibitor Trophy and Champion Small Brewery.
Californian brewery, Moylan’s Brewing Co, was awarded the prestigious Champion Exhibitor Trophy and the Trophy for Champion Small Brewery, at the 19th annual Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA)on Fridayat an awards presentation dinner at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Australia.
Conducted annually by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) in conjunction with the University of Ballarat, the pre-eminent showcase for premium beer and brewing excellence in the Asia Pacific region awarded 15 of the 17 Champion Trophies on offer, with seven presented to international breweries and eight to Australians.
The beer loving United States proved its brewing excellence, taking out five of the trophies with New Zealand and Belgian breweries achieving one each. On home soil, West Australian breweries stole the show achieving four trophies, and two trophies were awarded to Victoria and New South Wales.
It was a big year for consecutive wins with Feral Brewing company of Western Australia again achieving the Champion Ale Trophy and Victoria‟s 2 Brothers Brewery holding onto The Premier‟s Trophy for the Best Victorian Beer. 2 Brothers Brewery were also awarded the trophy for Champion Scotch Ale & Barley Wines.
The newly introduced Champion Low Alcohol Beer Trophy and the Gluten Free Beer Trophy – which was introduced in 2010 – were not awarded this year, whilst the quality of the beers submitted were high the judging panel were not able to award a champion trophy for these two classes this year to remain true to the competitions high benchmarking standards.
AIBA Committee Chairman and Chief Judge, Mr Peter Manders, said the Awards, which celebrate world class brewing and beer craftsmanship on an international stage, has become the brewing industry event of the year.
“The 1195 entries received from 34 countries around the world this year were all of an exceptionally high standard. With an increase in entries from the US and South-East Asian and Scandinavian regions, the AIBA grows in reach each year,” Mr Manders said.
“The AIBA‟s global reputation has been reinforced by the addition of some of the world‟s most highly esteemed industry personnel, and this year 13 international judges joined the panel of 44, the largest contingent of internationals in the history of the event.”
Judges included Mr Isara Khaola-iead of Bangkok, Dr Fritz Briem of Germany, Paul Gatza of Canada, Jaime Jurado of the United States and the United Kingdom‟s Dr Bill Simpson, Simon Jackson and Ryouji Oda, from Japan, as well as numerous representatives from New Zealand.
In Melbourne, the Beer Awards celebrations have been extended to a full week of beer events celebrating „good beer‟ during Good Beer Week. Good Beer Week has come together as the result of a dedicated group of industry professionals and the Victorian brewing community supporting this new initiative.
“The AIBA extends our thanks to this group. We are thrilled to be a part of this exciting new initiative and will continue to support their endeavours,” said Mr Manders.
The winners, announced at the 2011 Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) presentation dinner, were as follows:
Gary Sheppard Memorial Trophy for Best New Exhibitor – Hopworks Urban Brewery, Oregon, USA
Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Trophy for Champion Exhibitor for the Highest Scoring Exhibitor – Moylan‟s Brewing Co., California, USA
Labelmakers Trophy for Champion Large Brewery – The Brooklyn Brewery, New York, USA
Cleanevent Trophy for Champion Small Brewery – Moylan‟s Brewing Co, California, USA
The Premier’s Trophy for the Best Victorian Beer – Guvnor, 2 Brothers Brewery, Victoria, Australia
Hop Products Australia Trophy for Champion Lager – Cowaramup Pilsner, Cowaramup Brewing Company, Western Australia, Australia
Cryer Malt Trophy for Champion Ale – Hop Hog, Feral Brewing Company, Western Australia, Australia
Beer & Brewer Magazine Trophy for Champion Porter – Walkers Reserve, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, California, USA
Cleanevent Trophy for Champion Stout – Craftsman Oatmeal, Renaissance Brewing, Marlborough, New Zealand
TAC Trophy for Champion Reduced Alcohol Beer – The Monk Mild, The Monk Brewery & Kitchen, Western Australia, Australia
University of Ballarat Trophy for Champion Wheat Beer – Sou West Wheat, Bootleg Brewery, Western Australia, Australia
Weyermann Specialty Malting Company Trophy for Champion Belgian & French Ales – Oude Kriek Oud Beersel, Oud Beersel, Brussels, Belgium
University of Ballarat Trophy for Champion Scotch Ale & Barley Wines – Guvnor, 2 Brothers Brewery, Victoria, Australia
National Liquor News Trophy for Champion Hybrid Beer – Vanilla Milk Stout, Thirsty Crow, New South Wales, Australia
Spiegelau Trophy for Champion Packaging Award – Gage Pils 3.5, Gage Roads Brewing Co Ltd
Champion Gluten Free Beer – No trophy awarded
TAC Trophy for Champion Low Alcohol Beer – No trophy awarded