Gold rush for Kiwi breweries at Australian Beer Awards

20 May 2016

Gold rush for Kiwi breweries at Australian International Beer Awards

It was Kiwi gold rush for at the 2016 Australian International Beer Awards in Melbourne last night, with 13 New Zealand breweries winning gold medals.

AIBA is the world’s largest annual beer competition for packaged and draft beer, with a record 1793 beers from 326 breweries across 36 countries entered in this year’s event.

Wellington’s ParrotDog and Auckland’s Bach Brewing each won two gold medals each, with the remainder of New Zealand’s haul of 15 gold medals shared by breweries the length and breadth of the country.

New Zealand gold medal winners

• DB Breweries: Monteith’s Black, Best Amber/Dark Lager

• Craftwork Brewery (Oamaru): Saison Zest, Best Belgian/French Style Ale

• Bach Brewing (Auckland): Tailfin American IPA, Best International Pale Ale; Kingtide Pacific IPA, Australian Style Lager

• Behemoth Brewing Company (Auckland): Murica APA, Best International Pale

• ParrotDog Brewing (Wellington): DeadCanary, Best International Pale Ale; HighTime, Best IPA

• The Emerson Brewing Co (Dunedin): Emerson’s 1812 Pale Ale, Best International Pale Ale

• Epic Brewing Company (Auckland): Epic Armageddon IPA, Best IPA category

• Hot Water Brewing Co (Waikato): Kauri Falls Pale Ale, Best New World Style Pale Ale

• Kereru Brewing Company Limited (Wellington): Kereru Big Pigeon Pilsner, Best Pilsner

• Sunshine Brewery (Gisborne): Czar Bomb, Best Stout

• Moa Brewing Company (Marlborough): Moa Smoked Helles, Best Specialty Beer

• Harrington’s Brewery (Christchurch): Galactic Sauvin Strong Pilsner, Best Specialty Beer

• Concept Brewing (Christchurch): Gratzer, Best Reduced or Low Alcohol

Brewers Guild of New Zealand president Emma McCashin said the AIBA medal haul represented a strong showing by New Zealand breweries in the face of huge competition from international breweries, especially those from Australia and the United States.

“But the really interesting thing is see the geographical spread of our winning breweries. We’ve got breweries from Auckland to Gisborne to Dunedin, and everywhere in between, winning gold medals at a premier international beer event.

“That shows how much brewing in New Zealand has grown and developed into what is a truly national and international industry.”

The performance of New Zealand breweries at the awards was testament to the quality, calibre and international standing of the New Zealand brewing industry across the range of sizes and styles.

“Brewing is massive worldwide and the competition is intense,” said Mrs McCashin. “To see New Zealand breweries succeeding on the world stage is great, not only for the breweries themselves but for everyone who loves drinking great beer produced by Kiwis who love making it.”

For more information on the Australian International Beer Awards, and the full list of trophy and medal winners, go to: www.rasv.com.au/beer

ENDS

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