4 Pines Brewing awarded Champion Beer at Australian International Beer Awards

The Keller Door Schwarzbier Draught from 4 Pines Brewing Company, New South Wales, has been named Champion Australian Beer, at the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) presentation last night in Melbourne.

Joining 4 Pines Brewery at the top spot was US producer Firestone Walker Brewing Co. which was awarded Champion International Beer for their Feral One brew.

Hosted by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV), the AIBA presentation evening saw industry leaders and experts worldwide come together to celebrate the best local and international beer, with eight champion trophies awarded in addition to Champion Australian Beer and Champion International Beer.

Queensland was well represented on the night, taking out two of the top four Australian spots; Champion Large Australian Brewery, awarded to Balter Brewing, and Champion Medium Australian Brewery, awarded to Green Beacon Brewing Co, while Victoria’s Blackman’s Brewing took out Champion Small Australian Brewery.  

On the international scale, New Zealand took home three of the four Champion International Trophies with Champion Large International Brewery going to DB Breweries, Champion Medium International Brewery awarded to Deep Creek Brewing Company and McLeods Brewery taking home Champion Small International Brewery.

This year, due to the evolving beverage landscape, two new trophies were introduced, Best Fruit Beer and Best Wood or Barrel-Aged Beer awarded to Rodenbach Caractere Rouge, a Belgium Fruit Beer and Captain of the Coast, a United States Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer respectively.

Reflecting on another successful night for the industry, Paul Guerra, CEO, RASV said 2019 delivered a remarkable calibre of entries.

“The AIBA is the largest annual beer competition in the world, offering exhibitors the opportunity to benchmark their beer against industry standards to stand among some of the most talented brewers in the world.”

“With almost 2,600 entries from more than 400 breweries across 26 countries, 2019 marks the biggest year in the awards’ history and we look forward to seeing this growth continue,” Mr Guerra concluded. 

To celebrate their past success, 2018 Champion Breweries Black Hops Brewing, Green Beacon Brewing Co, Mountain Goat Beer and Philter Brewing unveiled their collaboration brew Achachacha Gose last night at the awards presentation. Using the traditional Bolivian fruit Achacha, cultivated in Queensland, the Gose-style beer has a tangy-citrus taste soured with the help of Weyermann Sauermalz, and complemented by the passionfruit aroma of HPA’s Galaxy hops.

All results including medal winners are now available at winningtastes.com.au.

Imagery of the winners and video content of the Beer Awards Presentation night can be found on RASV's Facebook and Instagram. All imagery can be credited to Craig Moodie Photography and video content to The Post Project. 

#AIBAbeer

 

2019 AIBA Champion Trophies:

• Champion Australian Beer presented by Cryer Malt
  Keller Door: Schwarzbier, 4 Pines Brewing Company, New South Wales

• Champion International Beer
  Feral One, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., United States

• Champion Large Australian Brewery presented by Barrett Burston Malting
  Balter Brewing, Queensland

• Champion Large International Brewery presented by Barth-Haas Group
  DB Breweries Ltd, New Zealand

• Champion Medium Australian Brewery presented by Cryer Malt
  Green Beacon Brewing Co., Queensland

• Champion Medium International Brewery
  Deep Creek Brewing Company, New Zealand

• Champion Small Australian Brewery
  Blackman’s Brewery, Victoria

• Champion Small International Brewery
  McLeods Brewery, New Zealand

• Gary Sheppard Memorial Trophy For The Best New Exhibitor
  Breakside Brewery, Oregon, United States

• Best Australian-Style Lager Presented By O-I Glass
  Steinlager Pure, Lion NZ, New Zealand

• Best European-Style Lager (Excluding Pilsner)
  Buckskin Munich Helles, King Car Group, Taiwan

• Best International Lager
  Undercurrent, Draught Deep Creek Brewing Company, New Zealand

• Best Pilsner Presented by Brews News
  The Prospector Pilsner, Draught Hemingway's Brewery, Queensland, Australia

• Best Amber / Dark Lager Presented By Joe White Maltings
  Keller Door – Schwarzbier, Draught 4 Pines Brewing Company, New South Wales, Australia

• Best Australian Style Pale Ale Presented By Kegstar
  North of Nowhere Pale Ale, Packaged, DB Breweries Ltd, New Zealand

• Best New World-Style Pale Ale Presented By Hop Products Australia
  Pale Ale, Draught, Cheeky Monkey Brewery and Cidery, Western Australia, Australia

• Best International-Style Pale Ale Presented By The Post Project
  Balter Strong Pale Ale, Draught, Balter Brewing, Queensland, Australia

• Best British-Style Ale (Excluding IPA & Pale Ale)
  Summer Ale, Draught, Mountain Goat Beer, Victoria, Australia

• Best European-Style Ale
  Infinite Guide Gose, Packaged, Bravo Brewing Co., Guangdong, China

• Best IPA Presented By HopCo
  Hawkers West Coast IPA, Packaged, Hawkers Brewery, Victoria, Australia

• Best Amber / Dark Ale
  Traders, Packaged, McLeods Brewery, New Zealand

• Best Porter Presented By Weyermann
  Black Shield Draught, Draught, Myanmar Brewery LTD, Yangon, Myanmar

• Best Stout Presented By GABS
  Exit Milk Stout, Packaged, Exit Brewing, Victoria, Australia

• Best Reduced / Low Alcohol Beer
  Mid Range, Packaged, Black Hops Brewery, Queensland, Australia

• Best Wheat Beer
  TAP6 Mein Aventinus, Packaged, Schneider Weisse GmbH, Bavaria, Germany

• Best Belgian / French Ale
  Feral One, Packaged, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., United States

• Best Scotch Ale / Barley Wine
  Alba, Packaged, Cervejaria Bohemia, Brazil

• Best Fruit Beer
  Rodenbach Caractere Rouge, Packaged, Brouwerij Rodenbach, Roesalare, Belgium

• Best Wood- And Barrel-Aged Beer
  Captain of the Coast, Packaged, Pelican Brewing Company, Oregon, United States

• Best Specialty Beer
  Maui Express, Packaged, Denver Beer Co, CO, United States

• Best Design - Label / Surface Graphic
  Sabro: Single Hop Hazy IPA, Hope Brewery, New South Wales, Australia

• Best Design - Outer Packaging
  India Pale Ale, Mismatch Brewing Co., South Australia, Australia
• Best Media Presented By The Crafty Pint
  New South Ales, New South Wales, Australia