10 February 2016 - Best Beer HQ
Entries open for 2016 Australian International Beer Awards
Organisers are calling on local and international brewers to get their entries in ahead of this year’s Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA).
Attracting more than 1700 entries from close to 350 local and international brewers at last year’s event, the AIBA has grown to be the world’s largest annual beer competition that features both packaged and draught beer since its origin just three years ago.
This year there will be 30 awards up for grabs, thanks to the addition of a new award for the best pale ale made from New World hops, which was added in response to increased entries of the style over the last few years.
Judges will be giving out more than 20 major trophies across various styles of beer, as well as awarding champion trophies for the best Aussie beer, the best international beer, as well as the best domestic and international breweries – both large and small.
Organised by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) and sponsored by independent craft beer website The Crafty Pint, AIBA will also boast a large line-up of 65 Australian and international experts as judges. Assessment will take place over three days at the Melbourne Showgrounds in the lead up to Good Beer Week in May 2016.
On the subject of the new trophy for New World pale ales, RASV chief executive Mark O’Sullivan commented: “[The] RASV, along with our advisory group, continually assesses and evolves the categories within the AIBA to reflect industry trends, production techniques and consumer interest.
“We had been receiving an increased number of entries of this style, and this trophy acknowledges the superior quality New World Pale Ale that brewers are looking for the opportunity to benchmark.”
The AIBA will be open for entries until Thursday 24 March 2016. Judging will take place from 12-14 May, and the official presentation dinner is on Thursday 19 May.