The Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) was already the second largest awards of its kind in the world, and this year has become bigger still with a new record number of entries. Reflecting beer’s global renaissance and in particular the rise of the Australian craft beer scene, this year’s awards has seen 1,480 Beers submitted for judging – a rise of 12 per cent on 2012. They have been submitted by 270 brewers in 35 different countries, with the biggest rise in entries coming from across the Tasman. New Zealand brewers have sent over 145 beers – an increase of 55 per cent on last year.
AIBA Chief Judge Brad Rogers said: âThe AIBA is the largest and most prestigious showcase of beer and brewing excellence in the Asia Pacific region and it is great to have the support of brewers worldwide.
âWith record entries received and a number of new and exciting changes to be implemented, 2013 is set to be a huge year for the AIBA.â
Those changes include the introduction of a medium size brewery category and trophy, as well as new trophies for Australian Champion Beer of Show and International Champion Beer of Show.
The AIBA has lined up an impressive list of judges toO, with some of the world’s top brewers descending on the Melbourne Showgrounds from April 8, including those from Norway, Belgium, United States, United Kingdom, Japan and New Zealand. All being well, there should be opportunities for beer lovers to meet many of them face-to-face while they are in the city too – watch this space…
The awards are presented by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) in conjunction with the University of Ballarat. Trophies will be handed out at the Gala Dinner, which takes place on the evening of May 23 during the third Good Beer Week festival. The full program for the festival, which was originally conceived out of a desire to create a series of events for beer lovers around the 2011 Gala Dinner, goes live online from Wednesday morning.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from AIBA on Twitter. And for the latest Good Beer Week news, you can follow the festival on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
