3,330 Entries Compete for Awards in the “Olympics” of Beer
Brewers from six continents earned awards from an elite international panel of judges this week in the 2010 Brewers Association World Beer Cup—the world’s largest-ever commercial beer competition. The eighth bi-annual competition announced awards to brewers from 19 countries ranging from Australia and Italy to Iceland and Japan.
This year, 642 breweries from 44 countries and 47 U.S. states vied for awards with 3,330 beers entered in 90 beer style categories. The entries in each category were eligible for gold, silver and bronze awards. Judges presented a total of 268 awards.
The 2010 World Beer Cup eclipsed the record of the Brewers Association’s own Great American Beer Festival (GABF) to become the largest commercial competition ever. There were 3,308 entries judged in the 2009 GABF, compared to the 2010 World Beer Cup’s 3,330 entries judged.
A detailed analysis of the entries and awards can be found in the 2010 Brewers Association World Beer Cup Fact Sheet.
“Brewers from around the globe participate in the World Beer Cup to win recognition for their creativity and brewing ability,” said Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association, the U.S.-based trade association that has put on the competition every two years since 1996. “For a brewer, a World Beer Cup gold award allows them to say that their winning beer represents the best of that beer style in the world.”
Judges
Judges from 26 countries participated in this year’s competition, working in teams to conduct blind tasting evaluations of the beers and determine the awards. Drawn from the ranks of professional brewers and brewing industry experts, these 179 judges came mostly from international breweries, with some 62 percent from outside the United States.
Award Highlights and Trends from the competition:
- The average number of beers entered per category was 37.
- Certain categories essentially doubled in size: Coffee Flavored Beer (47 vs. 24); Baltic Porter (28 vs. 15).
- The American IPA (106 vs. 77) and Imperial IPA (71 vs. 39) categories continue to grow. American IPA was the third most-entered category.
- Two new categories came in with very strong showings in 2010: Out of Category/Traditionally Brewed Beer (48 entries) and American-Belgo-Style Ale (46).
- Two breweries tied for taking home the most gold awards:
- Baird Brewing Co. from Numazu, Japan
- Ballast Point Brewing Co. from San Diego, CA
Champion Brewery/Champion Brewmaster Awards
In addition, the competition bestows Champion Brewery and Champion Brewmaster awards in each of five brewery categories based on the awards won by each brewery. Four of the five are first-time Champion award winners.
The five Champion Brewery/Brewmaster award winners are:
- Large Brewing Company Category
- Asia Pacific Breweries Limited, Singapore, APB Brewing Team
- Mid-Size Brewing Company Category
- Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, Calif., Matthew Brynildson
- Small Brewing Company Category
- Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, Calif., Ballast Point Brewers
- Large Brewpub Category
- Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Wilmington, Del., Iron Hill Brewery Team
- Small Brewpub Category
- Devils Backbone Brewing Company, Roseland, Va., Jason Oliver
The 2010 World Beer Cup was sponsored by Partner Sponsors Barth-Haas Group, Krones, Sahm, and Siemens AG.
Click here for the full list of winners at the 2010 World Beer Cup
