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More than a dozen beer competitions are held annually in the world, gathering thousands of participants. Experts evaluate beer by style, and the criteria vary depending on the category, and their number sometimes exceeds a hundred. As a rule, the lists of winners include brands that are almost impossible to see on the shelves of Russian stores.
American producers dominate among the contestants – in the USA, the brewing industry is well developed, so it is not surprising that representatives of this country receive most of the awards. Traditionally, Belgian breweries, which are famous for products with outstanding tastes, are among the leaders.
World Beer Cup
The event is held every two years and is considered a kind of Olympiad in the beer industry. Each forum brings together several thousand participants, and any victory is considered an incredible success, as it attracts the attention of the whole world to even the smallest enterprise. In 2018, experts evaluated 8234 product samples from 2,5 thousand breweries.
The American-style IPA category gathered the most contestants. The undisputed winner in this nomination was the Indian pale ale Revision. The eponymous distillery has been operating since 2017 in the city of Sparks, Nevada and brews craft beer from carefully selected varieties of hops with the addition of milk sugar, as well as citrus and tropical fruits.
The best barrel-aged strong stout was the American Wild Acre Thunder Hug. Beer with a strength of 12% matures for at least a year in bourbon barrels. Each bottling at the brewery is accompanied by a festive event, which takes place with the invitation of everyone to taste the drink.
Even in the category of German pilsners, the products of the American company Rockyard from the state of Colorado, the Primadonna Pilsner brand, won. The manufacturer brews classic beer from malt and hops, which he brings from Germany. The drink has a clean and fresh taste with a very dry finish. It is noteworthy that the German brewers did not receive any awards in this category at all, the English brand Pils Lager won the bronze medal for the third place.
Ten Russian companies took part in the competition, but the manufacturers had to go home without awards. The loudest victory of domestic brewers in this competition took place in 2008 – then the gold medal was received by the porter “Baltika No. 6”. Dark beer with the taste of ripe fruits, herbs and spices has repeatedly been in the lead in international competitions and even entered the guidebook of the famous writer and expert Michael Jackson.
World Beer Awards
Every year the best beers of various styles are chosen at the World Beer Awards. The beer competition is held in London, and producers from all over the world take part in the event. Drinks are judged blindly by a tasting committee, and the undisputed winner is selected in all categories. Some varieties are grouped according to the country of production.
In 2019, the French brand Mira from the city of La Teste-de-Buch was recognized as the best dark beer. Rich brown ale is distinguished by a balanced taste with lemon bitterness and hints of coffee toffee and cocoa. In 2018, the Italian brand Colessi, a craft beer made from organic barley, won this category.
Among the lagers, experts put the Czech brand Zubr Gold in first place – a light golden drink with a mild taste and moderate carbonation. A year earlier, the leader in this nomination was the German brand Schwarzbrau, brewed from Hallertau hops and natural water.
Russian producers distinguished themselves in the category of stouts and porters. Although the winner was a Cassels milk stout from New Zealand, the domestic brand Port Arthur took pride of place among the top seven brands in its category. Porter produced by Volkovskaya Brewery with the taste of coffee, vanilla and licorice was highly appreciated by experts and received a gold medal.
Rating of foreign brands of beer
American beer drinkers prefer craft beer, which is brewed by many small factories around the country. In the ranking compiled by the RateBeer resource, most of the top is occupied by varieties produced in the United States. European buyers are more conservative and are happy to buy products from factories in Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Guinness
One of the most famous beer brands and an integral part of Irish culture. A thick drink is made with the addition of roasted barley, which gives it a rich dark color. On the palate there are caramel, licorice, coffee notes. Strong varieties contain up to 7,5% alcohol. Experts recommend trying Guinness directly in Ireland, only then you can fully appreciate its aroma and bouquet.
Rugenbrau
Beer has been produced in Switzerland for the past 150 years. The company’s flagship product is a 4,8% abv pale lager. The drink features a balanced classic taste with pronounced hints of malt and hops and a bittersweet finish.
Augustiiner
Munich helles, which is popular at Oktoberfest. A double-fermented, floral-flavoured lager brewed by one of Munich’s oldest independent breweries. A medium strength drink of 5,2% leaves a sweet aftertaste.
Pilsner Urquell
Czech bottom-fermented beer from the city of Pilsen. From other drinks in this style, it is distinguished by rich fruity notes on the palate. The hops of the Zaaz variety, which are grown only in Bohemia, give a special bouquet to the pilsner. For a long time, the brand was produced at a brewery in Kaluga, but in 2018 the brand owner revoked the license.
Heineken
The high quality of the lager has made the Dutch company one of the most successful beer brands. Golden drink with a strength of 5% with the aroma of hops and the taste of malt breaks records in world sales. Given that many countries produce Heineken under license, the company sells about 2,74 billion liters of beer annually.
Beer rating in Russia
In 2018, independent experts from Roskachestvo checked the composition of the forty most popular beer brands. The selection was carried out on the basis of consumer demand and the opinion of the leading producers of foamy drink in Russia. The study was carried out in stages, taking into account about 30 indicators of product quality and safety.
As a result, the top five included:
- Amstel – pilsner produced in Heineken breweries, the drink is characterized by the taste of hops with barely noticeable apple notes;
- “Khalzan” – brewed by the production company “Ochakovo” from barley grown in Russia and imported hops;
- Heineken is the flagship brand of the famous company;
- Stella Artois, the most famous Belgian beer in the world, is brewed by the Russian division of the manufacturing company JSC SUN InBev;
- “Three Bears” is a brand of domestic beer made from pale and roasted malt, produced at all divisions of the Heineken brewery.