The 2019 Australian International Beer Awards (AIBAs) were bittersweet for the 800 attendees at Melbourne’s Docklands last night.
While they celebrated the winners, they mourned the announcement during the evening that legendary Prime Minister Bob Hawke had passed away at age 89.
Good Beer Week (pictured below) tweeted: “In the words of the ultimate beer drinker Bob Hawke: ‘any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up tomorrow is a bum’. We’re all raising a beer for you at #AIBAbeer tonight.”
Hawke’s fondness for a schooner was as famed as his revolutionary political acumen. He even held a world record for drinking a yard glass at university.
He was immortalised by the Guinness Book of Records in 1954 for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds as part of a traditional college penalty during his years as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University.
“This feat was to endear me to some of my fellow Australians more than anything else I ever achieved,” wrote Hawke in his autobiography.
In recent years Hawke even put his name to a beer company, Hawke’s Brewing Co, which claimed the trophy for Best Australian Style Lager at the 2018 AIBAs.
Drinks Trade’s Melissa Parker attended the awards and toasted Bob with a can of his signature lager when the sad news was announced.
Celebrating the 2019 winners
CUB’s 4 Pines Brewing Co took out the Champion Australian Beer award at the AIBAs, hosted by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV).
The NSW-based brewery’s Keller Door Schwarzbier was named top Australian beer, while Champion International Beer was awarded to US-based Firestone Walker Brewing Co for its Feral One mixed culture beer.
There were almost 2600 entries this year from more than 400 breweries across 26 countries.
2019 trophy winners
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 – 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, Roeselare, 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
