Bob Hawke’s beer company, Hawke’s Brewing Co, has claimed the trophy for Best Australian Style Lager at the AIBAs (Australian International Beer Awards).
Hawke’s Lager beat out 65 rivals from around the country to take out the award.
The AIBAs is the largest annual beer competition in the world, assessing both draught and packaged beer and attracting more than 1,700 entries from more than 320 breweries in 36 countries. The competition boasts a highly regarded judging panel of industry experts from Australia and around the world.
Former Prime Minister Hawke, who has spent the past two weeks recovering from a fall, was “thrilled with the news”.
He said: “Congratulations to our great brewers of Hawke’s Lager—a magnificent achievement in beating the rest of Australia. Drink up, knowing that as well as enjoying our award-winning lager you are also doing your bit to support Landcare Australia.”
Justin Fox, head brewer at Hawke’s Brewing Co added: “To brew beer for an Australian legend like Bob Hawke is a dream come true for any brewer but to also receive this level of recognition from your peers is a huge honour. A huge thankyou to all those who have helped us along this journey to get the brews dialed in and drinking at their best.”
Hawke’s Brewing Co also noted on social media: “There’s one person we love just as much as Bob right now and that’s our brewer, Justin Fox, who not only delivered us a cracking recipe to start this journey but also a championship winning beer at the AIBAs, with Hawke’s Lager taking out ‘Best Australian Style Lager’.
“Big ups also to the brewing team at Hope Estate who helped Justin bring this beer to life, as well as helped secure us a gold medal for Hawke’s new pale ale!
“And finally a massive thanks to all of you legends who have drunk our beer and supported us along the way so far. We’ll keep bringing you frothers the best beer we can, you just keep drinking it!
Hawke’s Lager is available in select venues in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, as well as Vintage Cellars, First Choice and various independant outlets around Australia.
