3,330 Entries Compete for Awards in the "Olympics" of Beer
According to a statement by the Brewers’ Association, 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.
"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 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.
The average number of beers entered per category was 37. The category with the most entries was “Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer”, with 113 entries. The second most-entered category was “Herb and Spice Beer or Chocolate Beer”, with 108 entries. The German-Style Sour Ale category had the fewest number of entries at 9.
In effect, the 2010 World Beer Cup saw the growth of sour category beers to 85 entries in four categories (46 entries in 2008). Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour nearly tripled in size (39 entries in 2010 vs. 14 entries in 2008); American-Style Sour Ale more than tripled (14 vs. 4).
Certain categories essentially doubled in size: Coffee Flavoured Beer (47 vs. 24) and Baltic Porter (28 vs. 15). The American IPA (106 vs. 77) and Imperial IPA (71 vs. 39) categories continued to grow. American IPA was the third most-entered category, relinquishing its spot as most-entered category over the past several World Beer Cup competitions.
Two breweries tied for taking home the most gold awards: the Baird Brewing Co. from Numazu, Japan, and the Ballast Point Brewing Co. from San Diego, CA.
