Brewing Technology Services, UK

The world’ s longest-established brewing competition is gearing up with a change of name – to The International Brewing Awards - and a growing list of sponsors, judges and brewers around the globe registering their interest.

The Brewing Industry International Awards have been renamed The International Brewing Awards – a simpler description which better communicates the competition’s global appeal. The 2013 competition, to be held at the National Brewery Centre in Burton-upon-Trent from 13th – 15th February, is expected to attract more than the 800 entries it achieved last year.

Bill Taylor, chief brewer at Lion, is continuing as chair of judges and has retained two members of the 2011 judging committee: Geoff Larson of Alaskan Brewing Company and Dr. Frithjof Thiele of German brewers Radeberger. They are joined by a new chief steward in Peter Tulloch, an experienced brewing and beer quality consultant, currently a Cask Marque assessor and formerly of Carlsberg-Tetley. Dr George Philliskirk, who fulfilled the chief steward’s role last year, stays on hand to share learnings.

The judging committee is in the process of reviewing last year’s competition. The overall structure of nine categories, each divided into classes, remains as for 2011.

The panel of judges will comprise around 30 brewers, drawn from most continents and from a broad spectrum of the brewing world: craft and regional brewers will be represented as well as national and global companies. Uniquely for an international beer competition, The International Brewing Awards requires all its judges to be currently working brewers.

A number of sponsors for the 2013 Awards have been confirmed: BFBi, Institute of Brewing & Distilling; AB Vickers; New Zealand Hops; Simply Hops; Anton Paar; Micromatic; British Guild of Beer Writers; Drink Technology & Marketing; All Party Parliamentary Beer Group; Publican’ s Morning Advertiser; Briggs; M F Refrigeration; National Brewery Centre and Rankin & Sons. The Japan Craft Beer Asscociation is once again a partner to the event and will encourage its members to enter.

Entries to the Awards open on 1st August this year and many brewers have already contacted the award organisers, Brewing Technology Services, to receive an entry form on that date. For more information, visit the competition website www.brewingawards.org