The largest annual beer competition in the world, Melbourne Royal Australian International Beer Awards, has announced its winners, with judges selecting from more than 2500 beers from 23 countries.
The largest annual beer competition in the world, judging both draught and packaged beer, is in its 31st year in 2024, and attracted over 2500 beer entries from a record-breaking 400 plus breweries.
The Victoria Pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds hosted a four-day judging event with a total of 84 experts, 30 per cent of which were represented by female judges, with 15 international judges from nine different countries.
These beer experts judged over 41,000 litres of supplied beer from entrants, coming from 23 countries.
Melbourne Royal executive general manager – Agriculture, Darren Keating, said that this year’s Melbourne Royal Australian International Beer Awards was an incredible success with a record number of brewers showcasing their passion, and precision for crafting some of the world’s best beer.
“We are immensely grateful for the extraordinary support from the beer industry and thank all brewers, judges, stewards, sponsors and event staff for ensuring this world-class event remains at the highest level."
There were 11 major trophies up for grabs, with New South Wales based Stone & Wood Brewing Co. taking home the prestigious title of Champion Australian Beer for its Hinterland Big Pale Ale.
The second instalment of Stone & Wood’s All-Australian Hops Series, the limited-edition Australian Pale Ale showcases local ingredients, featuring a blend of Aussie Eclipse and Vic Secret hops. The beer also won the Best Australian Pale Ale category.
Stone & Wood head brewer, Caolan Vaughan, said that winning Champion Australian Beer was an incredible honour for the team.
“Big Pale Ale embodies the fantastic produce our Australian farmers grow every year, and we’re so proud to showcase the hops grown by our lifelong partners in Hops Products Australia (HPA), who provided us with the hops that make this beer so special.
“It’s an even more exceptional honour as the beers we were up against are from world class breweries, and Aussie drinkers are so fortunate to have so many great craft breweries on their doorstep. There’s never been a better time to go and support Australian craft beer.”
Champion International Beer and Best Belgian or French-Style Ale went to New Zealand brewery, Garage Project’s Chance, Luck & Magic 2021.
Melbourne-based Brick Lane Brewing, also picked up four awards, including Champion Victorian Brewery and Champion Large Australian Brewery.
Other major award winners were:
- Australian Gypsy Brewer Award – Dollar Bill Brewing (Victoria)
- Champion Small Australian Brewery – King Road Brewing Co (Western Australia)
- Champion Small International Brewery – Three Sisters Brewery (New Zealand)
- Champion Medium Australian Brewery – Kaiju! Beer (Victoria)
- Champion Medium International Brewery – Behemoth Brewing Company (New Zealand)
- Champion Large International Brewery – Garage Project (New Zealand)
“Winning a trophy or medal at the coveted Melbourne Royal Australian International Beer Awards opens many commercial doors and inspires consumer trends, and I extend my congratulations to all winners of medals and trophies,” said Keating.
