Craft Beer Award July Tasting - Helles & Export

Trendy Helles and classic export beer in focus // Titles for the best beers go to Brauhaus Faust, Lillebräu and Schwarzbräu

 

A market share of 8.8 per cent in Germany, making it the strongest beer style after Pils, a steadily growing variety of products, even far beyond Munich's home - with (Münchner) Hell, the current shooting star of the beer scene was the focus of Meininger's International Craft Beer Award in July.

 

Christian Wolf
Christian Wolf

"From north to south, from east to west and even from abroad, as far as Taiwan, came the beers that entered the race for the awards this month," Christian Wolf, Director Degustation at the organising Meininger publishing house, gives an insight into the composition of the about 120 beers that were hoping for one of the coveted medals.

Christian Wolf
Director Degustation

In addition to Helles in traditional and modern styles, i.e. unfiltered and/or cold-hopped, the beer professionals on the jury also had to deal with export beers. Until the 1970s the most popular beer style in Germany, almost forgotten in the meantime, export has been flourishing again for a few years, driven also by smaller breweries.

18 x gold and 11 x silver were the results at the end of the day, which once again showed how colourful, lively and high-quality the beer scene is, regardless of whether it is a medium-sized traditional brewery or a craft brewer hungry for innovation.

The following beers received special awards as the highest rated representatives of their style:

Brauhaus Faust from Miltenberg in Lower Franconia can claim the title "Helles of the Year 2021". The "Faust Bayrisch Hell" (4.8% alcohol by volume) from the oldest brewery in the Rhine-Main region with over 360 years of tradition was convincing all along the line and received a gold medal from the jury.

Helles New Style of the year 2021
Helles New Style of the year 2021

The "Export Beer of the Year 2021" is brewed in Zusmarshausen in the district of Augsburg at Schwarzbräu. The "Schwarzbräu Urtyp", a strong, full-bodied beer with 5.5% alcohol by volume, perfectly met the sensory requirements of an export beer and was awarded a gold medal.

The three best beers of the tasting are presented by Carolin Hennemann-Sacherer from the editorial team of CRAFT - magazine for beer culture and Christian Wolf, Director Degustation of Meininger Verlag (German language):

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