CBA September Tasting

Kundmüller Brewery brews Kellerbier of the Year //
Hoppebräu awarded for "Märzen of the Year" //
Best Oktoberfest Style beer comes from Brauhaus Faust //
Other special awards go to Doppelleu Boxer and Kaiserdom Klosterbräu

Autumn is folk festival time - even if many of the big festivities have to be cancelled again due to the pandemic, the breweries focus on drinkable varieties such as Kellerbier, Oktoberfest-Style and Märzen at this time of year. In line with the seasonal concept, Meininger's International Craft Beer Award in September also focused on these beer styles. "With all the currently popular hop experiments - brewing perfectly harmonious, bottom-fermented beers with high drinkability continues to be the supreme discipline among brewers," says Benjamin Brouër, beer expert of Meininger Verlag.

A total of 123 beers were hoping for one of the coveted awards. At the end of the tasting day, the expert jury, composed of beer sommeliers, brewers and other experts from research and teaching, awarded 22 x gold and 9 x silver.

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

The Kellerbier of the Year comes from the Craft Brewers of the Year 2020, the Franconian brewery Kundmüller. Their Weiherer Bio-Zwickerla dunkel, an amber-coloured Kellerbier from 100 per cent organic cultivation with 5.4 % alcohol by volume, convinced the jury with its malty and drinkable character.

The traditional beer style Märzen, which used to be brewed at the end of March and then stored in wooden barrels in cool cellars until summer, was implemented by no one as convincingly as Markus Hoppe from Waakirchen in Upper Bavaria. His Hoppebräu Märzen was named Märzen of the Year by the jury. The beer with a volume of 5.6 % presents itself as a stylish amber-coloured, malty, fresh and drinkable beer.

The jury of experts also named Michelsmess Festbier from Brauhaus Faust in Miltenberg, Lower Franconia, Oktoberfest-Style of the Year. Once a year at the Michaelismesse Miltenberg, the largest folk festival on the Bavarian Lower Main, the successful brewery produces a limited edition of this golden-coloured, drinkable speciality with 6% alcohol by volume.

In addition to these seasonal styles, other beer specialities were also tasted and evaluated.

(Munich) Dark of the Year 2021:
Doppelleu Boxer Edition Brunette, Switzerland

The beer in the style of a bottom-fermented Munich Dark impressed the jury with its aroma of malt, roasted notes and subtle hints of caramel. At 5.2% by volume, the chocolate-brown beer comes up trumps with a round, soft body and a gentle finish.

Schwarzbier of the Year 2021:
Kaiserdom Klosterbräu Bamberger Schwärzla, Bamberg

This deep black speciality from Bamberg with 5.0% by volume is characterised by strong, yet harmoniously balanced roasted aromas full of hints of coffee, dark chocolate and caramel. A mild refraction supports the malty, aromatic and soft mouthfeel.

Freestyle Beer of the Year 2021:
Doppelleu Citra Double Wit, Switzerland

Beers that push the boundaries of firmly defined styles are the focus of the competition for the best freestyle beer. This year, the race was won by a creative, more strongly brewed interpretation of the Belgian beer style Wit with 6.5 vol.%. Fruity-fresh with a fine citrus scent and exotic aromas, including orange and coriander, which are harmoniously integrated into the smooth body.

At the next themed tasting in mid-October, smoked beers, historic beer styles as well as beers with alternative grains will be on the agenda of the International Craft Beer Award.

An overview of all medal winners of the September tasting can be found here:
www.meininger.de/en/beer/tastings/international-craft-beer-award/results

About Meininger's International Craft Beer Award:
Meininger's International Craft Beer Award was launched in 2014 by Meininger Verlag. Until 2020, the competition took place once a year, with up to 1,200 beer specialities from all over the world being tasted blind by almost 100 national and international beer experts.

With the reorientation to a monthly, theme-specific tasting format, the competition guarantees an even more detailed and now also seasonal beer specialities open tasting and assessment of the submitted beers by a proven expert jury.

Eight years after its premiere, Meininger's International Craft Beer Award is one of the most important beer competitions. With its tasting methodology, the competition sets new standards in the field of beer evaluation. Based on the international 100-point scheme, the beers are not evaluated comparatively, but individually according to appearance, smell and taste by a jury of experts without knowledge of the producer. In addition, the competition describes each beer tasted sensorially in terms of the aromas and attributes typical of the respective beer style. From this, an aroma diagram is created that is comprehensible and understandable for brewers and consumers and gives a first impression of the taste of the beer.

Meininger Verlag is the publisher of numerous beverage publications such as the magazine for beer culture "Meininger's Craft". The media company has demonstrated its tasting expertise for more than 20 years with numerous internationally recognised wine and spirits competitions.

Press contact:
Nicole Zeisset
Meininger Verlag GmbH
Maximilianstr. 7-15
67433 Neustadt/Germany
Phone: +49 6321 89 08 94
E-Mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.craft-beer-award.com