By Amelia Ball
The brewing world is preparing to gather in Melbourne tomorrow (Mar 19) night to hear the winners of the 2009 annual Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA).
Held by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria in conjunction with the University of Ballarat, the gala event will see more than 650 guests fill the Palladium at Crown Casino.
This year, almost 1200 entries came in from across Australia and around the world, judged over the course of several weeks in extensive blind tastings by an expert panel.
More than 500 entries came in from overseas, from as far afield as Nigeria and Bolivia to Poland and Sri Lanka, while Australia’s producers of all sizes have also been well represented.
They will be fighting it out for the top gongs that include specialty beer, wheat beer, champion lager, ale, stout and porter and best Victorian beer.
Guest international judge this year was the UK’s ‘Beer Doctor’, Dr George Philliskirk, who is a director of the Beer Academy — an educational trust dedicated to helping people understand and appreciate beer.
Established in 1987 to reward excellence in the field of brewing and to assist the promotion of the brewing industry, the AIBA is now the world’s second largest beer awards.