The Craft Beer Industry Association has announced the inaugural Craft Beer Awards will be held during Sydney Craft Beer Week in October.
Sydney Craft Beer Week (SCBW) takes place between October 18 and 26, with more than 40 venues playing host to 100-plus events in a bumper program released this week.
The inaugural Craft Beer Awards will be judged on October 21 and 22 with the awards presented at a ceremony on Friday October 24. Entries open on August 4.
CBIA Chair Dave Bonighton said the awards will be Australia's first dedicated exclusively to Australian craft beer.
"The Craft Beer Awards will allow Australia’s craft brewers to have their beers benchmarked against those of their peers,” he said.
"With the Craft Beer Awards we have decided to follow the World Beer Cup model and not appoint a head judge. This will ensure that all of Australia’s best brewers will be able to enter their beers with no concerns of a conflict of interest."
The Craft Beer Awards will judge nine categories with trophies being awarded to the best beer in each category. The trophy winners will then be judged against each other with the winner taking the prestigious title of Champion Australian Craft Beer.
Awards will also given out to the best performing Large (300 000 to 40 million litres per annum), Medium (50 000 to 299 999 litres per annum) and Small (up to 49 999 litres per annum) breweries. Another major award to be presented will be the CBIA Services to Australian Craft Beer award.
The presentation ceremony will be held at the Giant Dwarf Theatre (199 Cleveland Street, Redfern) on Friday, October 24. Full details are available here.
SCBW to open with a bang
The Giant Dwarf Theatre will also play host to a Gala Event to launch SCBW on Friday October 17.
The opening night gala will get beer fans prepped for a week of tantalising experiences, with beers from more than 25 Australian and international breweries and live music.
Also premiering this year is Sip & Savour, a two-day beer festival at Carriageworks that will bring together more than 250 craft beers and ciders, alongside local gourmet foods, live music and a range of interactive and educational seminars.
Click here to see the full program for SCBW.