New Zealand breweries celebrated a huge night at the Australian International Beer Awards in Melbourne on Thursday, with three trophies and a swag of gold medals.
The big winners on the night were:
Deep Creek — Champion medium international brewery (after being robbed by a self-induced clerical error last year).
Bach Brewing — Champion non-alcoholic beer for their All Day IPA (beating some luminaries, including American darlings The Athletic)
Hallertau — Packaging trophy for their Keeper reusable bottle.
It was a night of redemption for Deep Creek after last year’s disaster when they were announced as the Champion Large International Brewery only to realise quickly that they’d entered their annual production volume incorrectly and thus were in the wrong category.
They gave back that trophy an even though they were entitled to the Champion Medium International Brewery (500,001-2.5 million litres production) title they gracefully let it lie.
There was no such drama this time, with seven gold medals ensuring they were in the box seat for the crown which they’d previously won in 2019. Deep Creek won the Champion Small International Brewery title (under 500,000 litres annual production) in 2017.
The triumph of Bach Brewing’s All Day Non-Alcoholic IPA in the newly introduced non-alcoholic category was also a triumph for the brewing team at Steam. Bach, fresh off the beer scoring a Top-30 spot in the New World Beer & Cider Awards beat out a plethora of international names, including a beer from the famed American non-alcohol specialist brewery The Athletic.
And Hallertau made it a great night for the Kiwis with Steve and Hayley Plowman accepting the trophy for best surface packaging.
It was a particularly special night for Taranaki breweries with a half-dozen gold medals to Shining Peak, Three Sisters and Forgotten 43.
Other breweries to have a great night with multiple gold medals were Shining Peak (4), Lakeman (3), Behemoth (3), Bach (2) and Liberty (2).
GOLD MEDAL WINNERS
Deep Creek Redwood APA (American Pale Ale)
Deep Creek LoCal (Modern IPA)
Deep Creek Roselare (Wood, barrel-aged sour)
Deep Creek Framboise Noir (Wood, barrel-aged sour)
Deep Creek Solera (Speciality beer)
Deep Creek Misty Miyagi (Juicy/Hazy IPA)
Deep Creek Brewtiful Haze (Juicy/Hazy IPA)
Shining Peak Octopus Clamp (German-style Schwarzbier)
Shining Peak Vintage Stout 2020 (Wood, barrel-aged)
Shining Peak Gung Ho! Fresh IPA (Speciality beer)
Shining Peak Scrub Cutter (Honey beer)
Lakeman Taupo Thunder (NZ Pale Ale)
Lakeman Hairy Hop IPA (English-style IPA)
Lakeman Hairy Craic (Wood, barrel-aged)
Behemoth Hopped Up On Pils (Contemporary American Pilsner)
Behemoth Pastor of Muppets 2 (NZ IPA)
Behemoth Cheech & Chong (Speciality beer, fresh hop)
Bach Throbbing Grist (American-style IPA)
Bach All Day IPA (Non-alcoholic)
Liberty Juice Bro (Juicy/Hazy Pale Ale)
Liberty Prohibition Porter (Wood, barrel-aged)
Burkes Brewing #FakeNews (Juicy/Hazy IPA)
Forgotten 43 Lost Track APA (American Pale Ale)
Hallertau The Keeper (Labels, surface graphic)
Mount Brewing Golden Hour Hazy XPA (Juicy/Hazy Pale Ale)
Sunshine Brewery No Access (Juicy/Hazy IPA)
Three Sisters Lion’s Tooth (Herb & Spice)
Waitoa Afterglow (Juicy/Hazy IPA)