21 May 2011 • Oud Beersel was the only Belgian brewery to be awarded one of the main trophies at the 19th annual Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) in Melbourne (Australia) on Friday evening, 20 May 2011. In the categorie ‘Best Belgian and French Style Ales’ Oude Kriek Oud Beersel took the trophy. In addition, Oude Geuze Oud Beersel and Bersalis Kadet were attributed respectively a silver and bronze medal. Californian brewery, Moylan’s Brewing Co, was awarded the prestigious Champion Exhibitor Trophy and the Trophy for Champion Small Brewery.

This year, 1195 entries were received from 34 countries. From the total pool of entries, 550 were international submissions, up from 495 in 2010. The United States proved its brewing excellence, taking out five of the trophies with New Zealand and Belgian breweries achieving one each. All other awards went to Australian breweries. 

The newly introduced Champion Low Alcohol Beer Trophy and the Gluten Free Beer Trophy - which was introduced in 2010 - were not awarded this year, whilst the quality of the beers submitted were high the judging panel were not able to award a champion trophy for these two classes this year to remain true to the competitions high benchmarking standards.

The Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), the pre-eminent showcase for premium beer and brewing excellence in the Asia Pacific region, is conducted annually by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) in conjunction with the University of Ballarat. Since its inception in 1993, the AIBA has received a steady increase of entries, with brews now received from more than 30 countries. 

It is not the first time that Oud Beersel won an important prize at an international beer competition. In 2007, Beers of the World magazine named Oude Geuze Oud Beersel ‘The World’s Best Gueuze’. A year later the Belgian lambic brewery was awarded silver at the World Beer Cup 2008 for its Oude Geuze and also got a Ratebeer 2008 Gold Medal for its Oude Kriek. In 2009, Beers of the World named Oude Kriek Oud Beersel ‘The World’s Best Kriek’, Oude Geuze Oud Beersel ‘The World’s Best Gueuze’ and gave Bersalis Tripel in the category 'World’s Best Abbey Ale' a 'high commendation'. Furthermore, Oud Beersel brewery won the Belgian Craft Company Competition (Ambacht in de Kijker) and the Ultimate SME Makeover Competion 2009.
www.beerawards.com

About Oud Beersel
Oud Beersel brewery, established in 1882, is located in the municipality of Beersel, less than 10 miles from Brussels (Belgium). This authentic lambic brewery is well known for its lambic beer brewed along traditional brewing methods. Due to the absence of succession in the family business at the end of 2002, the traditional lambic beers of Oud Beersel were threatened to disappear. In 2005, Gert Christiaens took over the brewery in 2005 to protect the time-honoured lambic beers and the cultural and historical patrimony of Oud Beersel for the coming generations. The traditional part of the production process of the lambic beers, in particular the spontaneous fermentation, the maturation of lambic in wooden barrels and the mixture of various lambic casks and vintages constitutes the core business of the company. At present, Oud Beersel is producing four 4 beers: oude geuze, oude kriek, as wel as the high fermentation ales Bersalis Tripel and Bersalis Kadet. Since 2006 Oud Beersel is member of the High Council for Artisanal lambic Beers (HORAL).
www.oudbeersel.com

The winners of the Australian International Beer Awards 2011 are as follows:

• Gary Sheppard Memorial Trophy for Best New Exhibitor – Hopworks Urban Brewery, Oregon, USA
• Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Trophy for Champion Exhibitor for the Highest Scoring Exhibitor – Moylan’s Brewing Co., California, USA
• Labelmakers Trophy for Champion Large Brewery – The Brooklyn Brewery, New York, USA
• Cleanevent Trophy for Champion Small Brewery – Moylan’s Brewing Co, California, USA
• The Premier’s Trophy for the Best Victorian Beer – Guvnor, 2 Brothers Brewery, Victoria, Australia
• Hop Products Australia Trophy for Champion Lager – Cowaramup Pilsner, Cowaramup Brewing Company, Western Australia, Australia
• Cryer Malt Trophy for Champion Ale – Hop Hog, Feral Brewing Company, Western Australia, Australia
• Beer & Brewer Magazine Trophy for Champion Porter – Walkers Reserve, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, California, USA
• Cleanevent Trophy for Champion Stout – Craftsman Oatmeal, Renaissance Brewing, Marlborough, New Zealand
• TAC Trophy for Champion Reduced Alcohol Beer – The Monk Mild, The Monk Brewery & Kitchen, Western Australia, Australia
• University of Ballarat Trophy for Champion Wheat Beer – Sou West Wheat, Bootleg Brewery, Western Australia, Australia
• Weyermann Specialty Malting Company Trophy for Champion Belgian & French Ales – Oude Kriek Oud Beersel, Oud Beersel, Brussels, Belgium
• University of Ballarat Trophy for Champion Scotch Ale & Barley Wines – Guvnor, 2 Brothers Brewery, Victoria, Australia
• National Liquor News Trophy for Champion Hybrid Beer – Vanilla Milk Stout, Thirsty Crow, New South Wales, Australia
• Spiegelau Trophy for Champion Packaging Award – Gage Pils 3.5, Gage Roads Brewing Co Ltd
• Champion Gluten Free Beer – No trophy awarded
• TAC Trophy for Champion Low Alcohol Beer – No trophy awarded
  

Press relations: Yves Panneels, tel. 0498 522 322, oudbeersel@force3.be