Keith Sime has been appointed to replace Bradford Tetlow as the Chief Steward of the Australian International Beer Awards for 2011.

The appointment comes after former Chief Steward Bradford Tetlow accepted a position as Sensory Coordinator with Lion Nathan, New Zealand late last year.

Employed by the University of Ballarat, Mr Sime will be responsible for the logistics of judging, overseeing of the competition and coordinating the 1,100 brews entered.

With a background in applied science, Mr Sime has spent 20 years at Carlton United Breweries working across flavour research, beer analysis, product development and in the technical services arm. He later moved into a contracted consultancy role for other Australian breweries assisting in quality control and laboratory management.

Mr Sime looks forward to the 2011 Awards and his increased industry involvement.

“Continual growth and awareness of the Awards makes it an exciting organisation to be affiliated with, and I am thrilled to come on board in time for this year’s AIBA,” Mr Sime said.

“I have been involved in the Awards in years past, assisting CUB in preparing entries for the competition and look forward to more hands on involvement this year and in the future.”

Chairman of the AIBA Committee, Mr Peter Manders, welcomed Mr Sime to the role.

“The AIBA, together with the University of Ballarat, are very pleased to include Keith Sime in the 2011 Awards, and look forward to long standing relationship in the future,” said Mr Manders.

The AIBA is conducted annually by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and the University of Ballarat. Judging for the Awards commences this week in Melbourne with Trophies awarded at a presentation dinner at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday, 20 May 2011.