Don’t forget, entries close this Friday and the awards include the Beer Media Award and the new trophy for Gypsy Brewers [Ed.]

Media Release

Celebrating the past and the future of Australian beer:

Announcing ‘Girt By Three’, the 2015 AIBA Collaboration Beer

The unique and highly-anticipated Collaboration Beer has become a highlight of the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), conducted by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV).

The AIBA is the largest annual beer competition in the world assessing both packaged and draught beer. A diverse range of styles across 18 categories are assessed with a total of up to 30 Champion and Major trophies presented. The Collaboration Beer is created by the previous year’s Champion brewers in the Large, Medium and Small Australian Brewery categories.

This year’s brew, ‘Girt By Three’, will be a celebration of Australia’s rich brewing history as the name implies, along with a nod to the future direction of the industry. The collaboration between 2014 Champions CUB (Large), Thunder Road Brewing (Medium) and 3 Ravens (Small), demonstrates a sharing of experience and innovation across three diverse stars of Australian beer.

The three brewers last week visited Victoria’s Ovens Valley, sourcing the hops which will fuel a creative brew featuring old and new world influences including: a classic English yeast strain; an old English malt variety; the inclusion of refined sugars; the inimitable Pride of Ringwood hop for bittering; and an age-old tradition of blending in aged beer from the cellars of all three breweries. The new world influences will include assertive use of modern Australian aroma hops – with a view to exploring and expanding on the future of Australian Pale Ale.

Thunder Road Brewing’s Marcus Cox says, “We are really enjoying working with the other brew teams in this collaboration and believe the beer will be a stand out. In style, it will take some great, historical elements of the past and combine them with modern ingredients and processes. You might say it will take the best of the old and the new, and combine them into a beautiful, highly drinkable and refreshing drop that we think will be a crowd pleaser.”3 Ravens in Thornbury, Melbourne, will host the ‘Brew Day’ on Thursday 16 April.

3 Ravens Brewer Brendan O’Sullivan described the chance to work with other breweries as incredibly exciting, ”For some time I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to brew a barley-wine like I did as a homebrewer – blending fresh, young beer with a hint of old, sherry-like beer (much like Crown Ambassador). When the penny dropped that all three of us have skunkworks involving aged beers it seemed like too good an opportunity to refuse.”

CUB’s Jaideep Chandrasekharan agreed, saying, “The AIBA Collaboration Beer is a great opportunity to celebrate beer and an opportunity for brewers to come together and produce a beer that enhances the beer category.”

In a first for the collaboration beer, the designer behind the 2014 Best Packaging Trophy awarded to Beechworth Brewery, Korinne Arblaster from Kore Graphics, will design the label for ‘Girt By Three’.

The beer will be revealed at the AIBA dinner and awards presentation on Thursday 21 May as part of Good Beer Week (GBW). This eagerly anticipated beer, bold in design, will be served alongside dessert.

It will then be available to taste at the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular (GABS) during the final weekend of GBW, Melbourne and at the Sydney event later that month.

Media are invited to attend the ‘Brew Day’ time TBC. Please advise littleBIG Marketing & PR of your interest in attending.

For more information on the AIBA and to submit your entry, visit www.rasv.com.au/beer Entries close this Friday 20 March!

Australian International Beer Awards – Key Dates 2015

Entries Open: NOW
Entries Close: Friday 20 March
Collaboration Beer ‘Brew Day’: Thursday 16 April
Judging: Wednesday 13 May – Friday 15 May
Awards Presentation: Thursday 21 May during Good Beer Week
Exhibitor Tasting: Friday 22 May
Good Beer Week: Saturday 16 May – Sunday 24 May

Australian International Beer Awards, the world’s largest annual beer competition judging both packaged and draught beer

The Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), conducted by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV), is the largest annual beer competition in the world judging both packaged and draught beer. The AIBA celebrates and showcases beer and brewing excellence in Australia and around the world. It presents global brewers, large, medium and small, with the opportunity to benchmark their beer and achieve distinction amongst industry peers.

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