Cloudy Belgian Wheat Beer Wins International Award

Cloudy Belgian Wheat Beer Wins ‘Grand Champion’ Award At International Beer Awards

Popular Belgian wheat beer Hoegaarden White has received the ultimate brewing accolade by being named Grand Champion Beer at this week’s Australian International Beer Awards in Melbourne, the world’s largest annual competition for professional brewers.

Hoegaarden White was chosen from a record number of 480 beers from 25 countries and also won the Champion Specialty Beer Section, Best Wheat Beer Specialty Section, and Best Specialty Ale Section.

Brewed by Interbrew and imported by Lion Breweries, the Belgian beer is available on tap in Auckland’s Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe and Café Hoegaarden The Wharf and in Wellington’s recently opened Leuven Belgian Beer Cafe. It is also available in bottles at selected off-premise outlets.

Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe owner Trevor Ready says he is not surprised the wheat beer received top honours at the awards.

“This is a beer that has instantly appealed to all our drinkers – male and female – because they recognise it for its quality and unique taste.”

“Before Hoegaarden, New Zealand drinkers had never seen anything like a cloudy wheat beer – it was a bit of a novelty at first, and once they tried it, they loved the taste and now they keep coming back for more,” said Ready.

“The presentation is important too – we’ve trained all our staff in the art of pouring Belgian beers like Hoegaarden, ensuring that all the traditions and rituals are maintained.”

Interbrew’s Business Development Director for Asia Pacific, Ben Cheng said the award was a great honour and was recognition of the beer’s high quality and the respect it had earned around the world.
/… more
-2-
“Hoegaarden is one of Interbrew’s fastest growing brands and is currently still being brewed in the village of Hoegaarden.”

“Hoegaarden dates back to around 1445 and a small village with the same name. Working by hand and following a secret recipe, the villagers would use the purest ingredients they could find to make the original white, unfiltered wheat beer. The beer has been a legend ever since,” Cheng said.

Hoegaarden White is unfiltered and brewed with coriander seed and curacao orange peel. It is a light and refreshing beer, with a slightly bitter and fruity taste and is served with a large, creamy head. It takes its name from its naturally cloudy appearance, resulting from a second fermentation in the bottle.

Interbrew also won medals with the New Zealand-available beers Stella Artois and Leffe Blonde.

Stella Artois won a gold medal for the International Section of Packaged Beer, silver for the International Section of Draught Beer, and gold for the Australasian Section of Draught Beer.

Leffe Blonde won the Specialty Section for Packaged Ales (Specialty Ales) and another gold medal for the Specialty Section for Draught (Specialty Ales).

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Kirstan McPherson
Lion Breweries PR Executive
Tel: (09) 377-8840 or (025) 301-968

© Scoop Media