BrewNZ Beer Awards judging starts Sunday

MEDIA RELEASE For immediate release
Friday 21 August 2009

BrewNZ Beer Awards judging starts Sunday in Wellington

From Sunday 23 August, 16 New Zealand and international beer judges, including Australian TV celebrity Paul Mercurio, will commence the unenviable task of judging more than 360 beers entered into this year’s BrewNZ Beer Awards. Entries are up by more than 75% from last year’s awards.

The overall Supreme Winner as well as the individual winners of each of the 17 beer categories will be announced at the BrewNZ Awards Dinner on Thursday 27 August.

Special guest trainee judge, Paul Mercurio, who is also MC at the BrewNZ Beer Awards Dinner, is well known in New Zealand as a Dancing with the Stars judge. However Paul also has the credentials for judging beer, having commercially brewed his own beer in Australia. He also presents his own food TV show Mecurio’s Menu.

The week of judging culminates with Beervana, the public sampling event at the Wellington Town Hall on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August. At Beervana consumers are likely to get the opportunity to meet some of the award winning brewers and sample their latest brews. Featuring more than 40 breweries and over 175 beers, Beervana is a celebration of the craft of brewing here in New Zealand. It also features home brewing, seminars on food and beer matching with Martin Bosley and beer expert Neil Miller, tips on choosing the right glass for your beer, chocolate and beer pairing and more.

People are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to avoid missing out - particularly for the Friday evening session which has already had strong sales. These can be purchased through Ticketek www.ticketek.co.nz for $25.

In its eighth year, BrewNZ is the official New Zealand beer event, endorsed by the Brewers Guild of New Zealand.

BrewNZ Programme Summary (Wellington)
Sun 23 to Tues 25 August: Judging
Wed 26 August: BrewNZ Business Session (open to media) - 3:30pm – 4:45pm
Thurs 27 August: BrewNZ Awards Dinner – 6pm
Friday 28 August: Beervana, Town Hall – 12pm – 4pm; and 5pm – 9pm
Saturday 29 August: Beervana, Town Hall – 12pm – 4pm; and 5pm – 9pm

Ends.

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