The Other World Cup

When he discovered that two of Australia’s premier craft brewers Brad Rogers of Matilda Bay Brewing and Chuck Hahn of Malt Shovel Brewery had been invited as guest judges to the Beer World Cup 20063 in Seattle, Washington USA, CHARLES COLL knew it was an experience he couldn’t miss.

Seattle is best known for three things, the birthplace of Starbucks coffee, Bill Gates Microsoft, and craft breweries. I also found many similarities with my hometown Melbourne - ever changing weather conditions, a vibrant city market, a passion for sports, and of course a love of beer. So it seemed a good fit that both cities are hosting major beer judging events. The Beer World Cup, often referred to as the Beer Olympics is the most diverse competition among brewers worldwide with 2275 beers from 539 breweries in 55 countries being judged by 111 brew masters from 85 categories.

The beer judging is only part of the festivities which also included a craft brewer’s conference with various seminar topics and a Brew Expo with 123 exhibitors of beer related industrial products that ranged from bottle fillers to fresh hops from around the world. These events were not open to the public, but provided vital interchange between fellow brewers and their suppliers. This camaraderie has certainly helped improve the craft beer market in the USA which is presently showing a nine per cent growth. The most startling statistic offered is that due to the popularity of microbreweries, one can be found within a ten mile radius of any home in the country.

So what did our brew masters have to say about their experiences? We asked them to give us an overview of the categories they judged, what styles of beer impressed them the most, and what would they bring back to Australia from the experience.
Chuck Hahn had the following to say: ÒI judged the honey lager beers, some aged in wood barrels that dominated the flavour, but most of the 47 samples we tried were too sweet for my liking. I was impressed with some of the seasonal beers like a rum barrel aged porter and a Dortmund/special bitter. There was also a very nice English styled brown ale at 4.5 per cent ABV that caught my attention. All the pilsners were very competitive, it was tough to pick from all the great European pils in the category. Without a doubt the most unusual category I judged was the fruit and vegetable section. There was watermelon, pumpkin, blackberry and cherry just to a mention a few. I really found the fruit complimented the hops and malt. I don’t think Australia is ready for these just yet, but I’ll be the first to introduce one down in Oz. I asked Chuck what were the differences between the Beer World Cup and the Australian International Beer Awards.

More categories and more beers to be judged for a start, plus they only award one gold, silver, and bronze from each category. The highlights for me has been the ability to catch up with fellow American brewers and find out what they are up to, different hops that are available, different brewing systems. I’ll take home some different concepts of brewing, a new beer cookbook and valuable information collected regarding beer education, beer and food matching plus some great literature.

I caught up with hops, malt, yeast and water guy, Brad Rogers right after the awards to get his impressions on judging and participating in the Beer World Cup. I was judging cellar and unfiltered beer, American-style wheat beer, German-style strong bock, specialty beers, but the categories that impressed me the most were the coffee flavoured beer, smoke-flavoured beer, and the Munich-style Hellas beers. It was a pleasure and an honour to be on the judging panel, but the highlight for me was the social interaction with such amazing people from all over the world. You just try to absorb as much as you can.

At the last World Cup I came back with the Rooftop Red Lager idea, and after the Great American Beer Festival in October, I wanted to make a Saison and here I am getting a bronze for one of our out there beers Barking Duck. For Matilda Bay, it’s a chance to push the envelope, to get things going on and out there for the Australian beer drinking community. We try to fill in the gaps and melt what we think the Aussie beer drinkers will want. I’m proud to be part of this international brewing community. Last night I was out with the Belgian guys from Orval. Duvel, Westmalle, and St Bernard drinking their beers and talking to them on a social level. There is so much diversity in the beer over here and we need to understand these styles. I’m confident we can because now we can get help from the greater beer community; then mould that style with things we enjoy, putting an Aussie slant on things.

During the course of the week I caught up with two terrific young brewers who had recently started up a micro-brewery in Biloxi, Mississippi called the Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company. Biloxi, Mississippi was in the eye of Hurricane (cyclone) Katrina which had devastated the town including their own homes and all their possessions. But under the heading of believe it or not the only building to be left standing was the tiny brewery which only lost its back door. With a brave face, the boys were determined to enter their beers and attend the conference. While in town they went down to the local op shop and each brought an $18 suit, but they insisted the suits at that price come with a shirt and tie.

Early on 5 in the awards ceremony, the boys were elated at wining a bronze medal in Category 6: Rye Beer with their Amberjaque Rye Ale. After going up on stage to receive their award they couldn’t wait to phone their sister with the news knowing that the whole town was at the brewery to show their support and loyalty. While talking to his sister the boys received a second bronze medal in Category 10: Specialty Beer Section with their Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale. The entire ballroom went quiet as the loudest YEEHAW I’ve ever heard was followed by a Holy shit sis, we won again! Who says their aren’t beer gods in heaven.

So how did the Aussies go in the award I hear you ask? Here are our results from 85 categories;

Category 4: American-Style Wheat Beer - Gold Medal Cascade Blonde Lager -Cascade Brewing Co.

Category 11: Specialty Honey Lager/Ale - Gold Medal Redoak Honey Ale - Redoak, Sydney

Category 16: Smoke-Flavoured Beer - Gold Medal Redoak Rauch - Redoak, Sydney

Category 17: European-Style Low Alcohol Lager - Silver Medal Hahn Premium Lager -Hahn Brewing Co-Bronze Medal Cascade Premium Light-Cascade Brewing Co.

Category 31: American-Style Low Carbohydrate Light Lager - Silver Medal Pure Blonde - Fosters Australia.

Category 39: Baltic Porter - Bronze Medal Redoak Baltic Porter - Redoak, Sydney

Category 41: French/Belgian-Sytle Saison - Bronze Medal Barking Duck - Matilda Bay Brewing Co.

Category 49: English-Style Summer Ale - Bronze Medal James Squire Golden Ale - Malt Shovel Brewing Co