May the best brew

win

Beers from around 50 nations will go head-to-head in Munich for the coveted Brewing Industry International Awards 2005. Events director John Bass explains why brewers should act now to give British beers a chance of winning a gong

Less than a quarter of a century ago, Britain had a major international brewing exhibition, the world's top brewing technology conference, and the foremost professional beer competition. Now it has only the foremost professional beer competition, the Brewing Industry International Awards (BIIA).

You don't need to be an industry analyst to spot a trend here. And the trend is reinforced by the fact that the awards are held in Munich in September, at the world's largest trade exhibition for the beverage industry, Drinktec.

But before you say 'Not that too! They're the competition, how can the awards be held in Munich? please let me explain why I think this move is good for beer, British beer.

That same quarter of a century ago, who would have thought that we would have the range of beers on the bar, or in the supermarkets that we have today? We have to accept that beer supply is a two-way process now brewing is a global business. Whether the beer is brewed in Wandsworth or Wisconsin, Burton or Bavaria, if it is good, if it is to consumers' taste, and if they can obtain it easily, they will provide a market.

Now I know that some so-called 'foreign brands sold here are about as Japanese, Indian or Australian as I am. But what is going on here generally is that thanks to a buoyant import market in the UK, beers from around the world are finding a wider customer base and greater exposure.And the BIIA event needs to do that in reverse export itself and find a new market in this two-way process.

We would like to take ranks of British beers with us to Bavaria, to benefit the competition but also to further awareness of British brews. I won't deny that we are going to Munich to attract future entries from brewers overseas, particularly when the event will be held again in the UK in 2007.

At Drinktec, 80,000 visitors will be exposed to the awards, which are judged by a panel of brewers. Visitors will also be able to blind-taste some entries, take notes, and find out at the end of the week what they have tasted. If the entries are in good condition to start with, they will be good in front of the judges, as the whole operation is supervised by an established team of experienced technical dispense professionals from Britain. This is obviously crucial to the proper care of the UK cask ales, as well as the large number of sediment beers entered in bottle.

Our award winners are the best of the best. And there's no such thing as 'only a bronze at this event. As a licensee, if you are invited to stock one of our bronze award winners, remember it probably beat upwards of 50 others in its class to achieve that status. Any shade of medal is prized. Just like the Oscars, those who come close all find it good for their careers, even if the statuette ultimately eludes them.

We hope to help our winners gain a competitive edge, and we are in talks with a supermarket and a major pub company to list the winners as a further benefit of entry. And it's not just regional brewers or micro-breweries who enter, previous winners have included the likes of Kronenbourg and Tiger, which both launched advertising campaigns around the victories.

When the competitions were held in Burton and London in 2004, we had 820 entries from 48 countries. No other beer contest in the world has such a global draw. Yet, in certain parts of the brewing world we are only scratching the surface. Nor are we forgetting that around half our entries were from the UK. To help maintain British brewers' support in 2005, we are providing free air-conditioned transport for all UK entries to Munich, and the return of casks and kegs afterwards.

Munich will be a massive shop window, as the Drinktec exhibition has an even greater reach than we do. The 1,400 exhibitors are from 50 countries and visitors from around 130 nations. And it can be a shop window for British beer. Does anyone know if more than 150 UK cask ales have ever before been available for tasting in Germany for a week? Despite the efforts of export bodies, I doubt it.

There is no question that the British beers will travel well. David Sanders of Eastwood & Sanders gold award winner in 2004 sends his cask beers regularly to the US.

He and a few other UK cask brewers supply their beers to be sold at the New England Real Ale Festival. Discerning Bostonians have yet to dispatch the British casks to the same place as the tea chests, so the quality must have been maintained.

'We have had no complaints, says Sanders, 'I am sure that refrigerated transport to Munich, in comparison to our sea trip, is unlikely to present any quality problems.

Many contract brewers, import and export agents and drinks distributors visit Drinktec. Who knows who will be tasting the entries? It is a far cry from the time when judging the Burton beer competitions was the best-kept trade secret, never trumpeted or exposed to the wider world. Finding the winners was akin to the election of the Pope. The results crept out like escaping smoke. The winning brewers felt good, and so they still should, but it was largely a British election and a British secret. Times in the world of beer have changed even for brewing competitions.

How to enter the awards

It's not just brewers that can enter the awards marketers and brand managers can also put brews from their portfolio forward, even agents and distributors, provided they have the permission of the brand owner.

More details on entering the 2005 awards is available from www.brewingawards.org

The closing date for entries is 12 August. Judging takes place between 13 and 15 September.