MEDIA RELEASE
26 May 2014
New Zealand beers strike gold (silver and bronze) in Australia
New Zealand’s beers continue to gather awards at international competitions. The quality of New Zealand beers was
recognised at the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) in Melbourne last Friday (23 May). For the second year in
a row Renaissance Brewing Co. of Marlborough won the Champion Small International Brewery. A wide range of breweries
from across New Zealand also received gold, bronze and silver medal recognition.
“This is a great achievement for New Zealand beer. It is recognition of the consistent high-quality of our product and
the innovation that continues in the industry,” said Ralph Bungard, President of the Brewers’ Guild of New Zealand.
“This comes on the back of New Zealand success at the bi-annual World Beer Cup in the United States. Two New Zealand
beers won silver medals, the first medal wins in 14 years for Garage Project’s Cockswain's Courage Double Barreled
Edition Porter and Speights’ Triple Hop Pilsner. The fact that our breweries, from big and small, old and new, continue
to win international accolade is fantastic for the health of the brewing industry and the consumer.”
The AIBA is the largest competition of its kind in the Asia Pacific region and is renowned for celebrating beer and
brewing excellence from around the world. There were a record number of entries this year -1,560 brews from more than
294 brewers in 31 countries.
Australia is the largest market for New Zealand beer exports totaling NZ$27.8million in 2013. Exports to Australia have
seen phenomenal growth over the last five years increasing over115%. “Success, such as this, can only help our New
Zealand beers continue to reach their potential in the Australian market.”
Trans-Tasman rivalry will be at a peak as Australian brewers attempt to repeat New Zealand breweries success at the
Brewers’ Guild of New Zealand’s annual beer awards on 21August in Wellington. The New Zealand Beer Awards attracts
entries from over fifty New Zealand breweries and international entries from North America, Europe, Asia and the
Pacific.
For a full list of results see the AIBA website.
ENDS