At the fourth edition London Beer Competition, which took place in London on March 17, 2021, Beerblefish Brewing Co. won a Gold and two Silver medals, which is the ultimate seal of approval in the global beer industry. In order to receive this distinction, Beerblefish Brewing Co. needed to score highly in three different categories: Quality, Value and Packaging.
The Gold medal (one of only 15 awarded) was given to 1820 Porter (6.6% ABV), a mixed fermentation ale based on nineteenth century recipes, while the two Silver medals went to Pan Galactic Pale Ale (4.6% ABV) and Edmonton Best Bitter (4.3% ABV). Pan Galactic Pale Ale takes its fruity flavour and aroma from the galaxy hops that give it its name. Edmonton Best Bitter is a modern bitter, proudly brewed in Edmonton and this medal represents its first award – it really is the best bitter in Edmonton!
The goal of the London Beer Competition is to award and celebrate beers that beer buyers want to buy. The competition’s judges examine the many emerging and re-discovered styles which intrigue the drinker and appeal to new and lapsed beer drinkers.
Not only does the London Beer Competition recognise quality, where brewing ability and technical expertise receive peer, buyer, writer and beer sommelier accreditation, the judges also award points and medals for both value and packaging.
According to CEO Sid Patel of event organizer Beverage Trade Network, “The craft beer revolution has brought us many different styles, previously either unknown or re-found. Our judges have thoroughly enjoyed looking at and debating the many different entrants, looking at beers the way beer drinkers do. Yes, they professionally analyse the quality, but crucially make awards by adding appearance and value for money into the mix.”
The judges were selected from all sides of the industry – writing, brewing, trading, beer sommeliers, marketing and educators. During the course of judging, interviews with leading judges revealed the importance of the packaging in process. Some even reported that the packaging influenced the resulting taste and flavour, declaring that it set an expectation which in turn influenced not only how consumers saw the product, but how their senses responded to it once tasted. This underscored the importance that London Beer Competition places on packaging as an element of judging and complete assessment of sensory perception.
The holistic make-up of the judging panel consisting of beer industry experts from across the commercial buying aspects ensures that all beers selected as winners are exactly the types of beers that are favored by both the beer trade and the end consumer. Beers were judged on the basis of three primary criteria – quality, value and packaging – and then scored on a 100-point scale. Beers that scored 90+ points were awarded Gold medals, 76 to 89 points were awarded Silver medals, whilst Bronze medals were awarded to those that score 65-75 points.
“We’re thrilled that we’ve been awarded three medals in this edition of the London Beer Competition, particularly among such a variety of great beers from well-respected breweries across the globe. We’re proud to win these awards because it shows that we are making the types of beers that consumers want to buy and enjoy and that the industry wants to list,” said James Atherton, Beerblefish’s founder and managing director.
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