A STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION: 248 BEERS SCORED AT LEAST 90 POINTS IN THE FIRST FINEST BEER SELECTION OF 2023 - A SURPRISE FROM JAPAN, THE INTERNATIONAL BEER OF THE YEAR COMES FROM THE BAEREN BREWERY IN MORIOKA, AND THE LASSER ADAM BOCK FROM LÖRRACH WINS THE NATIONAL BEER OF THE YEAR AWARD.
The Finest Beer Selection is the new cornerstone in the sensory quality testing of beers. Meininger and Doemens, two partners with decades of tasting experience, have joined forces to rethink the quality of beer tasting. What is new is the use of the internationally proven 100-point rating system and the abandonment of the most detailed style guides as guidelines. Beers from 18 different countries, a total of 880 beers, found their way to Gräfelfing. To achieve a score of 90 points or more in the rigorous tasting process, outstanding quality is required and only these beers are awarded.
BEERS OF THE YEAR
Among these excellent beers, two stand out in an extraordinary way. The Lasser Adams Bock from the Lörrach brewery won the national Beer of the Year award with a fabulous 96 points.
With the same score, the Baeren brewery from Japan won the international Beer of the Year award for its Schwarz.
Gerrit Blümelhuber of Doemens and Christian Wolf of Meininger Verlag, who were jointly responsible for ensuring the tasting went off without a hitch, were both impressed by the quality and hoped that "the last remaining bottles of these exceptional beers have not been used in the tasting".
The Brewers of the Year
The Finest Beer Selection also honours the Brewers of the Year.
Brewery of the Year is Gebr. Maisel from Bayreuth with 7 awarded beers, which achieved an average of 92 points.
Artmonster Brewery from South Korea also received 7 awards in the premium segment of the Finest Beer Selection, again with an average score of 92 points, earning them the coveted international title of Brewery of the Year.