Hosted over two days, with judging on 19 October at Brewerkz Microbrewery in Singapore and results announcement on 20th Oct at The American Taproom, the inaugral Asia Beer Championship crowned their 2018 winners across 20 categories.
Launched by the team behind the South East Asian Brewers Conference, this championship was created to support the rapidly developing premium and craft beer culture in the region and is meant to serve as a trusted quality benchmark for consumers (as well as provide sound feedback to brewers on how to improve their products).
Twenty two judges from across the region, including brewers and industry professionals, judged the beers in a blind tasting, assessing entries using the style guidelines defined by the Beer Judge Certification Programme (BJCP): appearance, aroma, flavour, mouthfeel, and suitability to category style.
The winners for each category are as follows:
Wheat Beer
Gold: —
Silver: Itaewon Freedom, Artmonster Brewery (Seoul, South Korea)
Bronze: Shiro, Coedo Brewery (Saitama, Japan)
Chairman’s Selection: Orange Wheat Beer, Wen Shen Brewery (China); Sunset Weizen, 7 Bridges Brewing Co (Danang, Vietnam)
International Lager
Gold: —
Silver: Puso, Cebu Brewing Co (Cebu City, Philippines
Bronze: Right Hook Helles, Boxing Cat Brewery (Shanghai, China)
Pilsner
Gold: Ultimate Luck, Artmonster Brewery
Silver: Ah Kah Ji, Archipelago Brewery (Singapore)
Bronze: Primeval Forest Pilsner, Heart of Darkness Brewery (HCMC, Vietnam)
Chairman’s Selection: Sunday’s Brew, Rye & Pint Brewery (Singapore)
Gose
Gold: Yuzu Gose, Galmegi Brewing Co (Busan, South Korea)
Silver: Guimaras Gose, The Cebruery (Cebu, Philippines)
Bronze: Green Mango, Furbrew (Hanoi, Vietnam)
Sour Beer
Gold: Berliner Weisse, Steppeo Brewery (Mongolia)
Silver: —
Bronze: Purple Rain, Boxing Cat Brewery; Days of Being Wild – Peach, Young Master Brewery
Saison
Gold: —
Silver: Helmet Boy Saison, Turtle Lake Brewing Co (Hanoi, Vietnam)
Bronze: Spice Island Saison, Pasteur Street Brewing Co (HCMC, Vietnam)
Golden Ale
Gold: Temple Golden Ale, Goose Island Beer Co (China)
Silver: Another One, Young Master Brewery
Bronze: Modern Belgian Blonde, East West Brewing Co (HCMC, Vietnam)
Chairman’s Selection: Mekong, Himawari Microbrewery (Phnom Penh, Cambodia); Contender Extra Pale Ale, Boxing Cat Brewery; Keller Pils, Artmonster Brewery
Pale Ale
Gold: Dream Alone Pale Ale, Heart of Darkness Brewery
Silver: Dragon Coil IPA, 7 Bridges Brewing Co
Bronze: Red Truck Red Ale, Chiang Mai Beer (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
Chairman’s Selection: Busan Pale Ale, Gorilla Brewing Co (Busan, South Korea); East West Pale Ale, East West Brewing Co; Machine Men, Yardley Brothers Beer (Hong Kong)
India Pale Ale (IPA)
Gold: Showdown IPA, Outlaw Brewing (Loei, Thailand)
Silver: Philippines IPA, Cebu Brewing Co
Bronze: London IPA, Gorilla Brewing Co
Chairman’s Selection: Kurtz’s Insane IPA, Heart of Darkness Brewery; Mosaic IPA, Outlaw Brewing Co; Galmegi IPA, Galmegi Brewing Co; Jasmine IPA, Pasteur Street Brewing Co; Far East IPA, East West Brewing Co
New England-Style IPA
Gold: The Hoplash IPA, Playground Brewery (Ilsan, South Korea)
Silver: Loose Rivet, Heart of Darkness Brewery
Bronze: Hitachino Nest Crazy Hazy Baby, Kiuchi Brewery (Naka, Japan)
Chairman’s Selection: Inevitable Backlash NEIPA, Pasteur Street Brewing Co
Double IPA
Gold: Imperial IPA, 7 Bridges Brewing Co
Silver: Bagsik, Cebu Brewing Co
Bronze: Hong Kong Bastard, Yardley Brothers Beer
Chairman’s Selection: Double Edged Sword, Turtle Lake Brewing Co; Courage, Brewlander & Co (Singapore)
Dark/Brown Ale
Gold: —
Silver: Dark Mild, Artmonster Brewery
Bronze: Broken Sword, Sandport Beer (Bangkok, Thailand)
Chairman’s Selection: Ki Siao, Archipelago Brewery
Porter
Gold: —
Silver: Chocolate Hills Porter, The Cebruery
Bronze: —
Chairman’s Selection: Tropical Porter, 7 Bridges Brewing Co
Stout
Gold: Espresso Vanilla Stout, Galmegi Brewing Co
Silver: The Witch Chocolate Stout, Playground Brewery
Bronze: British Stout, Gorilla Brewing Co
Chairman’s Selection: Liquorice Stout, Furbrew
Strong Ale
Gold: Hak Mo Sheung – Chocolate & Vanilla, Young Master Brewery
Silver: Big Boy Pants, Turtle Lake Brewing Co
Bronze: Cacao Kick Imperial Stout, The Perfect Pint (Manila, Philippines)
Chairman’s Selection: Red Devil RyePA, Galmegi Brewing Co
Wild Ale
Gold: Anniversario Solera Lambic, The Cebruery
Silver: Sour BB, Artmonster Brewery
Bronze: —
Fruit-Flavoured Beer
Gold: —
Silver: Singapore Blonde Ale, Archipelago Brewery
Bronze: Passionfruit Wheat Ale, Pasteur Street Brewing Co
Spice/Herb-Flavoured Beer
Gold: Hak Mo Sheung – Ancho Y Danca, Young Master Brewery
Silver: Cyclo Stout, Pasteur Street Brewing Co
Bronze: Jobs, Artmonster Brewery
Chairman’s Selection: Futile Purpose Cucumber Pilsner and Cacao Nib Porter, Heart of Darkness Brewery
Wood/Barrel-Aged Beer
Gold: Barrel Aged Imperial Porter, Carakale Brewing Co (Amman, Jordan)
Silver: Barredl Aged Imperial Stout, East West Brewing Co
Bronze: Red on Oak, Yardley Brothers Beer
Experimental Beer
Gold: —
Silver: Kereru Birbstout, Daryl’s Urban Ales (Singapore)
Bronze: —
Champion Beer of Asia
Young Master Brewery (Hong Kong), Hak Mo Sheung (Ancho Y Danca)