World Beer Awards 2009

World Beer Awards 2009

World Beer Awards 2009

After five months and three separate rounds of tasting, the third annual World Beer Awards is in the bag. The results are spread out over the next eight pages for your perusal and enjoyment and I’m sure you’ll agree that there was a very high standard of entry this year, from every corner of the globe.

The thing that strikes me increasingly with every one of these we do, is the changeable nature of beer. It’s impossible to pin down; it’s like trying to put language in a box, or fill in a government form. I mean, it’s mostly there, but try as we might to squeeze beer into these tidy parameters, there will always be a few individuals that just don’t quite fit.

Some styles are easily defined, we all recognise barley wines or IPAs for example, whereas some beers call themselves simply ‘pale ales’ and nothing more. It’s not so simple to say that a 5.4% ABV beer is ‘standard’ but a 5.5% beer is ‘strong,’ it depends entirely on personal preference, flavour, the country of origin, or other examples in the style.

This can be unbelievably frustrating when you’re trying to create a simple structure for something like the World Beer Awards. It’s like trying to catch smoke in a net. But at the same time it is what makes beer so wonderful, other drinks are more unyielding in their definitions – wine or whisky for example – but beer is a living thing, constantly changing, with a million different combinations of ingredient and process.

So no letters, please, about ale yeasts being used in cold fermentation or about why this standard pale ale is stronger than this strong pale ale Please allow us any little inconsistencies. Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is to wheedle out the world’s finest beers, and every one of the beers on the following pages deserves this recognition.

So grab a glass and join us in celebration of beer, in all its wonderful and endlessly frustrating variety.

World’s Best Lager

Waldhaus Diplom Pils

Waldhaus Diplom Pils

World’s Best Ale

Robinson's Old Tom

Robinson's Old Tom

World’s Best Stout/Porter

Baltika No6 Porter

Baltika No6 Porter

World’s Best Wheat Beer

Brasserie du Bocq Blanche de Namur

Brasserie du Bocq Blanche de Namur

World’s Best Speciality Beer

Dark Star Espresso

Dark Star Espresso

Category Winners

World’s Best Pale Ale

Rogue Dry Hopped Red

World’s Best Dark Ale

Robinson's Old Tom

World’s Best Standard Pale Ale

Rogue Dry Hopped Red

World’s Best Strong Pale Ale

Swan Lake Amber Swan Ale

World’s Best Standard Dark Ale

Harvey's Old Ale

World’s Best Strong Dark Ale

Robinson's Old Tom

World’s Best Standard Lager

Great Western Light

World’s Best Premium Lager

Waldhaus Diplom Pils

World’s Best Strong Lager

Cruzcampo Gran Reserva

World’s Best Dark Lager

Krusovice Cerne

World’s Best Stout

Minoh Beer Stout

World’s Best Porter

Meantime London Porter

World’s Best Baltic Porter

Baltika No6 Porter

World’s Best Grain Only Wheat Beer

Brasserie du Bocq Blanche de Namur

World’s Best Flavoured Wheat Beer

Samuel Adams Imperial White Ale

World’s Best Dark Wheat Beer

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel

Style Trophies

Standard Pale Ale

World’s Best Bitter Redoak Bitter
World’s Best Best Bitter Fuller's London Pride
World’s Best Premium Bitter Black Sheep Yorkshire Square Ale
World’s Best Golden Ale Oxfordshire Pride of Oxford
World’s Best Red Ale Rogue Dry Hopped Red
World’s Best Rye Ale Innis & Gunn Canadian Cask
World’s Best Saison Brasserie St. Feuillien Saison

Strong Pale Ale

World’s Best Amber Ale Swan Lake Amber Swan Ale
World’s Best Biere de Garde Brasserie de Brunehaut S.A. Monst St Aubert
World’s Best Blonde Malheur 10
World’s Best Harvest Thornbridge Halcyon
World’s Best IPA Redoak IPA
World’s Best Imperial IPA Rogue I2PA
World’s Best Special Pale Ale Fuller's 1845
World’s Best Vintage Ale Greene King Abbot Reserve

Standard Dark Ale

World’s Best Brown Ale Harvey's Lewes Castle Brown Ale
World’s Best Mild Harvey's Old Ale

Strong Dark Ale

World’s Best Barley Wine Robinson's Old Tom
World’s Best Old Ale Woodforde's Nog
World’s Best Oud Bruin Deschutes The Dissident
World’s Best Standard Dark Strong Ale Het Anker Gouden Carolus Classic

Standard Lager

World’s Best Lager 2.5% and under Clausthaler Classic
World’s Best Lager 2.6-4.5% Great Western Light

Premium Lager

World’s Best Standard Premium Lager Alhambra Reserva 1925
World’s Best Dortmunder / Helles DAB Original
World’s Best Marzen / Oktoberfest Primator Polotmavy 13%
World’s Best Pilsner Waldhaus Diplom Pils
World’s Best Rice Lager Koshihikari Echigo Beer

Strong Lager

World’s Best Bock Cruzcampo Gran Reserva
World’s Best Doppel Bock Konig Ludwig Kaltenberg Ritterbock
World’s Best Kolsch Alltech Kentucky Light

Dark Lager

World’s Best Dark Lager Krusovice Cerne

Wheat

World’s Best Grain Only Wheat Beer Brasserie du Bocq Blanche de Namur
World’s Best Dark Wheat Beer Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel
Alcohol free Weissbier Hell Alkoholfrei
World’s Best Flavoured Wheat Beer Samuel Adams Imperial White Ale

Stout/Porter

World’s Best Baltic Porter Baltika No6 Porter
World’s Best Dry Stout Minoh Beer Stout
World’s Best Export Stout Honda Sangyou Company Preston Ale Stout (Irish Ale)
World’s Best Imperial Stout Harvey's Imperial Extra Double Stout
World’s Best Oatmeal Primator Stout
World’s Best Porter Meantime London Porter

Flavoured Speciality

World’s Best Coffee Beer Dark Star Espresso
World’s Best Spiced Beer Sharp's Chalky's Bite
World’s Best Chocolate Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
World’s Best Honey Beer Lovibonds Gold Reserve
World’s Best Fruit Beer Distinguished Brands International Fruli Strawberry Beer
World’s Best Kriek Oud Beersel Oude Kriek

Non Flavoured Speciality

World’s Best Smoked Ale Rogue Smoke Ale
World’s Best Experimental Beer Badger Harvester's Ale
World’s Best Gluten Free Beer SA Damm Estrella Damm Apta Para Celiacos
World’s Best Lambic & Gueuze Oud Beersel Oude Gueuze
World’s Best Wood Aged Beer Greene King Old Crafty Hen