For the third time, Alexander Black won the gold medal in the Sweet/Milk Stout category. Alexander Blonde took the silver medal for English Style Golden Ales, while Milk & Honey won the silver in the Baltic Style Porter category.
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Pride for Israel: Alexander's three winning beers are screened above the stage at the European Beer Star competition. |
I was curious about the European Beer Star and the World Beer Cup, so I asked my friend Conrad Seidl of Vienna, also known as the "Beer Pope." He told me that the European Beer Star was created about 15 years ago by the small, independent breweries in Germany as a counterweight to the older World Beer Cup.
"The style guidelines at the EBS focus on classic beer styles of European origin," Conrad explained, "while the WBC (organized by the U.S.-based Brewers Association) tends to invent new beer styles every year! This, of course, works in favor of American micro-breweries and brewpubs. They win a lot of the WBC awards, while the European brewers get relatively few.
"In fact, many German and Austrian breweries don't even bother entering the WBC, preferring the more conservative EBS."
Thank you, Conrad. All the more reason why Alexander Beer should be commended for boldly entering these bastions of European and American brewing tradition, and bringing medals of excellence home to Israel.
Shouldn't more Israeli breweries be trying to do the same thing?
Must try to buy some. Thanks
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