Entries are now open for the New Zealand Beer Awards, which recognise excellence in beer and honour outstanding achievements across New Zealand’s brewing industry.

In its 17th year, the New Zealand Beer Awards is managed by the Brewers Guild of New Zealand and open to commercial brewers of all production sizes in New Zealand regardless of whether they are Guild members. Entries close on Friday 30 June.

Judging will take place at Riccarton Park in Christchurch in July and Awards will be presented at a Gala dinner in August.

Judges from New Zealand and across the Tasman will gather to taste and score beers across 15 different trophy classes. This year’s event will involve 24 judges, 8 trainee judges and 26 stewards. The Brewers Guild ‘Steward to Judge’ programme was created in 2019 to support members of the industry in development to become a judge and expand the pool of qualified beer judges in New Zealand.

The 2023 event sees the return of the Champion International Brewery Trophy, which has not been part of the Awards since 2019. “With the disruption of the past few years behind us, it seemed a good time to reintroduce the International category,” said Competition Manager, Jo Gear. “The NZBA team is very much looking forward to welcoming the international entries back to our competition.”

The New Zealand Beer Awards also celebrate the wider industry with trophies for beer packaging, beer tourism and sustainability initiatives. The Morton Coutts Award for Innovation has had a revamp and will have an increased focus on recognising individuals with “smart ideas and out-of-the-box innovations”, regardless of size or scale.

 W: Find entry details online at brewersguild.org.nz