We bring back 5 medals from the Barcelona Beer Challenge 2023

On May 26, the awards ceremony of the last Barcelona Beer Challenge took place, with an excellent result for Cierzo Brewing, obtaining a total of 5 medals that allowed us to be among the 5 best breweries in this prestigious contest.

One of the most important competitions in Europe

This has been the eleventh edition of the contest, which each year reinforces its position among the most important in the old continent, not only due to its success in summoning, but also due to the highly qualified jury that evaluates the participating beers. A contest that is part of the structure of the Barcelona Beer Festival, a true benchmark for craft beer in southern Europe.

181 breweries from around the world presented a total of 1,126 beers, covering practically all the styles classified by the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program). These beers were evaluated by a large jury of experts, which have valid international certifications. The members of the jury carried out an exhaustive sensory evaluation of each beer, with an approximate estimate of one hour for each reference evaluated.

These high quality criteria, added to the extensive history of the contest and its great impact, have recently allowed it to become part of the select list of certified contests of the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU), which brings together consumer associations of beer from Europe.

One gold, two silver and two bronze

This was the balance obtained by our beers in this year’s edition, highlighting the gold for Just in Time: Bru-1 & Citra, in the “Hazy Pale Ale & Other Specialty Pale Ale” category. A beer launched on the market a few months ago and which was very well received, both for its aroma and flavor, and for being a simple, cheap and low-alcohol beer, designed for everyday drink.

These were the other awarded Cierzo beers:

• Brewpub Series: The Bitterest Pill, with a silver in the “British Bitter” category.
• Truco o Trato, with a silver in the “Autumn & Winter Seasonal Beer” category.
• Sleepwalking, with a bronze in the “Dark Mild & British Brown Ale” category.
• Stronger Things, with a bronze in the “Strong British Ale” category.

Top 5 breweries

After the category awards, it was time to do the math and see which had been the best breweries this year. It was then that it was learned that Cierzo Brewing was among the top 5, along with old friends such as La Pirata, Montseny, Cosa Nostra or the Italian Serra Storta. Finally, the prize for the best brewery went to the Valencian Cosa Nostra, with whom we had the pleasure of collaborating a few months ago, producing a fantastic West Coast IPA.

In addition, we had the great joy of seeing how Guillem Laporta received the Steve Huxley award for his entire professional career. A great friend of Cierzo’s, who also worked for a few years in our brewpub in Zaragoza as a sommelier. Finally, the prize for best new brewery went to Dúa Sparkling Beer, and the prize for innovation went to the Peruvian 7 vidas.

Remembering previous editions

It is not the first time that the Barcelona Beer Challenge gives us joy. In the 2020 edition, the first one in which we participated, we won the award for the best new brewery, in addition to 3 medals. The following year, we received a whopping 8 medals, taking runner-up that year, only behind Basqueland.