Engkanto Brewery won a gold medal for High Hive Honey Ale and bronze medals for Live It Up Lager and Green Lava Double IPA.
Engkanto, a proudly Filipino craft beer brand and brewery, recently made waves down under after bagging three medals at the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) held last month at Melbourne, Australia.
Taking the gold is the High Hive Honey Ale, which was also declared as the Country Winner and Gold Medalist at the World Beer Awards (WBA) 2022. The AIBA win marks the ale’s second international gold medal in two consecutive years—a testament to the premium ingredients used in brewing High Hive. Its star ingredient, the purest local honey Engkanto could find, continues to work wonders for the local brewery.
Just last year, the High Hive Honey Ale bagged its first international gold medal. This year’s AIBA win continues the buzz for the acclaimed brew.
The High Hive Honey Ale is smooth and subtly sweet, with light floral honey notes balanced by a hint of bitterness. This medium-bodied beer pairs well with dishes that pack a punch, such as spicy Mexican dishes, grilled or smoked meats, or tangy cheese.
Meanwhile, Engkanto’s Live It Up Lager and Green Lava Double IPA bagged bronze medals for the International Style Pilsner and Best Traditional India Pale Ale categories, respectively.
Live It Up has a tropical profile that has notes of citrus, passionfruit, and melon, complemented by a malt backbone with a subtle note of toasted biscuits. Meanwhile, the Green Lava Double IPA, with its high levels of alcohol and bitterness, has hoppy flavors and notes of grapefruit, mango, pineapple, and apricot.
“AIBA is one of the largest beer competitions in the world and I’m stoked to win more international awards for our core lineup of craft beers. It’s a testament to our brewery team and our dedication to make amazing beer locally and of world class standards,” said Engkanto Brewmaster Michael ‘MJ’ Jordan.
“The level of breweries that participated in AIBA 2023 is really high, so I’m overwhelmed that we won three medals, including a gold for High Hive,” shares Ricard Basora, Managing Director of Engkanto.
Ian Paradies, founder of Engkanto, shared the same level of happiness and was all cheers for the team’s continuous success in international beer competitions.
“A huge congratulations to the whole Team Engkanto for once again bringing home several awards at AIBA for our core variants, including gold for our High Hive Honey Ale! We have so much more to give, and I can’t wait for the market to see what else Engkanto does within both the local and global craft beer scene. It’s a proud day for Philippine craft beer,” the founder remarked.
Celebrating 30 years, the Melbourne Royal Australian International Beer Awards is the largest annual beer competition in the world. The event judges both draught and packaged beer, as well as beer packaging design. In 2022, the awards attracted over 2,600 entries from more than 350 breweries in 20 countries.
The international panel of judges for AIBA comes from countries including Spain, the United States of America, Vietnam, and New Zealand. The diverse panel aims to represent all corners of the brewing industry, with each judge bringing unique skills, industry perspectives, sensory strengths, and a positive willingness to improve and impart their own knowledge on craft beer brewing.
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For more information about Engkanto, check out:
Website: https://engkanto.com.ph/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/engkantobrewery
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/engkantobrewery/
