Belgium took home 76 awards at the 2019 edition of the international Brussels Beer Challenge competition held in Mons from 1 to 3 November.
The first professional beer competition in Belgium, Brussels Beer Challenge was created in 2012 in response to the growing interest in beer culture. The first edition of the competition took place that same year in La Bourse in Brussels.
In the 2019 edition of the competition, the results of which were announced on Monday at the Horeca Expo fair in Ghent, 35 countries competed and over 1,650 beers were entered.
Belgium came in first place, followed by the United States in second place with 46 awards, Italy in third with 24, the Netherlands with 21, China with 18, France with 16 and Germany with 15 awards.
The Ter Dolen brewery came away with two gold medals; one in the Bitter Blond/Golden Ale competition and one in the category of Belgian revelation.
Dupont brewery at Tourpes was awarded for its Honey Beer and its Season Dupont Dry Hopping.
In the "traditional season" category, the Avena beer of the Deseveaux brewery holds onto first place, after having already won the category in 2018.
Blanche de Namur, by the Brasserie de Bocq brewer, won its third gold medal in four years.
The Belgian-Dutch group Swinkels also won two gold medals with their Palm Session IPA and Rodenbach Grand Cru.
For the first time in the competition, a Trappist beer, the Chimay Grand Réserve, came away with a gold medal, winning the title of international revelation at the competition.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
