{"id":29939,"date":"2026-06-05T16:43:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/?p=29939"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:43:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:43:47","slug":"medals-math-aibas-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2026\/06\/05\/medals-math-aibas-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Medals & math: an overview of the 2026 Australian beer awards"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
The other Mountain Goat, also on top \u2014 original photo by Alan D. Wilson<\/a> (2008, CC-BY-SA<\/a> licensed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Australian International Beer Awards is one of the world’s largest competitions of its kind.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Results of the 2026 competition were announced recently, crowning over a dozen different ‘champions’ of various sizes and classes \u2014 including an IPA from Mountain Goat as the Champion Australian Beer, hence the beastie in banner image here<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> \u2014 and handing out more than two hundred gold medals. A lot<\/em> of noteworthy detail gets lost in the noise. Luckily, I’ve got a way to contextualise it all.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The organisers publish a list of every beer entered<\/a>, even if it didn’t earn a medal.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span> So I tabulate them up, and work out each entrant’s overall medal percentage<\/em> (MPC<\/strong>) and their\u00a0points per entry<\/em> (PPE<\/strong>) by adding 3 for gold, 2 for silver, and 1 for bronze, then dividing by how many beers they submitted. This gives us two useful measures of performance to compare. 76.6% of all beers were awarded a medal this year, and the median PPE was 1.14 (i.e.<\/em>, half of the breweries scored at that level or better) \u2014 if you focus on the Australian entrants only, those rise slightly to 80.1% and 1.25.<\/p>\n

Performance at the 2026 Australian International Beer Awards by breweries entering 5+ beers (or winning a trophy with less)<\/h5>\n

N = no. of entries, MPC = medal percentage, PPE = points per entry, T = style trophies, G\/S\/B = medals, \"\ud83c\udfc6\" = Champion brewery, \"\ud83c\udf7a\" = brewer of Champion beer, all entrants Australian unless noted<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Brewery<\/th>n<\/th>MPC<\/th>PPE<\/th>T<\/th>G<\/th>S<\/th>B<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
King Road (\ud83c\udfc6 Small Aus. & Indie)<\/td>11<\/td>90.9<\/td>2.00<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>6<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Altitude (NZ) (\ud83c\udfc6 Small Int'l.)<\/td>20<\/td>100<\/td>1.90<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>8<\/td>7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hawkesbury Brewing (\ud83c\udfc6 Med. Aus.)<\/td>10<\/td>90<\/td>1.90<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>4<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
COEDO (Japan) (\ud83c\udfc6 Med. Int'l.)<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.43<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pirate Life (\ud83c\udfc6 Large Aus.)<\/td>13<\/td>84.6<\/td>1.77<\/td>0<\/td>5<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Garage Project (NZ) (\ud83c\udfc6 Large Int'l.)<\/td>16<\/td>93.8<\/td>1.75<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>9<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hawkers (\ud83c\udfc6 Victorian Brewery)<\/td>17<\/td>88.2<\/td>1.94<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>8<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stomping Ground (\ud83c\udf7a Indie)<\/td>17<\/td>100<\/td>1.65<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>7<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mountain Goat (\ud83c\udf7a Aus.)<\/td>17<\/td>88.2<\/td>1.41<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zebra (China) (\ud83c\udf7a Int'l.)<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>1.20<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Froth (Best New Exhibitor)<\/td>13<\/td>84.6<\/td>1.54<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shack Bay (\"Nomad\" brewer award)<\/td>3<\/td>100<\/td>2.00<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Slipstream<\/td>37<\/td>94.6<\/td>1.84<\/td>0<\/td>10<\/td>13<\/td>12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carlsberg China<\/td>30<\/td>76.7<\/td>1.17<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>8<\/td>13<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4 Pines<\/td>24<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.58<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>9<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spring Valley (Japan)<\/td>23<\/td>69.6<\/td>1.09<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gage Roads<\/td>22<\/td>86.4<\/td>1.73<\/td>0<\/td>7<\/td>5<\/td>7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coopers<\/td>20<\/td>75<\/td>1.20<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bridge Road<\/td>20<\/td>90<\/td>1.55<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>11<\/td>6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hong Kong Beer Co. (HK)<\/td>19<\/td>68.4<\/td>1.21<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>8<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Balter<\/td>18<\/td>88.9<\/td>1.83<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>9<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Felons<\/td>18<\/td>77.8<\/td>1.44<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>6<\/td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blackman's<\/td>18<\/td>77.8<\/td>1.44<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>8<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Margaret River Beer Co.<\/td>17<\/td>94.1<\/td>1.88<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>8<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reckless<\/td>17<\/td>70.6<\/td>1.18<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Limestone Coast Brewing Ops.<\/td>17<\/td>58.8<\/td>0.94<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Philter<\/td>16<\/td>93.8<\/td>1.94<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>8<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Black Hops<\/td>16<\/td>93.8<\/td>1.44<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>6<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jervis Bay Brewing Co.<\/td>16<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.38<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>6<\/td>7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Moffat Beach Brewing Co.<\/td>16<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.38<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>6<\/td>7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sydney Brewery<\/td>16<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.25<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>6<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Green Beacon<\/td>16<\/td>62.5<\/td>0.81<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CBCo<\/td>15<\/td>93.3<\/td>1.67<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>7<\/td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Asahi Abbotsford<\/td>14<\/td>100<\/td>1.93<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>7<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Asahi Yatala<\/td>14<\/td>100<\/td>1.57<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chuck & Son's<\/td>14<\/td>64.3<\/td>1.21<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stone & Wood<\/td>14<\/td>92.9<\/td>1.50<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>6<\/td>6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Boundary Island<\/td>14<\/td>71.4<\/td>1.29<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>6<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kumbat (China)<\/td>14<\/td>64.3<\/td>1.07<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brick Lane<\/td>13<\/td>100<\/td>1.92<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>4<\/td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bright<\/td>13<\/td>92.3<\/td>1.77<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>7<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kaiju!<\/td>13<\/td>92.3<\/td>1.46<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No-Li Brewhouse (USA)<\/td>13<\/td>38.5<\/td>0.54<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Heineken Brasil<\/td>13<\/td>30.8<\/td>0.38<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shelter<\/td>12<\/td>91.7<\/td>1.75<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>6<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Boston Brewing Co.<\/td>12<\/td>100<\/td>1.50<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rebellion<\/td>12<\/td>66.7<\/td>1.08<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Thorny Devil<\/td>12<\/td>91.7<\/td>1.17<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Three Sisters (NZ)<\/td>11<\/td>90.9<\/td>1.73<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>7<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
King River Brewing Co.<\/td>11<\/td>72.7<\/td>1.27<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mahou (Spain)<\/td>11<\/td>45.5<\/td>0.64<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Frogs Hollow<\/td>11<\/td>54.5<\/td>0.64<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cypher<\/td>10<\/td>90<\/td>2.00<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>5<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cheeky Monkey<\/td>10<\/td>90<\/td>1.70<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nBeer (China)<\/td>10<\/td>90<\/td>1.60<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Slowboat (China)<\/td>10<\/td>80<\/td>1.40<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perentie Brewing Co.<\/td>10<\/td>100<\/td>1.90<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>7<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
District<\/td>10<\/td>100<\/td>1.70<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>5<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hawke's<\/td>10<\/td>100<\/td>1.60<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Esker Beer Co.<\/td>10<\/td>100<\/td>1.80<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>8<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jing-a (China)<\/td>10<\/td>80<\/td>1.20<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nail<\/td>9<\/td>100<\/td>2.00<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>5<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Waihenstephaner (Germany)<\/td>9<\/td>77.8<\/td>1.44<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Crafty Monk<\/td>9<\/td>100<\/td>1.67<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Valley Brewhouse<\/td>9<\/td>77.8<\/td>1.44<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Otherside<\/td>9<\/td>100<\/td>1.89<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>8<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daobrew (China)<\/td>9<\/td>77.8<\/td>0.89<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Broulee<\/td>9<\/td>44.4<\/td>0.56<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mismatch<\/td>8<\/td>100<\/td>2.00<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Moo Brew<\/td>8<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.75<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TW\u00d8BAYS<\/td>8<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.75<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Half Pace<\/td>8<\/td>75<\/td>1.63<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
White Bay<\/td>8<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.75<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>5<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Urbrew (China)<\/td>8<\/td>75<\/td>1.38<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blasta<\/td>8<\/td>75<\/td>1.13<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hangzhou Cheerday (China)<\/td>8<\/td>62.5<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dangerous Ales<\/td>8<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.50<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>5<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shiner (USA)<\/td>8<\/td>75<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pacific Ocean Brewing<\/td>8<\/td>62.5<\/td>0.88<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1826 Collective (Singapore)<\/td>8<\/td>62.5<\/td>0.75<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coles Liquor<\/td>8<\/td>62.5<\/td>0.75<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hepburn Springs Brewing Co.<\/td>8<\/td>37.5<\/td>0.38<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Capital<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.71<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brewdog Australia<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.57<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Village Days<\/td>7<\/td>71.4<\/td>1.57<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rocky Ridge<\/td>7<\/td>100<\/td>1.71<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Noodledoof<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.43<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Renaissance (NZ)<\/td>7<\/td>71.4<\/td>1.29<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Salt Brewing Co.<\/td>7<\/td>71.4<\/td>1.29<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Urban Alley<\/td>7<\/td>57.1<\/td>1.14<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beerland<\/td>7<\/td>42.9<\/td>0.86<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hemingway's<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.14<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Endeavour - Pinnacle Drinks<\/td>7<\/td>14.3<\/td>0.43<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seeker<\/td>7<\/td>100<\/td>1.71<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>5<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bailey<\/td>7<\/td>100<\/td>1.57<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shining Peak (NZ)<\/td>7<\/td>100<\/td>1.57<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good Land<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.43<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ocean Reach<\/td>7<\/td>100<\/td>1.43<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mitta Mitta Brewing Co.<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.29<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indian Ocean Brewing Co.<\/td>7<\/td>71.4<\/td>1.14<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Asahi Laverton<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.14<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Richkat (China)<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.14<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smiley Brewing Co.<\/td>7<\/td>85.7<\/td>1.14<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brugan<\/td>7<\/td>71.4<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Freshwater<\/td>7<\/td>71.4<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hargreaves Hill<\/td>7<\/td>57.1<\/td>0.86<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samuel Adams (USA)<\/td>7<\/td>57.1<\/td>0.86<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
San Miguel (Philippines)<\/td>7<\/td>42.9<\/td>0.71<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Engkanto (Philippines)<\/td>7<\/td>71.4<\/td>0.86<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shanghai Witchcraft (China)<\/td>7<\/td>57.1<\/td>0.71<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tribe Breweries<\/td>7<\/td>57.1<\/td>0.71<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maggie Island Brewery<\/td>7<\/td>28.6<\/td>0.43<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Uraidla<\/td>6<\/td>100<\/td>2.17<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rhyme X Reason (NZ)<\/td>6<\/td>100<\/td>2.00<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Homestead<\/td>6<\/td>83.3<\/td>1.67<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brave (NZ)<\/td>6<\/td>100<\/td>1.83<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Merino Brewery<\/td>6<\/td>83.3<\/td>1.50<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brisbane Brewing Co.<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>1.33<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stoic Brewing<\/td>6<\/td>83.3<\/td>1.33<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Little Bang<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Peiping Machine (China)<\/td>6<\/td>83.3<\/td>1.50<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Common People<\/td>6<\/td>100<\/td>1.50<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
First Light<\/td>6<\/td>100<\/td>1.50<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jetty Road<\/td>6<\/td>100<\/td>1.50<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seasonal Brewing Co.<\/td>6<\/td>83.3<\/td>1.33<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aether<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>1.17<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bucketty\u2019s<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>1.17<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Saigon Beer (Vietnam)<\/td>6<\/td>100<\/td>1.33<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Big Niles<\/td>6<\/td>83.3<\/td>1.17<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seabreeze<\/td>6<\/td>83.3<\/td>1.17<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Baladin (Italy)<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hop Nation<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Underdog (Thailand)<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hard Road<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>0.83<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prancing Pony<\/td>6<\/td>66.7<\/td>0.83<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daily Beer (Korea)<\/td>6<\/td>50<\/td>0.67<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hop Hen<\/td>6<\/td>100<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wizard (Thailand)<\/td>6<\/td>33.3<\/td>0.33<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tawandang Brewery 1999 (Thailand)<\/td>6<\/td>16.7<\/td>0.17<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Principle<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>2.00<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kick Back<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>1.80<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fresh Beer 30km (China)<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.80<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
James Boags<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>1.40<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ward\u2019s Brewery<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>1.60<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
49th State (USA)<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>1.60<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Full Moon (Thailand)<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.60<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Earth Beer Co.<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>1.20<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Suapobbe (China)<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>1.20<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Braeside<\/td>5<\/td>40<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Watts River Brewing<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.40<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Love Shack<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>1.00<\/td>1<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shedshaker<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oak Haven \/ Gosford RSL<\/td>5<\/td>40<\/td>0.80<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phat Brew Club<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.80<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CUB Cascade<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.60<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Deep Elite<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>1.40<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No Eye Deer<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>1.40<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10 Toes<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.40<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Burleigh<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.40<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hiker<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.40<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shaanxi Fubixing Wine Co. (China)<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.40<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mountain Monk<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>1.20<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Damm (Spain)<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
King Tide<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spinifex<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.20<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sprig + Fern (NZ)<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.20<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Foxdog<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trumer (USA)<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Australian Beer Co.<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>0.80<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bicheno<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>0.80<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tooheys Brewery<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>0.80<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>1<\/td>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hudson Brewing<\/td>5<\/td>100<\/td>1.00<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
State of Play (NZ)<\/td>5<\/td>80<\/td>0.80<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Heaps Normal<\/td>5<\/td>60<\/td>0.60<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>0<\/td>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

The table above shows the results for every entrant with five or more beers in the running, cutting out the noisier end of the data but still covering most of the field and all the trophy winners.<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The headline-getting champions are grouped together by default for easy comparison, but you can click a column title to re-sort the data.<\/p>\n

Standing out from the herd, mathematically speaking<\/h5>\n
\"A<\/a>
A different Zebra up close \u2014 original by Giles Laurent<\/a> (2025, CC-BY-SA<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Awards night<\/a> itself builds up to the ‘Champion Beer’ announcements, the winners of which are decided after a final tasting round<\/a> of all 21 trophy winners of the various style categories \u2014 something that must be an absolute rollercoaster for the judging panel’s palates. Despite often soaking up an outsized share of media attention \u2014 and indeed, two-thirds of the organiser’s own press release<\/a> \u2014 these ‘Best in Show’ recipients are mostly outside the scope of my ‘batting averages’ number-crunching here.<\/p>\n

But it’s interesting to note that the trio represent wildly differing kinds of beer \u2014 an IPA brewed with experimental NZ hops from Mountain Goat, a smoked-malt brown lager from Stomping Ground, and a German-style wheat beer from Zebra Craft Beer in China. Each brewery’s overall fortunes in the competition also varied quite a bit: M.G. slightly but significantly ahead of average, S.G. definitively better than that, and Z.C.B. falling well short, with that Hefeweizen a clear outlier among their beers. It was up against six other overseas trophy-winners though, including the legendary Rodenbach Grand Cru, and for a dead straight wheat beer to stand out in such company is no easy task. Still, Zebra’s results reminded me of Stone & Wood in 2024<\/a>: one eye-catching win obscuring an otherwise unglorious run.<\/p>\n

Local champions and close contenders<\/h5>\n

All seven title-winning ‘Champion Breweries’ did very well, each of them far ahead of the averages in terms of MPC and PPE; no one spammed their way to victory, as happens sometimes in competitions like this with no ‘penalty’ for a beer that does poorly. But \u2014 as I explained last year<\/a> \u2014 we don’t know how close any of those races were: the victor is the brewery with the highest total after adding up the scores (out of 20, where 17+ is a gold) from their best four beers,<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span> and those aren’t public.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>
And the nominees are… \u2014 screenshot from the livestream feed of the AIBAs presentation dinner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ‘contenders’ for each category are announced on the night,<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> which gives some<\/em> context for the other contestants \u2014 Cypher, for example, announced their status with (justifiable) pride<\/a>. But this opaque scoring system is why Slipstream, despite taking home the most gold medals by far<\/em>, had to sit back and watch King Road reclaim their Small Australian Brewery crown.<\/p>\n

However else you look at it, though, King Road’s performance was incredible: the best MPC and<\/em> PPE of the local champions \u2014 and winning the trophy for Traditional IPA, one of the most hotly contested categories, with the second-highest number of entries, and more gold medallists at that final table than any other. (We can debate the sense in an “NZ Cold IPA”<\/a> running in the ‘traditional’ bracket another time.)<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

There was a bit of a raised eyebrow in some of the reaction to Hawkesbury Brewing Co. taking the Medium tier title. As the makers of notorious line of plastic-bottle RTDs<\/a>, they’re doubtless perceived as commodity brewers \/ beverage manufacturers \u2014 but you can’t really argue with their results, which included high MPC and PPE, diverse golds, and a trophy for their rebranded core range stout<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Something similar happened with Pirate Life’s win in the Large tier, despite their demonstrably strong performance. Founded at the crest of the craft boom, they’re often derided as one of the main ‘sellouts’ of the era and are now ultimately an Asahi subsidiary. Amid growing (and, let’s be real, actively stoked<\/a>) economic nationalism in the Australian beer market, two ‘foreign-owned’ entities (Pirate Life & Mountain Goat) being bestowed ‘Australian Champion’ status hit a sour note with some.<\/p>\n

An independence interlude<\/h5>\n

So let’s look at the awards through the lens of ownership. “Independent” breweries account for the vast bulk of Australian beer at the AIBAs; about 85% of both entries and medals awarded, and winning all but two of the style category trophies that didn’t go overseas, which is about the same proportion. No real correlation between independence and success appears overall.<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/td>N<\/th>T<\/th>G<\/th>MPC<\/th>PPE<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
CUB \/ Asahi<\/td>128<\/td>1<\/td>20<\/td>87.5<\/td>1.53<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lion \/ Kirin<\/td>34<\/td>1<\/td>3<\/td>79.4<\/td>1.26<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coopers<\/td>20<\/td>0<\/td>2<\/td>75<\/td>1.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Independent<\/td>1254<\/td>12<\/td>138<\/td>80.1<\/td>1.36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Remember the Australia-wide statistics were 80.1 MPC and 1.25 PPE. So, as a whole, the extremely broad spectrum of “independent” beer is fractionally ahead on the latter \u2014 although of course that’s very unevenly distributed.\u00a0Meanwhile, the Lion group (including Little Creatures, Boags, Tooheys) washes up very<\/em> close to the overall average thanks to a boost from Stone & Wood, and Asahi-owned brands contested in high numbers and are considerably ahead of the curve, this year.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A Green Beacon all at sea \u2014 photo by Colin Park<\/a> (2024, CC-BY-SA<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Indeed, all of Asahi’s constituent parts did really well \u2014 except Green Beacon. Their ‘mainstream’ facilities at Abbotsford and Yatala (which make Carlton, Great Northern, etc<\/em>.) scored 100 MPC with over a dozen beers each, 4 Pines were a contender for the Large Australian Brewery title, and Balter have had three years in a row of impressive numbers. But Green Beacon (acquired in 2019, not long after they won the Champion Medium Australian Brewery title<\/a>) are languishing and dragging them down, with their MPC and PPE getting worse every year I’ve done the calculations; the group’s scores would go up to 91.1 MPC and 1.63 PPE without them. It reminds me of Fixation’s post-buyout nosedive<\/a>, which first made me jump into the messy ocean of AIBAs data.<\/p>\n

Hopefully it’s obvious that independence doesn’t guarantee “good” beer, just as giant conglomerates don’t necessarily make “crap” \u2014 an all-too-common sentiment among people who are probably mainly motivated by a criticism of them as companies, many of which are valid. There’s doubtless some structural advantages in size (more resources for quality control, etc<\/em>.) but they’re no guarantee, and they probably kick in long before multinational scale. The\u00a0euphemistically-named “families” of indie beer<\/a><\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span> who entered in significant numbers all outdid their smaller peers: Allpour (Mismatch & Jetty Road) had 100 MPC and 1.72 PPE, Good Drinks (Gage Roads, Alby, etc.<\/em>) scored 86.3 MPC and also 1.72 PPE, and Social Drinks (Hawkers & White Bay) got to 88 MPC and an impressive 1.88 PPE.<\/p>\n

In this context, the extra titles for the Champion Independent Beer and Independent Brewery<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span> seem superfluous and awkward. They’ll either go to a brewery who already won (and happens to be “independent”) or they’ll look a lot like a kind of runner-up. All we learned from them this year was that King Road outperformed Hawkesbury head-to-head, and that Stomping Ground’s rauchbier was somewhere between the second- and seventh-best beer on the final ‘Best in Show’ table.<\/p>\n

The overseas contingent<\/h5>\n

Speaking of “foreign-owned” breweries, a sizeable fraction of the AIBAs \u2014 nearly a third of all the beers \u2014 easily justifies that acronym’s second letter: International. The largest contributor is China (202), followed by the United States (128) and New Zealand (106); a slight increase by the former balancing a decrease by the latter but staying pretty constant overall. That Champion International Beer win might’ve put some more attention on Chinese entrants, but performance-wise their collective stats were basically unchanged from 2025:<\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span> one style trophy, ~20 gold medals, ~70 MPC.<\/p>\n

American breweries had a relatively rough time. As a bloc, they underperformed, perhaps because a high proportion of their beers submitted were in hoppy styles like IPA, and so particularly prone to suffering over long travel. Three of them were officially named as ‘contenders’ for a championship, but I think it’s really only Breakside who you can single out for acclaim. Their four entries (two strong stouts, but also an American Pils and a WCIPA) scored 100 MPC and 2.25 PPE, which is right up there among the highest on that metric.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Marking another impressive altitude \u2014 by Mateo Macht, (2022)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New Zealand \u2014 certainly at least partially on account of proximity \u2014 fared conspicuously well. Altitude, retaining the Champion Small International Brewery from last year, unambiguously had the best overall stats of any champion in this round: 100 MPC and 1.90 PPE from 20 entries, while taking two<\/em> style trophies (Pilsner and Modern Pale Ale). And Garage Project retook the Large tier title which has passed back and forth between them and legendary Germany brewery Weihenstephaner since 2021.<\/p>\n

In between those tiers, the Medium title went to COEDO from Japan. But of all the championship categories, this was arguably the one with the weakest performances with no trophies, fewer medals, and markedly lower MPC and PPE scores posted by its contenders<\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span> \u2014 which included two of those Americans I mentioned: defending champion 49th State (who did fine) and No-Li Brewhouse, a weirdly prolific entrant who I’ve never seen do better than 40 MPC. No-Li are the kind of brewery I have in mind when I mention ‘spamming’ the awards; they fling beer all over the world<\/a> and only report hits without the context of many more misses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vestigial categories in need of some work<\/h5>\n

Two other ‘headline’ winners are announced each year: a trophy for the Best New Exhibitor, and an Australian Nomad Brewer award \u2014 formerly known, until this year, as the “Gypsy” category (yikes).<\/p>\n

The former should probably be called “Best First Time<\/em> Exhibitor” since the winner, Froth from Western Australia, was established nearly a decade ago<\/a>, and something similar happened the first time I analysed the AIBAs<\/a>, two years ago. Weirdly, in contrast to the regular championships determined by an entrant’s best four scores, this one takes just the top two<\/em> into account,<\/span>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span> for no clear reason. That makes things pretty volatile, and for the record, every other named ‘contender’ here (Brave, Crafty Monk, Principle, and Sun Lab) did better on MPC and<\/em> PPE.<\/p>\n

But the Nomad category should just go. Its new name is a genuine improvement, but still not great.<\/span>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Fundamentally, ‘Best Brand Without A Brewery’ simply isn’t an interesting segment of the market anymore. The winner, Shack Bay from Victoria \u2014 whose beer was produced by Ocean Reach (100 MPC, 1.43 PPE), and who ironically announced plans to build their own premises<\/a> a few days after the ceremony \u2014 was described as the sole contender<\/em> for the title this year.<\/p>\n

Underappreciated excellence<\/h5>\n

One of the reasons I started these analyses was to highlight praiseworthy results that are only really obvious with a full results table, such as Slipstream’s incredible gold medal haul (or Gage Road’s, come to that). Or those which take a bit of math to tease out, like how Uraidla scored the highest PPE of any brewery entering at least five beers (if we treat that as a breakpoint for statistical significance). But I’ll leave you all to poke around with the data and find some more worth celebrating.<\/p>\n

I’ll close by noting what seems to be a strange omission by the organisers. One of my favourite elements of the AIBAs is their Consistency of Excellence Medal, an extra honour bestowed on beers which earn a gold (in the same format and class) three years in a row.<\/span>15<\/sup><\/a><\/span> There are a handful of recipients each time, and it’s a genuinely impressive feat that deserves recognition.<\/p>\n

But two of last year’s winners<\/a> \u2014 Holgate’s ‘Road Trip’ IPA in cans, and Balter’s Hazy IPA in keg \u2014 struck gold again,<\/span>16<\/sup><\/a><\/span> making four<\/em> years in a row, but they were left off the list of honorees. I’d been tipped off about the former, and found the latter myself after a few minutes spent checking.<\/span>17<\/sup><\/a><\/span> So, for whatever it’s worth, I think they each deserve a Platinum Consistency Tiara, or something.<\/p>\n

And…<\/em> that’s definitely enough for now. There really is a mountain of data generated by each round of this competition \u2014 and a lot of it is frankly a mess \u2014 and I am no kind of data goat, or whatever would climb such a thing in this metaphor. But I do my best, and I hope that if you’ve made it this far you found it interesting and\/or entertaining. If you did, odds are good you know someone else who would; send it to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Australian International Beer Awards is one of the world’s largest competitions of its kind. Results of the 2026 competition were announced recently, crowning over a dozen different ‘champions’ of various sizes and classes \u2014 including an IPA from Mountain Goat as the Champion Australian Beer, hence the beastie in banner image here \u2014 and … Continue reading Medals & math: an overview of the 2026 Australian beer awards<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beer-awards"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20383,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2023\/07\/19\/fixation-local-consistent\/","url_meta":{"origin":29939,"position":0},"title":"Fixation: not really Melbourne’s, and not particularly consistent","author":"Phil","date":"July 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Melbourne's Own Consistently Excellent Beer, the billboard read, provided you walked back and forward a bit or at least leaned side to side, since it'd been stuck up on a surface that was too tightly curved. I'd seen variations on that poster campaign before, but now it made me mad;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Observations"","block_context":{"text":"Observations","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/reports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fixation Brewing billboard on a bollard at the University of Melbourne, which reads 'Melbourne's Own Consistently Excellent Beer'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fixation-billboll-or-bollboard.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fixation-billboll-or-bollboard.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fixation-billboll-or-bollboard.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fixation-billboll-or-bollboard.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fixation-billboll-or-bollboard.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fixation-billboll-or-bollboard.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27769,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2025\/05\/29\/medals-math-2025-aibas\/","url_meta":{"origin":29939,"position":1},"title":"Medals & math: calculations and crucial context for the 2025 AIBAs","author":"Phil","date":"May 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The first fun fact I noticed about the recent Australian International Beer Awards was that the two headline Champion Beers were both dead straight lagers: the dark lager from Western Australia's unassuming Wedgetail Brewing, and the flashy and award-laden American version of Trumer Pils \u2014 opposites, in some ways, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Beer awards"","block_context":{"text":"Beer awards","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/beer-awards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedgetail-wide-CA-edit-adapted-from-John-Tann-original.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedgetail-wide-CA-edit-adapted-from-John-Tann-original.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedgetail-wide-CA-edit-adapted-from-John-Tann-original.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedgetail-wide-CA-edit-adapted-from-John-Tann-original.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wedgetail-wide-CA-edit-adapted-from-John-Tann-original.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23268,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2024\/07\/23\/medals-and-math-aiba-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":29939,"position":2},"title":"Medals & math: Australian edition \u2014 a deep dive into the 2024 AIBAs","author":"Phil","date":"July 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I moved here, I've been meaning to subject the Australian International Beer Awards to the same analysis that I do for the competition back home. But a mix of feeling less familiar with the industry here and the vastly bigger-and-messier dataset has derailed me. Until now. There's a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Beer awards"","block_context":{"text":"Beer awards","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/beer-awards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Stone-Wood-Hinterland.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Stone-Wood-Hinterland.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Stone-Wood-Hinterland.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Stone-Wood-Hinterland.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Stone-Wood-Hinterland.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20585,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2024\/05\/27\/medals-and-math-v\/","url_meta":{"origin":29939,"position":3},"title":"Medals and math V \u2014 close calls, clean sweeps, and other countries","author":"Phil","date":"May 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"So. Beer awards, again. (And belatedly, again.) The announcement that entries were open for the 2024 Brewers Guild of NZ Awards, together with the fact I was at the presentation dinner for the Australian competition last week, plus the chance to drink a bunch more New Zealand beer than usual\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Beer awards"","block_context":{"text":"Beer awards","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/beer-awards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A bottle of 8 Wired's 'Wild Feijoa' on the bench out the front of my house","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Wild-Feijoa-on-the-bench.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Wild-Feijoa-on-the-bench.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Wild-Feijoa-on-the-bench.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Wild-Feijoa-on-the-bench.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/8-Wired-Wild-Feijoa-on-the-bench.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28220,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2026\/05\/21\/medals-and-math-nzba-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":29939,"position":4},"title":"Medals & math: a look back at the 2025 New Zealand Beer Awards","author":"Phil","date":"May 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"It is very much Awards Season: I was recently at the World Beer Cup, the Australian International Beer Awards crowned new champions last week, and entries are now open for the 2026 New Zealand Beer Awards. But I still owe you all my traditional analysis of the 2025 data. Post-match\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Beer awards"","block_context":{"text":"Beer awards","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/beer-awards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An opened bottle of Garage Project's 'Chance, Luck & Magic 2021', just out of focus, laying on its side on a wooden bench in front of a red brick wall. The bottle's cork is in the right foreground, in sharper focus, the Wild Workshop logo stamped onto it","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-Chance-Luck-Magic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-Chance-Luck-Magic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-Chance-Luck-Magic.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-Chance-Luck-Magic.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-Chance-Luck-Magic.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20244,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2022\/07\/21\/medals-and-math-iii\/","url_meta":{"origin":29939,"position":5},"title":"Medals and math III \u2014 a bonanza of BGONZAs","author":"Phil","date":"July 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It's beer awards night back home in New Zealand. I'll be tuning in as best I can from over here in Melbourne and doubtless obsessing over various weird little details and patterns once I've got the full results. As I've tried to make the case here before, I think there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Beer awards"","block_context":{"text":"Beer awards","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/beer-awards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Awards-night.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Awards-night.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Awards-night.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Awards-night.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Awards-night.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29939"}],"version-history":[{"count":245,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30446,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29939\/revisions\/30446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}