I sat in on a judging session at the Australian International Beer Awards competition held in Melbourne recently and was not surprised to find that beer judging is somewhat similar to wine judging. Judges award points out of 20, a maximum of 3 points for appearance, 6 for aroma, 8 for flavour and 3 for balance. Scoring takes into account characteristics such as foam and carbonation, malt/hops aromatics on the nose, and typicity and bitterness on the palate. Medals are awarded to top achievers, scores of 17 points and over gaining gold, 15.5 to 16.9, silver, and 14 to 15.4, bronze.

Beer judging differs from wine judging in two main respects. Firstly, beers in each class are judged against a true-to-style "marker" or benchmark beer, to maintain consistency of evaluation across the judging panel. In contrast, wine judges usually assess wines intuitively, against style examples recorded in their respective palate memories. Secondly, beer judges swallow a little of each beer to assess aftertaste and finish, whereas wine judges spit out each mouthful.

I believe that beer judges have got it right. Wine benchmarks should eliminate inconsistencies caused by individual judges having different opinions on how an ideal cabernet, chardonnay, etc., should present. Nor can I see how a wine can be judged properly or completely without checking out its aftertaste and finish by swallowing.

Run annually by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and the University of Ballarat, the Australian International Beer Awards attracted a record 480 entries, from 87 breweries in 25 countries. A Belgian beer, Hoegaarden White, won the jackpot, taking out trophies for Grand Champion, Champion Specialty Beer, Best Wheat Beer, and Best Specialty Ale.

See www.beerawards.com for details of other trophy winners.

Tastings

Hoegaarden White Beer
A Belgian full-strength (five per cent), non-filtered beer, brewed from malted barley and unmalted wheat, flavoured with Curacao orange peel and coriander spice. Light and cloudy in appearance, the cloudiness is due to yeast cells remaining in the beer following secondary fermentation in the bottle. The nose is fragrant - rose petals? - and spicy, the palate complex and fruity, both sweet and dry at the same time. The beer finishes firm and clean. Not to everyone's taste as it's about as far from the ubiquitous Blandweiser style as you could possibly get. Rating: trophy. Price: expect to pay about $AUD6.00 for a 330 ml bottle at your favourite bar.

Lilydale Yarra Valley Chardonnay 1998
Light yellow. Generous, tropical aromatics and toasted oak on the nose. Rich and velvety in the mouth, with full on fruit and a soft but substantial finish. A moreish drop for wooded chardonnay lovers. Rating: gold. Cellar: to 2004. Price: about $AUD15.

Blue Pyrenees The Richardson Merlot 1997
Named in honour of famous wine man, the late Colin Richardson. Part of the proceeds of sale will go to the Colin Richardson Foundation for wine and hospitality training. Bright, mid to deep red. Mint, camphor and eucalypt aromas enhance the oak and berries evident on the nose. The palate is young and grippy with plenty of assertive tannins. Flavours are robust, continuing the aromatics of the bouquet. Quite delicious, a return to the distinctive regional character that I've felt has been blended out of Blue Pyrenees reds over recent years. Rating: trophy. Cellar: to 2010. Price: about $AUD59.

Crofters Cabernet Merlot 1998
Fruit sourced from Western Australia's Mount Barker and Frankland River regions. Dense crimson. Powerful mocha and berry nose. The palate earthy sweet, showing an abundance of ripe fruit over soft to medium tannins. Intensity of flavour on the middle palate is supported by elusive French oak. Rating: gold. Cellar: to 2008. Price: about $AUD20.

© Martin Field