The Perth Royal Beer Show achieved a milestone in its 10th year as a record 668 entries gave 35 judges the arduous task of determining the medal winners during the two-day event.

West Australian commercial brewers stayed well ahead of their eastern states competitors snatching the majority of the highly-sought after accolades.

In the commercial section, Myaree’s Billabong Brewery won the President’s Trophy Royal Agricultural Society of WA for the Best West Australian Beer of the Show, the Beer and Beef Club of Perth Trophy and the cash prize of $1000 for Best Commercial Beer of the Show as well as the Royal Agricultural Society of WA Trophy for best wheat beer packaged for Billabong Wheat.

However, it was Feral Brewery, Baskerville, that walked away with the Sail and Anchor Trophy for the Best West Australian Brewery; the Hopco Trophy for the Best Commercial Brewery and the Clancy’s Fish Pub Fremantle Trophy for best reduced alcohol draught for Runt.

The Beer and Beef Club of Perth Trophy was awarded to Gage Roads, Palmyra, for best ale draught for Little Dove while the Cryer Malt Trophy for best lager draught was presented to Henley Brook’s, Elmar’s in the Valley for Elmar’s Maerzan., Homestead Brewery, Caversham, won the Cryer Malt Trophy for best wheat draught for Kaisers Choice.

Perth’s Nail Brewing Australia claimed the Hopco Trophy for best stout draught for Clout Stout 2015, the Edith Cowan University Trophy for best stout packaged for Clout Stout 2016 and the Container Refrigeration Trophy for best ale packaged for Nail Red.

The remaining awards were taken up by breweries from the eastern seaboard – Coors Brewing, New South Wales, claimed the Edith Cowan University Trophy for best lager packaged for Coors American Lager while Victoria’s Asahi Premium Beverages won the Lion Trophy for best reduced alcohol packaged for Asahi Soukai while Blackmans Brewery, also Victoria, won the Menu Magazine Trophy for best packaging and design for Arthur Smoked Porter.

There was fierce competition from the amateur brewers with the ‘top drop’ award the Brewmart Trophy for Best Amateur Beer of the Show presented to Lee Cooper of Redcliffe This award also gives Mr Cooper the opportunity for his recipe to be brewed by Swan Valley’s Feral Brewing, and be part of the Royal Agricultural Society of WA’s award winning beers to be sold at the Beerfest, Fremantle in November. Mr Cooper also carried off the Gage Roads Trophy for Best Ale.

The Little Creatures Trophy for Best Amateur Brewer of the Show was won by Grant Smith of Attadale while the Royal Agricultural Society of WA Trophy for best wheat beer went to Adam Lesk of Yokine.

Matt Field of Beaconsfield won the Beer and Beef Club of Perth Trophy for Best Stout and Jerome Kennedy, Bayswater, carried off the Royal Agricultural Society of WA Trophy for best reduced alcohol. Travis Eddy of Orelia was awarded the Beerfest Fremantle Trophy for best lager.

Chief Judge, Hugh Dunn who has been involved with the Perth Royal Beer Show for a decade says:

“The number of entries for this year and the number of judges needed are both records in the 10 years at the Show. I think it is a great reflection of the competition. All beers are blind tasted and judged by a professional panel. This year we saw a big leap in the number of entries in the amateur section and this probably reflects the fact the beers are being judged under exactly the same conditions and integrity that the commercial beers are judged under.

“We saw a very broad range of entries in both the amateur and the commercial section however, the American style pale ale and India pale ale again, dominated. However, there were some really interesting specialty beers such as oak casked.”