Australian International Beer Awards opened for submissions on 30 January

The Melbourne Royal Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), touted as the world’s largest annual beer competition, has announced that entries for this year’s edition will open on 30 January 2024, ahead of the 16 May awards ceremony.

Now in its 31st year, the AIBA offers an expansive stage for competition and recognition in the global beer industry, following a record 2,826 entries from more than 404 breweries in 21 countries last year.

Last year’s Asian winners included Lindongjiangzhi Weizenbock made by the NBeer Craft Brewing Co, of Sichuan, China, which was winner in the Best Wheat Beer category; and Spring Valley Hojun, made by the Kirin Brewery Company in Kyoto, Japan, in the Best International Lager category.

According to the announcement, AIBA will close the entries for this year’s event on 8 March. A delivery window has been set from 1-19 April, and the judging process is scheduled to take place from 7-10 May, leading up to the grand awards presentation on May 16.

The AIBA is the largest annual beer competition in the world that judges both draught and package beer and beer packaging design. For this year, the programme introduces some updates to its categories to reflect the evolving tastes and trends in the global beer market. The New World Lager class has been divided into two separate categories: Modern Lager and Modern Pilsner. The Modern Pale Ale category has been discontinued.