Solomon Craft Beer has beaten 12 other original brews to take home the Brew King Philippines 2025 title with their “Washington Breeze” Pale Ale.
A hazy, juicy brew coming in at a crushable 5.4% ABV the beer caught the attention of both the professional brewers, who judged the first round of the competition to decide the Top 5, and the public, who were then tasked to select the ultimate winner.
Held in conjunction with this year’s Engkanto ‘Mabrewhay’ craft beer festival, a 3 day celebration of craft beer held 16-18th May at Manila’s Ayala Triangle Gardens, the competition challenged participating breweries to brew a “Tropical Fusion Ale” specifically designed to highlight the unique qualities of Fermentis’ SafAle™ S-04 yeast.
The competition brief encouraged brewers to innovate within a focused theme, showcasing both their creativity and their technical skill in working with a specific yeast strain to produce a unique brew. The Fermentis SafAle™ S-04 is known for its ability to produce fruity and floral notes, particularly in hop forward beers – and the competitors did not disappoint with a slew of hazy pale ales and IPA’s.
The winning brew, “Washington Breeze”, offered a flavour profile displaying notes of ripe mango and juicy pineapple, complemented by a subtle hint of citrus. A balanced beer with a gentle malt body and a clean, refreshing bitterness.
Other competition entries included a Pale Ale flavoured with coconut and pineapple, one flavoured with peaches and others bursting with hop driven mango, passionfruit and citrus flavours.
The judging process commenced on Thursday, May 15th, at the Palm Tree Abbey brewpub where a panel of professional brewers, alongside two visiting experts from Fermentis, evaluated all the entries. This initial expert assessment narrowed the field, identifying the Top 5 beers that would advance to the next stage.
This year’s Top 5:
Bulul Brewery, Fiesta NEIPA
Cubao X Brewery, Tropic Thunder IPA
Mitchell’s Backyard Brewery, Tropical Sunrise Pale Ale
Solomon Craft Beer, Washington Breeze Pale Ale
Treeline Ales, Peach Please Hazy Pale Ale with Peaches
The public then had their opportunity to contribute to the judging. Public tasting of the Top 5 beers was held on Friday, May 16th evening, at the Engkanto Mabrewhay Craft Beer Festival. This allowed festival-goers to sample the finalists and cast their votes, adding an engaging consumer perspective to the competition. The culmination of both judging phases saw the results officially announced the following day, during the festival’s Saturday afternoon session.
The brewers judging took place the day before the public judging to select the Top 5 brews [Photo: Asia Brewers Network]
Solomon Craft Beer took home the winners “Brew King Paddle” as well as a ₱10,000 cash prize to share among the team with the First Runner-Up and Most Creative taking home cash prizes of ₱5,000 each.
Throughout the remainder of the festival, the other competition beers, while not in the top five, were also available for public tasting. These were poured at the Philippine Craft Brewers Association (PCBA). This allowed attendees to experience the broader range of innovation present in the competition, and crucially, it helped raise funds for the PCBA. These funds are vital for the association to launch new initiatives aimed at further developing and growing the craft beer market across the Philippines.
This is the first time Solomon Craft Beer, who launched in late 2023, have tasted success at Brew King Philippines. Embracing the core focus of the competition which is to bring the brewing community closer together, they announced on their Facebook page to celebrate the win “We are beyond honoured! … Cheers to Great Beers, Passion & Community!”
Congratulations to all the breweries who took up the challenge this year:
- 3006 Craft Brewery, Fruit Pop Hazy Pale Ale
- Amigos, Tropic Thunder IPA
- Banayad Brewery, Bonito Hazy Pale Ale
- Boracay Island Brewing Co., Tropical Ale
- Bulul Brewery, Fiesta NEIPA
- Cubao X Brewery, Tropic Thunder IPA
- El Deposito Brewery, Sunrise Squeeze Hazy Pale Ale
- Engkanto Brewery, Life is Better in Flip Flops Tropical Ale
- Kumintang Brewery, Tropic Like It’s Hop Hazy Pale Ale
- Matimyas Brewhouse, Piña Collider Tropical Fusion Ale
- Mitchell’s Backyard Brewery, Tropical Sunrise Pale Ale
- Solomon Craft Beer, Washington Breeze Pale Ale
- Treeline Ales, Peach Please Hazy Pale Ale with Peaches
