Everyone in Weihenstephan will remember this May 25th for some time to come: They sat tensely in front of the live stream from Australia at midday in Germany, fingers crossed. At the gala in Australia, only the gold winners were presented at first - and Weihenstephan thought it had a great chance in the "Best Wheat Beer" category. Up to 20 points can be scored per beer - evaluated in the categories of appearance, aroma, taste and body, technical quality, and style. From 17 to 20, Gold is awarded, 15.5 to 16.9 Silver, and from 14 to 15.4 points Bronze. 

The joy was all the greater when the Kristallweißbier (bottled) was presented as a Gold winner - for the third time in a row at the AIBA! The subtle banana notes, the refreshing effervescence, and the nobly filtered appearance in the glass completely convinced the jury.

But that wasn't all: when the other results were published, there was more rejoicing in the afternoon on Weihenstephaner Hill: Eight (!) more medals were awarded for the beer specialties of the world's oldest brewery. Silver went to Original Helles and Weizenbock Vitus (both bottled), while Bronze was awarded to Kristallweissbier (this time in a keg), Original Helles, Hefeweissbier (both in a keg), and Kellerbier 1516, Hefeweissbier, and Hefeweissbier Dunkel (all bottled). This means that every single beer submitted by the Weihenstephan brewery was awarded an AIBA seal of quality.

It was clear that Prof. Dr. Josef Schrädler, Director of the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan, was in a celebratory mood: "This is a great result!" He was in a lengthy meeting at the time of the announcement - and was able to pass on the happy news immediately after a brief message on his cell phone. "For our Kristallweißbier, this award is something very special. To be honored with the same beer for the third time in a row at the AIBA is something almost no brewery manages to achieve." These successes show that Weihenstephan's specialties are held in the highest esteem around the world, Prof. Dr. Schrädler went on to explain.

Tobias Zollo, Brewmaster and head of the technical staff, and his team are responsible for the quality of the beers: "Nine medals are unbelievable," he said on Thursday while being overwhelmed. "It always pays off for us to go the extra mile. Here we have it on paper that the work of our brewers is well-received in the world."

Anyone who wants to find out more about the Weihenstephan winners will find what they are looking for on the website www.weihenstephaner.com. There is also a lot more info and exciting stories in the Weihenstephan podcast "1000 Years of Beer", available on all major podcast platforms.