We’re rollin’ and thunderin’ in Down Under! 

At this year’s Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), Engkanto Brewery made a splash for its first-ever entries winning a Gold Medal for High Hive Honey Ale and Bronze Medals for Live It Up Lager and Green Lava Double IPA. 

Engkanto Brewmaster Michael ‘MJ’ Jordan received the news via the official livestream of the awards ceremony organized by the Royal Melbourne and held at The Victoria Pavilion in Melbourne, Australia last May 25, 2023

“It’s the first time for Engkanto to enter AIBA and to win three awards is truly huge!” says Brewmaster MJ.  

“AIBA is one of the largest beer competitions in the world and I’m stoked to win more international awards for our core lineup of craft beers. It’s a testament to our brewery team and our dedication to make amazing beer locally and of world class standards,” he adds. 

As the Country Winner and Gold Medalist at the World Beer Awards (WBA) last year, High Hive Honey Ale continues to make an impressive buzz internationally with its second Gold Medal in two consecutive years, this time for AIBA. Aside from the high-quality ingredients used in brewing High Hive, the star ingredient that is the purest local honey has made an undeniable impact. 

Ricard Basora, Managing Director for Engkanto, was completely thrilled after the announcement: “The level of breweries that participated in AIBA 2023 and other international awards for that matter is really high, so I’m totally overwhelmed that we won three medals including a gold for High Hive!” 

He adds, “This just reassures the good work that Engkanto Brewery is putting in and keeping our commitment to the core goal: 'make incredibly great craft beer.’ As we always say, these are just the ‘first steps’ in our big adventure and receiving all these awards means that we are on the right direction. Cheers!” 

Ian Paradies, founder of Engkanto, is sharing the same level of happiness and is all cheers for the team’s continuous success in international beer competitions. 

“A huge congratulations to the whole Team Engkanto for once again bringing home several awards at AIBA for our core variants, including gold for our High Hive Honey Ale! We have so much more to give, and I can't wait for the market to see what else Engkanto does within both the local and global craft beer scene. It's a proud day for Philippine craft beer!” shares Ian. 

Celebrating 30 years, the Melbourne Royal Australian International Beer Awards is the largest annual beer competition in the world judging both draught and packaged beer, as well as beer packaging design. In 2022, the Awards attracted over 2,600 entries from more than 350 breweries in 20 countries. 

The international panel of judges for AIBA comes from countries that include Spain, the United States of America, Vietnam, and New Zealand, to name a few. The diverse panel aims to represent all corners of the brewing industry with each judge bringing unique skills, industry perspective, sensory strengths, and a positive willingness to both improve and impart their own knowledge.  

To know more about the Australian International Beer Awards, follow this link.