HONORS FOR EDELWEISS
******* IT'S GOLD and SILVER,
NO MATTER HOW YOUR RATE IT!
THE WORLD BEER CUP INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
VAIL, COLORADO, June 12 and 14, 1996
and again
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, April 2 - 4, 1998
and still again
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, April 26- 28, 2000
In 1996 Edelweiss Hefetrüb, in a category with twenty-two
entries, captured a SILVER, and Edelweiss Dunkel took a
GOLD , topping one of bavaria's quality breweries. (Edelweiss
Kristallklar was not entered.) Edelweiss remained true to its
reputation from other blind beer-tastings as the "unqualified"
winner.
The results from the listing of the winners indicates that there
were 232 breweries with 561 beers participating in the blind-tastings,
representing eighteen countries, although 25 nations were involved.
The international panel of judges was selected from five different
countries; Germany, Japan, England, Canada, and the U.S. Not every
category received all three awards. In one category, only a bronze
was awarded and in another no medals were awarded. Only when the
beer met the stringent qualifications of its category was the
award given.
****** Edelweiss Continues its Winning
Ways
in 1998
THE WORLD BEER CUP INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, April 2 - 4, 1998
All three Edelweiss, Hefetrüb, Dunkel, and Gamsbock (the
new one), were finalists in the World Beer Cup, and received awards
at the World Beer Cup Awards Ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
on 31 August 1998.
Our fourth Edelweiss, Kristallklar, a winner in all other competitions,
could not be evaluated since there were not sufficient entries
for that category to qualify in the tastings.
Athough there were 68 beer-style categories, there were 836
beers entered, and
Edelweiss Gamsbock took a GOLD, while
Edelweiss Hefetrüb took a SILVER as did
Edelweiss Dunkel .
****** Edelweiss Continues its Winning
Ways
in 2000
THE WORLD BEER CUP INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, April 26 - 28, 2000
In a continuing expanding competition, both
Edelweiss Dunkel and Edelweiss Gamsbock (the light-colored Weizen
Bock) took Gold. and Edelweiss Hefetrüb was advanced to the
finals in the World Beer Cup Competitiion of the year 2000. Both
Dunkel and Gamsbock received the awards in New York City on June
19, 2000.
**** HIGH MARKS FOR EDELWEISS WEIZENBIER*
Wheat, Weiss, Weizen or Wit beer styles, which have made a
resounding comeback in the European market, are becoming a summer
favorite in this country. More imported examples of this style
can be found all the time, and more and more microbreweries and
brewpubs are coming out with their own summer wheat adaptations.
The wheat style owes its refreshing clean flavor to the use of
between 50 and 70 percent wheat grain instead of barley. The sharp,
clove, slightly acidic tartness is derived from a particular strain
of yeast and, in some cases, the addition of a lactoba cillus
strain for a lactic fermentation.
An Ale Street News tasting panel recently sampled eleven representatives
of Austrian, Bavarian, Belgian and American wheat styles, including
Edelweiss Hefetrüb and Dunkel.
Comments were: Edelweiss Hefetrüb . . . trademark clove and
banana aroma and taste . . . clean though hoppy . . . bubblegum
on the palate, very nice and light...a great summer Weizen.
Edelweiss Dunkel...the most popular among the three Dunkels and
may have been the most popular of the night ... nice clove flavor
that turns sweet, mouthful of flavor, a great brew...clove, banana,
bubblegum on palate ... fairly sweet, but balanced out by wheat
sharpness.
(I take issue with the comment "a great summer drink."
Throughout Germany and Austria it has become a staple, summer
and winter.)
* Ale Street News, June/July, 1993.
**** THE BEST GERMAN HEFEWEIZEN IS AUSTRIAN!*
John Hansell, publisher of The Malt Advocate, and a panel of
expert tasters recently gathered to evaluate 10 German-style Hefe-Weizens,
including nine from Bavaria, and one from Austria. And the clear
winner was the Austrian entry ... Edelweiss Hefetrüb!! Rated
93 points out of 100, the tasting notes on Edelweiss made its
choice clear.:
"The unanimous favorite. Full-flavored and complex, with
banana, clove, smoky, lightly tart aromas and flavors. Everything
is in balance. A pure joy to drink!"
The German entries (and their scores) were: Weihenstephan Hefe-Weissbier
(90); EKU Hefe-Weissbier (86); Erdinger Weissbier Naturtrüb
(78); Count Arco's Weissbier (77); Ayinger Brau-Weisse (76); Pschorr-Brau
Weisse (76); Franzikaner Hefe-Weissbier (76); Julius Echter Hefe-Weissbier
(76); Oberdorfer Weiss (72).
* Phoenix Imports Newsletter, June 1994.
**** HOW THE BAVARIANS RATED EDELWEISS*
In a report in the Austrian Kurier Newspaper, even the
Bavarians rated Edelweiss as the best Weizenbier. To quote the
article:
"Considering quality in the European Common Market, the
Austrian beer should
not be ignored. Last year, Bavarian Weißbier fans, in a
blind beer-tasting, rated Edelweiss as the best Weißbier."
*Franz Jandrasits, Austrian Kurier (4 June, 1994)
****EDELWEISS
SURPASSES ALL THE IMPORTS
At a recent month long beer evaluation at Spikes Restaurant
in San Luis Obispo, Edelweiss Hefetrüb and Edelweiss Dunkel
were ranked over all the imports except Guinness.
For the 13th anniversary of Spikes, Charles Hiigel, the beer guru
of the central coast, had all of the patrons rank their top 13
favorite beers. Spikes is a training ground for beer connoisseurs
with an emphasis on the correct temperatures, proper beer glasses,
aroma, after taste, and various other subtleties. The brews being
rated were primarily from the 48 "Beers of the World"
sampling offered at Spikes.With the current interest on quality
beers from the numerous micro-breweries, it is no surprise that
half of the top 13 elite were from micro-breweries, and both bottled,
and draft beers were included. A few of the standard imports ranked
were: Guinness, Pilsner Urquell, both Ur-Märzen, and Optimator
from Spaten, and Chimay. Other imports on the list of 48 included
Aktien, Fullers, Molson, Warsteiner, Grolsch, Fosters, Steinlager,
Carlsberg, Gösser, Spaten Bock, EKU, Weihenstephan Stephansquell,
Franziskaner, and Old Peculiar. Even with this outstanding list
of
imports, Edelweiss reigned.
**** EDELWEISS DUNKEL: A CLASSIC*
Rated 95 points of out 100, the evaluation reads:
"Wonderfully fragant and refreshingly complex. Bananas,
vanilla and clove are the core of this beer's aroma and flavor,
with plenty of complex fruit (apples, lemons, plums), smoke and
spices. Except for its somewhat reserved "dunkel" characteristics,
it is everything that one could ask for in a dunkel Hefe-weizen."
The other German-style Dunkle Hefeweizens rated were: Weihenstephan
(91), Ayinger Ur-Weisse (85), Franziskaner (83), Pschorr-Bräu
(80), and Tucher (80).
The Malt Advocate rating scheme is a 100 point scale, broken down
as follows:
95-100 A classic! All components balanced, with complexity
and character.
90-94 Outstanding! One of the best for its style. Distinctive.
80-89 Good to very good! Plenty of character and no identifiable
flaws.
70-79 Average for its style! Enjoyable. No unique qualities
60-69 Below average! Drinkable, but lacks quality, or contains
flaws.
below 60 Poor! Undrinkable!
*The Malt Advocate Buyer's Guide, vol. 4, no.3, (Summer, 1995)
****** AND THE HONORS FOR EDELWEISS GO ON!
Hefetrüb with a GOLD, and
Dunkel and Kristallklar with SILVERS*
Edelweiss Weizenbier continues its award-winning performance
in taste tests, garnering three more medals, in the latest round
of the BTI 1996 World Beer Championships in Chicago.
Judged World Champion Hefe-Weizen, with a score of 92, EDELWEISS
HEFETRÜB was described as "hazy yellow, medium bodied,
mild bitterness, mild hops, medium malt, - reminiscent of cloves,
bananas, flowers. Fine carbonation, intensely aromatic with a
lively frothy mouthfeel, beautifully wrought classic spicy flavors
linger with a fresh finish."
EDELWEISS DUNKEL earned a silver medal, with a score of 87, in
the Dunkel-Weizen category, and the tasting notes described it
as "hazy copper brown, moderately full-bodied, mild bitterness,
medium hops, lots of malt, - reminiscent of grapefruit, melon,
bread dough, good carbonation, pours with a creamy rich head.
Assertative fruit easters follow through on the rich palate. Gentle
fruity finish lingers."
In the Kristall-Weizen category, EDELWEISS KRISTALLKLAR also earned
a silver medal with a score of 87. The judges noted that it is
"brilliant pale golden, medium bodied, mild bitterness, medium
hops, medium malt, reminiscent of bread dough, sweet herbs, melon.
Pours with a rich lively head, creamy and velvety in the mouth
with a lingering finish."
Once again, these classic Austrian Weizenbiers prove that
"QUALITY WINS OUT!
* Phoenix News Release, August, 1996, and All About Beer Magazine,
Oct./Nov., 1996.
And still more for 1998
BREWFEST 1998 COMPETITION
held at Universal Studios Back Lot on 17 October
with Peter Coors as Honorary Chairperson
Edelweiss Hefetrüb was awared the GOLD, and Edelweiss
Dunkel received the SILVER, surpassing a noted Bavarian Weissbier
in the Imported Wheat category.
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