Pelican Brewing Wins Gold & Bronze At European Beer Star 2016

Awards for Kiwanda Cream, Beak Breaker and MacPelican’s Wee Heavy a coup as prestigious competition sees record number of entries in 2016

Pacific City, OR (November 9, 2016)—Pelican Brewing Company today received a Gold medal for its popular flagship brew Kiwanda Cream Ale in the prestigious European Beer Star competition at BrauBeviale in Nuremberg. The brewery also earned two Bronze medals for its new Beak Breaker Imperial India Pale Ale and MacPelican’s Wee Heavy Ale.

With 2,103 beer entries from 44 countries, the competition for one of the most sought-after prizes in the international brewing world received a record number of entries making Pelican’s three notable awards all the more impressive. "This year it has been more difficult than ever to win a medal in the European Beer Star," says Oliver Dawid, CEO of Private Brauereien Bayern, which has been organizing this competition since 2003.

Pelican’s top-selling beer Kiwanda Cream Ale won the Gold medal in the English-style Golden Ale/Summer Ale category, the new Beak Breaker captured bronze for Imperial India Pale Ale as did MacPelican’s Wee Heavy for the Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy category. The competition and medal is the first for Pelican’s recently released Double IPA Beak Breaker.

"Germany’s rich history with brewing & drinking beer is well-known worldwide, so to take home hardware from some of the most notable experts in the brewing industry is a distinct honor for Pelican,“ said Darron Welch, founding brewmaster, Pelican Brewing Company. "It truly underscores the international popularity of this pre-prohibition classic—crafted with fresh Pacific NW ingredients—to take home top recognition from this prestigious German competion.“

Made of all local, hand-sourced ingredients, the Gold Medal winner Kiwanda Cream Ale is pale gold with a fruity, floral hop aroma, golden color, refreshing body and clean, snappy finish. Two-row malt, flaked barley, Mt. Hood hops, CaraPils malt, pure local water and pure ale yeast combine to make Kiwanda Pelican’s flagship and fastest selling brew:

· ABV: 5.4%

· IBU: 25

 · Plato: 12°

Bronze medal winner Beak Breaker is Pelican’s newest double IPA with ingredients that include pale ale malt, two-row malt, white cane sugar, Magnum hops, Centennial hops, Citra hops, Mosaic hops and ale yeast for a beak breaking drinking experience. Beak Breaker offers:

Pelican’s other Bronze achievement is MacPelican’s Wee Heavy the brewery‘s interpretation of the “Wee Heavy” Scotch Ale style—literally a batch of MacPelican’s Scottish Ale brewed with half the water and twice the boiling time to create a beer with a massive malty flavor and a deep red color.  The aroma hints of rich caramel, cocoa, toffee and dark fruit, with a full-bodied mouth feel and a velvety sweet, slightly dry finish. Pelican calls it a robust beer with a dangerous, drinkable smoothness.

   The European Beer Star—the Champions League of beers—enjoys a prestigious international reputation with a strong jury of 124 experts, who assess the beers in a blind tasting according to the same purely sensory criteria as the consumer: color, smell, flavor, aromatic profile and overall impression. This year, the jury included master brewers, beer sommeliers and acknowledged beer connoisseurs from 30 countries. The European Beer Star Award is given to particularly authentic beers with lots of character, which impress the jury in terms of both flavour and quality and which best meet the criteria for the type of beer.

Only one gold, one silver and one bronze medal were awarded in each of the 57 different beer categories. The competition is aimed at breweries from around the world which feel committed to the traditional European style of brewing. "The European Beer Star has enabled us to again increase public awareness of the wide variety of great, hand-crafted beers," says Oliver Dawid.