Bavik Super Pils voted best pilsner in Belgium

The awards keep raining down at De Brabandere Brewery. Barely a month after our Bavik Super Pils received a gold medal at the World Beer Challenge, the beer now snatches first prize at the prestigious World Beer Awards in London as the best pilsner in Belgium. "We have long scored well with the beer connoisseurs who find their way to our unpasteurised pilsner, but this international recognition as best pilsner is gratifying."

Blind tasting by an international jury

The World Beer Awards are the reference among beer awards, and many breweries enter their beers every year. How are they judged? Albert De Brabandere clarifies: "All beers are tasted blind and judged by beer connoisseurs and beer journalists from all over the world. That is why the World Beer Awards are held in high regard internationally and are considered the Oscars among beer awards." As the best pilsner in Belgium, Bavik Super Pils now competes against the winners from other countries and still stands a chance of the title best pilsner in the world.

Unpasteurised pilsner

According to the brewery, the secret of Bavik Super Pils lies above all in the fact that the beer is not pasteurised during production and therefore always leaves the brewery fresher than fresh. "Unlike all other Belgian pilsners, we do not heat the beer at the end of the brewing process because we feel this influences the flavour too much. We use the best hops, which leave a delicate bitterness. Were we to opt for pasteurisation, the residual sugars would melt and the beer would taste sweeter, causing the flavour of the hops to be lost. If you brew a good beer in perfectly hygienic conditions, you don't need to pasteurise it afterwards to pre-empt any infections. This is how we preserve our unique flavour."

Other beers win awards too

Bavik Super Pils is not the only De Brabandere Brewery beer to walk away with a medal. RED by Petrus was also crowned best Belgian fruit beer, and the characteristic foeder beer Petrus Aged Pale took gold for the second year in a row in the category aged in foeders with wild yeasts.

The full overview:

• Bavik Super Pils received a gold medal and is moreover country winner Belgium in the "Lager" category.
• RED by Petrus received a gold medal and is moreover country winner Belgium in the "Flavoured – Fruit & Vegetable" category.
• Petrus Aged Pale received a gold medal in the "Sour and Wild Beer" category.