ARTICLE - HAITIAN BEER TAKES TOP PRIZE

THE HAITIAN BEER PRESTIGE WON GOLD AT THE 2012 WORLD BEER CUP
(Haiti Libre) -

Saturday, during a gala event in San Diego [California], winners of the 2012 World Beer Cup have been announced. "Prestige", the lager beer of Haiti, produced in Port-au-Prince by Brasserie Nationale d'Haiti (Brana), won the "Gold" in the category of beers "American-Style Cream or Ale" among 23 beers competing in this category. The beer "Old Style" of Pabst Brewing Co. brewery won silver, and the "Milwaukee's Best" of the brewery, Miller Brewing Co., won bronze.

This year, the competition boasted the strongest field of entrants on record, with 799 breweries from 54 countries and 45 U.S. states entering 3,921 beers in 95 beer style categories; a 17.7 percent increase over 2010. The entries were eligible for gold, silver and bronze awards in their respective categories. Judges presented a total of 284 awards.

The 2012 judging panel was the largest and most international in the history of the World Beer Cup. Judges from 27 countries conducted blind tasting evaluations of the beers to determine the winners. Drawn from the ranks of professional brewers and brewing industry experts, these 211 judges came mostly from international breweries, with some 67% from outside the U.S.

Learn more about Prestige beer:
In 1976, just over two years after the creation of Brana, its founder, Michael Madsen, launched a light beer on the Haitian market. In 2000, it won the gold medal at the World Beer Cup in the category Lager American-Style. In 2005, the Prestige beer had begun to be exported to the United States. Prestige remains the first, and so far the only Haitian beer, and owns 98% of the local market share.