SOBA (Society of Beer Advocates) Brewery of the Year 2018

Posted over 5 years ago

Chur! Behemoth Brewing has achieved the almost unthinkable and dethroned Garage Project as New Zealand’s favourite brewery, according to the Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA).

Garage Project had ruled the annual awards for the four previous years – crowned New Zealand’s best brewery in 2014-15-16 and 17 – but the increasingly popular Behemoth has turned the tables on the Wellington giants after finishing runner-up last year.

Liberty Brewing’s 2018 Prohibition Porter – a 12.6 per cent Porter aged in Jack Daniels barrels – was named beer of the year, pipping last year’s winner, McLeod’s Paradise Pale Ale.

Behemoth – with their iconic Churly character, a fast-moving range of new beers and irreverent marketing, has become one of the most talked-about breweries in New Zealand.

Last year the brand got global attention thanks to the infamous Dump the Trump IPA. The beer propelled Behemoth into national consciousness midway through the year, when the company’s Facebook page was inundated with negative reviews and comments from supporters of the US President, Donald Trump. A campaign to hit back at the one-star reviews left by Trump supporters drew mainstream media attention and brought Behemoth to a wider audience.

Behemoth produced 40 different beers in 2018, including 34 new products – with an intense focus on hoppy (often hazy) IPAs, including the multiple gold medal-winning Lid Ripper. Their range of hoppy beers rate highly across the board – even if everyone has a different favourite!

- As quoted from https://www.soba.org.nz/