World class beer sommeliers vote Baltika to be the best-tasting beer

An international jury announced the results of the European Beer Star Awards, one of the most prestigious contests in the beer-brewing field, on November 18, 2009 in Nuremberg, Germany. Two sorts of the Baltika Select beer line were among those brands which received "gold." Baltika №4 Original was voted as the best beer in the Red and Amber category, while Baltika №6 Porter won in the Porter category.

A total of 836 sorts of beer from 35 countries took part in the contest. The competition organizers noted that the battle for best beer was especially intense this year, with 20% more participants taking part in the contest this year than last.

Alexander Dedegkaev, Vice-president Supply Chain, Baltika Breweries: "The competition at contests of this level is always very intense: after all, these contests feature the best and most famous brands of beer. We are even more pleased that it was harder to win the reputation of best beer this year: this just makes our victory all the more respected and valuable. It’s especially pleasing that our Porter won. Up until now this beer won silver medals more than once, and now, finally, it has won the first place prize which it deserves."

The jury consisted of 78 judges who are beer experts from 17 countries. Among the judges were the winners of the Beer Sommeliers World Championship in 2009. According to the calculations made by the European Beer Star Awards organizers, each judge tasted and appraised 83 sorts of beer. The beer tasting was done "blindly," as per tradition, which guarantees that judges’ appraisals were unbiased.

The competition was organized by the Association of German Private Breweries and the European Association of Independent Breweries. European Beer Star Awards-2009 took place in the Grafelfing, a suburb of Munich, in Doemens Technikum, the world’s first beer-brewing institute.

Both winning Baltika sorts earlier received the highest awards at prestigious international competitions such as International Beer Challenge, Australian International Beer Awards, Brewing Industry International Awards, and the World Beer Awards.

Baltika beer is well-known in Europe by professionals and simple beer-lovers alike. In 2009 Baltika was exported to 19 countries in Europe. According to data from international analytical agencies, the Baltika brand has the highest sales of any beer in Europe. Baltika brand share is 15.9% on the Russian beer market over the first 9 months of 2009. (according to data from Business Analysis).

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Baltika №4 Original is one of Baltika’s oldest sorts of beer, and has been produced since April of 1994. The name of this beer itself proves the originality of the sort; after all the "Four’s" recipe has no analogues either in Russia or in the world as a whole. Baltika №4 is a dark beer. It is made using rye malt, which gives the beer a taste of bread, and slight bitterness. The "Original" sort is consistently popular, and has devoted followers all around Russia.

Baltika №6 Porter was created and put into production in 1994. This traditionally dark beer is brewed as per old English recipes. Elite sorts of hops, special yeast, clean water and the skills of Baltika’s beer-brewing masters are all reasons for the popularity of Baltika Porter. Baltika uses the best sorts of dark and light malt to make this beer. This makes Baltic porter an inimitable beer which is appreciated by Russians as well as by beer-drinkers in the 30 countries that Baltika Porter is exported to.