Brewing Mastery Showdown: The Quest for the Perfect Helles

BestBrewChallenge to mark the 125th anniversary year of Palatia Malz

The BestBrewChallenge is an international brewing competition in which brewers from all over the world simultaneously brew a beer style according to certain requirements. The competition beer to be brewed for the BestBrewChallenge 2024 is a German-style Helles. This beer is a pale, smooth lager, slightly stronger with a moderate body and a balanced blend of mild hop and malt flavors. It has a clear, light to deep gold appearance with a white head. The aroma is a mix of floral, spicy hops and grainy-sweet malts, leading to a flavor that strikes a fine balance between malt sweetness and hop bitterness, offering a crisp, refreshing finish. The beer has a medium body and carbonation, ensuring a smooth and crisp mouthfeel.

Brewing requires the use of BEST A-XL, a malt made from the traditional German barley variety Alexis. The exclusive malt from BESTMALZ gives the beer a full body, a golden yellow color and exceptional foam stability. The beer must be brewed in accordance with the German Purity Law, i.e. only water, malt, hops and yeast may be used.

This year’s Challenge celebrates a remarkable milestone: the 125th anniversary of Palatia Malz GmbH. Since its foundation in 1899 and now in its third generation of owner-management, Palatia Malz has made a significant contribution to the quality and tradition of brewing. The selection of this year’s malt for the BestBrewChallenge reflects Palatia Malz’s long-standing pursuit of excellence and innovation alongside respect for proven tradition.

Home and hobby brewers, pub breweries as well as institutes and large breweries from around the world are welcome to take part in the international brewing competition. Participation is free of charge. The winning beer will be brewed on a large scale and served at the Bestmalz stand at the BrauBeviale fair in Nuremberg, where the award ceremony will also take place. The winner will be awarded the prize of travel and accommodation for two people to the fair. There will also be lab beer analyses and prizes for creative bottle labels and packaging designs. Last but not least, each participating beer will receive an expert assessment by experienced sommeliers, whose valuable feedback will be sent to the participants together with an exclusive T-shirt.

The competition beer is to be brewed between 19th and 21st April 2024. For all conditions and further information, please visit www.bestbrewchallenge.com. Challenge participants can share their photos and videos on our Facebook page (@bestbrewchallenge), or on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #bestbrewchallenge. All such entries will be displayed on our social wall on the competition website.