Akureyri, Iceland, June 27, 2018 — Einstök Ölgerð, the #1 craft beer from Iceland, received beer industry recognition for its craft beers at the 8th annual New York International Beer Competition on February 11, 2018. Based in Akureyri, Iceland — just 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle — Einstök won awards in every category it entered, including the competitions’ top award, “Double Gold,” for its Icelandic White Ale in the category of “Belgian Style Witbier.”
The prestigious annual competition chose the top beers in 50 categories, with over 600 beers submitted for consideration from over 14 countries. Trade-only judging panelists, including restauranteurs, cicerones and distributors, compared beers both by category and actual price, in addition to overall flavors, aromatics and mouthfeel.
Only 14 beers out of the 600-plus beers entered were awarded Double Gold status, an honor which can only be achieved by the 20 judges’ unanimous consent. Einstök entered six beers in the competition, and all received an award at one of four levels, Double Gold, Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Top awards won by Einstök during the competition included “Gold” for its Icelandic Doppelbock in the category of German Style Doppelbock and “Silver” for its Toasted Porter in the category of “Baltic Style Porter.” Bronze winners included Arctic Pale Ale in the category of “American Style Pale Ale,” Arctic Berry Ale in the category of “Fruit Wheat Beer,” and Icelandic Wee Heavy in the category of “Scottish-Style Ale.” Only three beers were chosen in each category out of the entire field, reinforcing the prestige of winning a Gold, Silver and Bronze award.
Einstök Ölgerð also won in the individual category of “Iceland Brewery of the Year,” no small feat considering the nation’s burgeoning craft beer industry and the growing popularity of local craft beers by both Icelanders and tourists. Gudjon Gudmundsson, Einstök’s Managing Director expresses, “Our goal has always been to brew the highest quality beer with the purest water you can find, so we are extremely honored to be recognized with these awards at the 2018 New York International Beer Competition.”
Despite being one of the smallest countries in the world, Iceland has a rising profile on the world stage. In addition to producing award-winning craft beer, the country is eagerly anticipating its national football team’s first-ever appearance in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Championship, which will be held in Russia in June 2018.
Considering that the United States men’s team did not qualify this year, Iceland is inviting the U.S. to support their team, the smallest nation to ever qualify. Using the theme #ADOPTICELAND, Einstök has created a special edition White Ale bottle featuring a football wearing a Viking helmet and a line of commemorative merchandise to encourage all Americans to support the underdog by hashtagging #ADOPTICELAND across all social media platforms.
Gudmundsson continues, “Our national football team’s appearance in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia reflects our heritage as a small but resourceful country with a passionate pursuit for excellence in everything we do.”
For more information on the #ADOPTICELAND campaign and associated merchandise, visit www.adopticeland.com. For more information on Einstök Beer, visit the company’s website at: www.einstokbeer.com.