OREANDA-NEWS. On 10 June 2008 was announced, that four of Baltika Breweries’ beer varieties — Yarpivo Yantarnoye, Baltika №3 Classicheskoye, Baltika №9 Extra and Arsenalnoye Extra — have simultaneously received silver medals at the Superior Taste Award competition in Brussels (Belgium).

The Superior Taste Award is held each year in the city of Brussels (Belgium) and is one of the most authoritative quality competitions for food products in the world. The juries of the Superior Taste Award are drawn from Europe’s most prestigious culinary institutes and the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI). They make ‘blind tastings’ of the competing samples of food products, thereby fully guaranteeing the impartial results of the voting. The prizes of the Superior Taste Award, which were established by the International Taste and Quality (iTQi), are conferred only on those products which receive the highest ratings in all the tastings and tests.

Denis Sherstennikov, Director of Key Brands Development at Baltika Breweries, commented as follows: ‘Belgium is a country with well developed beer traditions. Therefore they make especially strict demands on beer quality here. Receiving recognition from professionals of this country is a special sign of quality, the highest appreciation for any producer.’

It is especially pleasant to see that the strong beer varieties Arsenalnoye Extra and Baltika №9 were given recognition in the competition. Compared to preparation of ordinary lagers, the creation of a strong beer which has full taste and aroma is a more labour-intensive process, and the demands made on brewers’ mastery here are unusually high. These honorary awards to Arsenalnoye Extra and Baltika №9 are one further confirmation that the quality of the strong beer varieties produced by Baltika Breweries meets the highest international requirements.

For the Yarpivo Yantarnoye beer variety, the silver medal conferred by the Superior Taste Award is the second international award this season. In April, Yarpivo Yantarnoye won Grand Gold at the Monde Selection-2008 competition in the category of bottom-fermentation beer.

The prestigious awards received at various international competitions such as the European Beer Star (Germany), the World Beer Cup and the Brewing Industry International Awards (Great Britain), the Australian International Beer Awards (Australia) and the Superior Taste Award (Belgium) confirm the invariably high quality of Baltika Breweries’ products.