Cheers! This local brand is World’s Best Beer for 2024

MANILA, Philippines – A round of cheers is in order because homegrown brand Engkanto Brewery just took home the World’s Best Beer title for 2024!

In beer-y terrific news, the local beer distributor’s High Hive Honey Ale was awarded the prestigious award, under the Flavored Honey and Maple Syrup category. This is the highest international honor of the year and the first time a Filipino craft beer has received this award since the World Beer Awards’ inception in 2007.

“It’s unprecedented, it’s historic, and we’re all ecstatic!” Engkanto founder Ian Paradies said.

Engkanto’s Hive Honey Ale bested over 70 entries from Canada, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, and other countries.

The High Hive Honey Ale is a craft beer made from locally sourced honey, harvested from local bee farms and apiaries. Ale is a more intense type of beer that is brewed using a warm fermentation method. Engkanto’s High Hive Ale balances the honey notes and bitterness of the beer.

“I’m super stoked and proud of this accomplishment! The fact we’re using local honey is so cool as it really lets the world know that we have top-class ingredients along with a talented team in our brewery,” said Michael ‘MJ’ Jordan, “Brewmaster” of Engkanto.

“Who would’ve thought that a small craft brewery in the Philippines can reach the highest level in brewing the World’s Best Beer, right?” Ricard Basora, Engkanto’s Managing Director added.

All six of Engkanto’s Filipino-inspired beer entries took home medals, like the Live It Up Lager (Gold Medal, Classic Pilsner category); Green Lava Double IPA (Gold Medal, Imperial/Double IPA category); Mango Nation Hazy IPA (Silver Medal, IPA Session category); Paint Me Purple Ube Lager (Flavored Beer, Fruit and Vegetable category); and Dew Drop Dalandan Wheat Ale (Silver Medal, Belgian Style Wheat Beer category).

For four straight years, Engkanto Brewery has brought home accolades from the World Beer Awards, which is an annual beer competition held in the United Kingdom joined by over 30 countries like England, Japan, Belgium, China, Australia, Germany, and the United States.

The World Beer Awards is a sub-unit of the World Drinks Awards. Each year, the awards body presents internationally-recognized awards in 10 categories after a rigorous, blind tasting judging from an acclaimed panel of beer experts from different countries. – Steph Arnaldo/Rappler.com