Brauhaus Riegele Named German Brewery of the Year

Brauhaus Riegele in the Bavarian region of Germany has been awarded the most prestigious honor in German brewing.

Riegele won "the Bundesehrenpreis federal award of excellence for outstanding achievement in the DLG Quality Test for Beer, the most prestigious award that can be bestowed upon a German brewery," according to a release from the brewery.

Only a dozen of such awards are given out annually out of a possible 1,600 German breweries, and Riegele has won the award an unprecedented 11 consecutive times.

The full release from Riegele is below.

New York, NY (July 2, 2018) – Riegele Brewery, which now distributes its craft beers in a number of American states, has been awarded the Bundesehrenpreis federal award of excellence for outstanding achievement in the DLG Quality Test for Beer, the most prestigious award that can be bestowed upon a German brewery. (DLG stands for Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, which translates to German Agricultural Society.) Only a dozen DLG national prizes are granted annually, out of a field of more than 1,600 German breweries and thousands of beers. Riegele has won the prize an unprecedented 11 consecutive times.

Responsible for testing all German beers, the DLG has a scoring model in place that awards a beer either a gold, silver, bronze, or no medal. The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture –– the counterpart to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration –– takes all DLG scores, makes an average of each brewery, and awards the DLG national prize to the top 12 breweries. With a total of 16 medals and the overall highest average, Riegele was also named 2018 German Brewery of the Year.

“To receive the Bundesehrenpreis for the 11th time in a row is an unbelievable honor, as is being named German Brewery of the Year,” explained Sebastian Priller-Riegele, World Champion Beer Sommelier and Riegele’s 28th generation brewer. “Our family has focused on producing outstanding beers since 1386, and it’s incredibly fulfilling to have our hard work continue to be recognized and rewarded.”

Located in Augsburg, Germany, Riegele is one of the world’s oldest craft breweries, producing about 140,000 barrels per year. In addition, Riegele is one of the most awarded breweries in Europe, including being named 2018 International Craft Brewer of the Year at the Meiningers International Craft Beer Award; 2017 German Craft Brewery of the Year and 2016 German Craft Beer of the Year at the same competition; Europe’s Best Brewery at the European Beer Star and 2016 World Cup of Beer; and 2015 German Craft Brewery of the Year. Additionally, its Commerzienrat Riegele Privat was proclaimed 2010 German Beer of the Decade.

Riegele is imported by Luxe Brands and is currently being distributed by Sarene Craft Beer in NY and NJ; Cavalier Distributing in OH and IN; Massachusetts Beverage Alliance in MA; Imperial Beverage in MI; Microman in FL; Lipman Brothers in TN. For more information, visit www.riegele.com or follow the brewery on Facebook @brauhaus.riegele.