Great affirmation of made in Italy craft beer in New York. Mastri Birrai Umbri's Cotta 21 Italian Blonde Ale won the gold medal in the Belgian Style WitBier category at the 9th edition of the New York International Beer Competition. And the Mastri Birrai Umbri also won the bronze medal with the Cotta 68 Italian Golden Ale in the Belgian Strong Pale Ale category.
Over 600 beer labels from 14 different countries around the world were evaluated at the top-level international competition held at the West Club in front of Rockefeller Center for a total of 30 beer categories. The panel of jurors, exclusively made up of buyers, judged the beers both for their category and for the actual price.
Both award-winning beers are made with Umbrian and national raw materials, respecting their artisanal characteristic of the Italian agricultural supply chain. Created from the selection of the best Italian spelled and the best barley malt, Cotta 21 is an unfiltered and bottle-fermented artisanal blonde, made with barley malt, spelled (35%), hops, yeast: it is a balanced, pleasant and fresh (with 5,6% alcohol content). Inspired by the Strong Ale tradition, Cotta 68 is an unfiltered double malt blonde, made with pure barley malt and hops: a beer with intense and fruity aromas and flavors with a higher alcohol content (7,5%).
“What distinguishes this competition from other international beverage competitions is that the panel of blind evaluators is made up of operators from the world of commerce,” says Marco Farchioni, manager of Mastri Birrai Umbri. “At the beer competition held in New York City – continues Farchioni – we were therefore judged by retail store buyers, sommeliers, restaurant beverage directors, hoteliers, distributors and importers. These are qualified judges, whose success depends directly on their skills, who truly know what consumers want, as they receive their feedback on a daily basis as to what is good and what will sell. All of this is a source of great pride and satisfaction for us. First of all because the rapid qualitative progress of Italian craft beer and, in particular, of Umbrian beer is internationally recognized. And then because it means that our corporate choices, always inspired by attention to consumers, have been spot on”.
“In addition to being a major destination for foodies and travellers, New York City is a metropolis where many nationally and internationally recognized beverage professionals live and work. It is also the media capital with enormous possibilities for disseminating our national products. That's why receiving an award in this city - concludes Farchioni - is a result that must give impetus and conviction to the entire craft beer movement in Italy. We are not new to this kind of awards, having already won 4 medals - 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze - between 2017 and 2018: this fills us even more with satisfaction but also with responsibility towards our customers".
