Hofmeister, the relaunched, revamped beer of the 1980s and 1990s, has been crowned best lager at the 2017 Beer Awards run by the IWSC Group.
It is a major coup for a brand that was taken off UK shelves in the early 2000s after even the appeal of the famous George the Bear advertising could not make up for lagging sales.
The decision by a small group of beer enthusiasts to revive the brand after 14 years away has paid off in spectacular style. Not only has it beaten off multinational brewers from all over the globe to win best lager in the Beer Awards, it is the first lager to be awarded five stars in the competition.
The new Hofmeister is completely different to the mass volume standard lager in its 1990s pomp. It has been revived and brought back for British beer drinkers as an authentic, craft brewed, 5% ABV, Bavarian Helles lager, the style of beer made famous by the millions of people who flock to Munich every year for the Oktoberfest.
The judges described the winning Hofmeister Helles lager as “bright, clean and fresh, with a lightly fruit aroma. Very good drinkability.” To be awarded five stars the beer must have scored 90 points or more and be seen as ‘setting the standard’ for the rest of that category.
Hofmeister co-founder, Richard Longhurst, said: “We did not just want to bring back a famous beer brand. We wanted to re-invent it for beer drinkers who are looking for authentic, craft beers with genuine provenance.”
He and fellow co-founder, Spencer Chambers, saw a huge gap in the UK beer market for German beers, and in particular the easy-to-drink, refreshing styles of lager so common and popular in Bavaria.
Spencer said: “We can understand why the new Hofmeister lager has blown the Beer Awards judges away. Every keg, bottle and barrel of Hofmeister is made following Germany’s 1516 Reinheitsgebot beer purity law, which states only three ingredients can be used in the brewing process.
“It is produced by fourth-generation brewery Schweiger, on the edge of the Ebersberger forest, using local Hallertau hops, natural spring mineral water and barley from nearby Bavarian farmers, malted on site at the brewery.”
Hofmeister was re-launched to the UK market in October 2016 and is now available nationally in more than 150 pubs and bars, with an initial focus on the south of the country.
