Four beers from a Greek company recently stood out in competition with thousands of products, receiving prestigious recognition from an institution that leads the world in certifying taste of food and drink products.
The beers come out of the Hellenic Breweries of Atalanti and won 4 Superior Taste Awards at the International Institute of Higher Taste and Quality — a Brussels-based organization that evaluates the quality of foods and beverages.
In this year’s competition, judges evaluated an approximate total of 1,850 products from 90 countries. Incorporating unique tastes from across the country, the Greek brewery won for its beer premium lager, eza Premium pilsener, Blue Island and eza alcohol-free, marking the second consecutive year that its products have been among Europe’s best.
Judges hailed from 15 of the continent’s most renowned culinary and sommelier institutions — including the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France, Academy of Culinary Arts, Hellenic Chefs’ Association and Académie Culinaire de France — and they tested products strictly on a blind basis, meaning without both packaging and identification.
The process is the following: Each expert samples the product and evaluates it by giving numeric scores (i.e. 1-10) for various criteria. Experts then tally the scores based on overall pleasure — the most important — and other secondary criteria like vision, smell, texture, flavor, and mouthfeel.
Brewery President and CEO Athanasios Syrianos described the satisfaction in seeing his company’s products earn yet more accolades.
“It is a pleasure and pride to see the beers of the Hellenic Breweries of Atalanti, which we make with such love and passion, travel all over the world and be distinguished for their unique flavor and quality,” he said. “The distinctions from the International Institute of Higher Taste and Quality constitute for all of us a reward for our efforts, but they also push us to try every day for the best.”
The Hellenic Breweries of Atalanti has been operating since 1988, when it originally began as a subsidiary of the German Lowenbrau Group. It is the largest independent brewery in Greece and distributes products to more than 30 countries all over the world.
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