The Melbourne Royal Australian International Beer Awards is the largest annual beer competition in the world, judging both draught and packaged beer. The 2025 awards attracted over 2,300 entries from more than 390 breweries across 22 countries. It is a valuable benchmarking opportunity for breweries of all sizes to secure internationally recognised credentials that will help their beer stand out in a crowd.
Altitude Brewing took home Champion Small International Brewery and Best Modern Pale Ale, proudly sponsored by HPA. The Queenstown brewery was built on epic adventures, tall stories and great beers, which they clearly know how to make. After giving Altitude Brewing time to celebrate their big win, we got in touch with Head Brewer Dan Jaffe to congratulate the team and ask a few questions about their beers.
Q: Congrats on your recent success at the AIBAs. You went home with the trophy for Champion Small International Brewery and Best Modern Pale Ale for Sled Dog Session Hazy. What does this kind of recognition mean to you?
A: It’s really pretty amazing to take home these awards. The team works so hard every day to make sure we make the best beer possible every batch. We’re constantly tweaking recipes and trying new techniques, so awards like these are proof we’re doing something right and the long hours are worth it!
Q: You also earned a slew of medals, including 4 gold, 14 silver and 6 bronze. What’s your secret to making award-winning beers across multiple categories?
A: We were very proud to show consistency across our range. I can’t say we have any secrets, we’re just always learning, always trying to be better, and always moving forward.
Q: Of your 24 beers that medalled, which 3 mean the most to you?
A: Sled Dog getting the trophy for modern pale ale was amazing. That beer has always been solid, it’s our number one seller, but we’ve tweaked that beer more than any other to get it where we want it. Southern Lights finally getting the recognition it deserves was pretty special, most underrated beer ever! And it’s always nice when a problem child ends up performing well. A few panicked phone calls to Scotty from Lallemand were needed to get one of those beers over the line, but I’ll leave some mystery as to which beer that was…
Q: Tell us what makes the Queenstown beer scene special from a local’s perspective.
A: Passion is what makes Queenstown so special. People move here to follow their passion for skiing, mountain biking, climbing and all the other activities we’re lucky to enjoy from our doorstep, and we’re stoked to share our passion with them!
Q: We know you’re staunch users of New Zealand hops, but what’s your favourite Aussie hop?
A: There’s a solid whack of Galaxy in Sled Dog, but we’ve also had great success with Enigma.
Q: Who made the Gladfield Malt jacket you were rocking at the awards, and how do we get one?
A: Haha, Sebastian from Gladfield’s wife made that for Eliott to wear at last year’s New Zealand Brewer’s Guild Awards and I was lucky to borrow it. I still need to get one for myself!
