Cisk Lager and Cisk Export have been awarded Gold for brewing excellence at the International Beverage Exhibition and Competition in China.
The event, held in Schenzen, attracted 380 international entries including a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and was attended by more than ten thousand buyers interested in the beverage industry.
Judged by an independent panel of expert judges, Cisk Lager and Cisk Export were awarded Gold in their respective categories while Cisk Extra Strong Lager also won Silver in the strong beer category.
Norman Aquilina, Farsons CEO said: “Given the short space of time in which Cisk has been available on the Chinese market we are pleased with the progress being made and are obviously delighted with the awards that our beers have received, testament to the quality of our products.
“China is an enormous market and the competition in the imported beer segment in China is tough. However, the results to date suggest that there are interesting growth prospects for our beers and winning these awards will certainly benefit our efforts to further penetrate the market. To this end we are also grateful for the practical support provided by Malta Enterprise in our endeavours in China. “
Farsons started exporting to China last year and its beers are now available in selected outlets in Southern and Eastern China. Cisk also generated considerable consumer interest as the official beer at the Café Jubilee stand within the Malta Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. Cisk was also featured on CCTV, the Chinese TV network.
The Cisk range of beers has won other awards in the past years. Among the most significant, Cisk Lager won the UK’s Brewex Competition in 1980 when it was awarded gold medals in both the Lager and the Best Overall categories. In 1995, Cisk Lager received the top prize in the Australian International Beer Awards, while its sister brand Cisk Export won the Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup in Ohio, USA in 2002.
In 2005, Cisk Lager was awarded the prestigious second placing in the International Lager Competition category, Class 1, of The Brewing Industry International Awards 2005. In 2007, Cisk was awarded the title of World’s Best Standard Lager by Beers of the World – an international consumer beer magazine, written by the world’s leading beer writers, while Cisk Excel, a low carbohydrate beer, was awarded World’s Best Low Carb Beer title in the same competition.