Once again, within the framework of the Barcelona Beer Challenge, the tasting of the five finalists for the MR. Malt Innovation Award was held. This award aims to inspire the exploration of new working territories and to recognize innovation in the creative process of brewing. Promoted by Mr Malt for Brewers, it encourages breweries to step outside their usual frameworks and innovate within the sector.
Each brewery participating in the Barcelona Beer Challenge can select one of its registered beers that it considers to involve a creative and innovative process and, thanks to MR. Malt, take part in this award free of charge.
Weeks before the main awards ceremony, the Steering Committee selects five finalists, from which a single winner is chosen. The award is announced during the Barcelona Beer Challenge ceremony, held within the Barcelona Beer Festival and Innbrew, The Brewers Convention.
The five finalist beers:
- Bierboi – Encantada: A beer inspired by archaeological remains dating back approximately 6,300 years, discovered in the Cave from Can Sadurní (Begues, Barcelona), considered the oldest beer in Europe. It is a contemporary reinterpretation of a possible prehistoric beer, reconstructed based on historical data. All ingredients in the recipe have been identified in the cave’s Neolithic strata, reinforcing the connection between the current proposal and early brewing practices.
- SA Cerviseria – Xapopot: A high-alcohol beer, specifically a 25% eisbock, brewed with unusual ingredients such as orange peel and cinchona bark (aiming to replicate the production process of Palo de Mallorca). It is designed to be consumed in small sips or served with a siphon, ice cubes, and a slice of lemon. Its approach leans more toward gastronomic experimentation than a conventional product.
- Hopalaa Brewery – Momentum: This beer incorporates hop-derived terpenes from a Catalan company. The aim is to integrate and enhance those terpenes that are typically lost during fermentation, while also reducing losses caused by hop absorption in pellet or whole-flower form in highly hopped beers, and optimizing storage space.
- VulcanAloe Pale Ale: A specific recipe has been developed to incorporate organically grown aloe vera juice at the right moment and in the right proportion, preserving the balance, aroma, and organoleptic profile of a Pale Ale, with a distinctive herbal character. Fermentation and carbonation take place at ambient temperature, taking advantage of the volcanic environment of the island of Lanzarote.
- La Quince Brew Wild – Txak or Lee: A mixed-fermentation Imperial Gose brewed with 20% Hondarribi Zuri grape must, a variety used in the production of txakoli wine. It also includes Añana salt (Álava) and locally sourced hops from Olite. This beer is a collaboration with Sidreria Iruin and Mala Gissona, creating a dialogue between the worlds of wine and beer.
This year’s winner was the Latvian brewery Hopalaa Brewery, for rigorously and intentionally integrating hop terpenes of Catalan origin, developed within the framework of an international R&D collaboration between Latvia and Catalonia. Supported by Mr Malt, the award promotes technically sound innovations aimed at improving aroma, texture, and balance.
