The best beer in the world is once again Catalan. It is the Cap d'Ona (the "beer of the Països Catalans"), which has triumphed for the second consecutive year at the World Beer Challenge (one of the main beer competitions in the world). The brewery-distillery of Argelers de la Marenda (North Catalonia) came first in the ranking, ahead of other world brewing giants. With 1,926 points, the difference between the first and the second place is 800 points. Its founder, Gregor Engler, has also been awarded the prize for best Master Brewer in the world, with a score almost double that of the second-placed brewer. "The team could not be more satisfied with the results achieved in the face of this new success," celebrates the brewery in a recently released statement.
A few days ago, 125 experts from 29 countries gathered in Estoril (Portugal) for the World Beer Challenge 2022, the twelfth edition of this global competition. Cap d'Ona participated with 21 beers and won nine gold medals and twelve silver medals. In addition, four of these beers obtained a score of one hundred out of one hundred (100/100) by the international jury: the organic blonde, the organic black rye beer from Cerdanya, the organic triple ambrée and the blonde wood aged with double ageing Chardonnay wine cask. The brewery-distillery emphasizes "especially the 100/100 given to the blonde, as the blonde beer is a classic, usually the most consumed everywhere and where competition is fiercer". This is a blonde that is not only organic, but also gluten-free. "So even beer lovers with this food intolerance can enjoy the best pale ale in the world," he adds.
Cap d'Ona triumphs at the World Beer Challenge 2022
The rest of Cap d'Ona's gold medals went to the following beers: the organic apricot blonde Rosselló (best fruit beer in the world), the blonde muscatel (with muscatel wine from North Catalonia), the white NEIPA strawberry and kiwi, the wood aged black grand reserve and the wood aged ambrée imperial mystery. All in all, the brewery-distillery's goal is to revalidate these triumphs at the next big beer event of the year: the World Beer Awards, to be held in September.
Cap d'Ona explains that with "the avalanche of awards and medals renews the international prestige (...) without ever losing the roots and identity of the North Catalan territory". To reaffirm these roots, the brewery-distillery has recently launched an Instagram profile in Catalan. In addition, since last July 2nd (and until September) it has been organizing tasting tours also in Catalan. These tasting visits take place on Saturdays at 11.30 AM with prior reservation. In 2024 Cap d'Ona will move from Argelers to Ceret (Vallespir), which will allow it to "continue developing and innovating" while respecting "the values of ethics, circular economy and ecology that this family business has been promoting for 24 years".