Miller wins 9 awards at world beer manufacturers' contest

Miller Brewing Company and its brewmaster, Dr. David Ryder, were once again named the World Beer Cup champion brewery and brewmaster (Large Brewing Company division) at the bi-annual Brewers Association World Beer Cup 2006 in Seattle. Miller and its subsidiaries together walked away with more awards than any other brewer, taking four gold, two silver and three bronze medals as part of the global beer competition.

"It's extremely gratifying to return to the World Beer Cup competition and be recognized as the champion Large Brewing Company and brewmaster for the second consecutive time," said Ryder. "At Miller, nothing is more important than delivering carefully crafted beers of unsurpassed quality and taste time after time. These awards are a testament to the people who brew our great beers with dedicated passion and consistency to the delight of beer drinkers throughout the country."

Beers in the Miller portfolio that were honored with medals in this year's competition are:

  Gold

  --  Miller Lite (American-Style Light Lager)
  --  Miller High Life (American-Style Lager)
  --  Icehouse (American-Style Specialty Lager)
  --  Henry Weinhard's Classic Dark (American-Style Dark Lager)


  Silver

  --  OE HG 800 (American-Style Specialty Lager)
  --  Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss (American-Style Wheat Beer)


  Bronze

  --  Milwaukee's Best Ice (American-Style Specialty Lager)
  --  Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve (American-Style Premium Lager)
  --  Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat (Herb and Spice Beer)

The 2006 Brewers Association World Beer Cup is the world's largest and most diverse international beer competition for commercial breweries, this year touting 2,221 entries from 540 breweries in 56 countries. Other major breweries that participated include Anheuser-Busch, Coors Brewing Company, Boston Beer Company and Heineken.

The World Beer Cup has been held every other year since 1996 and is presented by the Association of Brewers, a not-for-profit educational and trade organization founded in 1978 that is dedicated to the promotion of quality beers and brewing throughout the world. The Association also hosts the annual Great American Beer Festival and is based in Boulder, Colo.

Since the first World Beer Cup competition in 1996, Miller Brewing Company and its subsidiaries have garnered 40 medals for its beers. Miller Lite remains the brewery's leader, winning four gold medals for American-Style Light Lager (2006, 2002, 1998, 1996). This year's gold medal for Miller High Life brings the count to four medals for the High Life franchise, and the Miller Genuine Draft franchise has also reaped a medal in prior World Beer Cup competitions.