The Little Brewing Company (TLBC) has been awarded four silver medals and one bronze medal in the world’s second largest international beer competition.

TLBC took the five medals from four beers entered across six categories at the 2009 Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) in Melbourne last week.

Wicked Elf Pilsner received two silver medals, Wicked Elf Pale Ale and Witbier received a silver medal each, and the newly released Mad Abbot Belgian Strong Abbey Ale received bronze.

“This is a phenomenal result for a relatively young brewery. Older breweries entered more beers across more categories and came away with nothing,” said managing director, Kylie Little.

“The standout performer for us was our Wicked Elf Witbier. We were the only Australian brewery to get one of four silvers for bottled witbier. These overseas breweries (two from Belgium and one from the US) produce icons of the style so to equal those we admire is special for us,” Kylie said.

As with the recent medal haul from the 2009 Sydney Royal Beer Competition, the AIBA medals were shared between the two TLBC brewers, Warwick Little and Jason Clifton.

“Consistency is an issue for small breweries and Warwick established our reputation for consistent high quality last year. Jason’s delivering the same with his brews and that’s important to our business to have no variation from batch to batch no matter who brews,” Kylie added.

Presented by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV), the 2009 AIBA attracted 1,140 entries from 39 countries. Internationally recognised as the second largest beer awards of its kind in the world, the AIBA was established 16 years ago to reward excellence in the field of brewing.

Mark O’Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer, RASV, said: “The AIBA is the largest of its kind in Australia and continues to grow each year. The high level of participation from international breweries demonstrates the competition’s stature and relevance on a global scale.”