Aspirants from the different parts of Andalusia have taken part this morning in the Andalusia Estrella Galicia Beer Pulling Championship which was held in the Carmen Thyssen Museum in Malaga .
After different stages in which they had to demonstrate their skills when serving beer, both draught and bottled, and answer questions about the world of beer, Juan Jesús Ortega from Cervecería La Maceta in Jerez de la Frontera, was declared Best Beer Puller in Andalusia. Sergio Toro, from the Bar Mamut Bola de Oro in Granada, was named runner-up. Both will represent Andalusia at the National Championship which will take place in Madrid at the beginning of 2016.
The champion, Juan Jesús Ortega, admitted having been very nervous as it is the first time that he has entered a contest. He stated that “I’m not used to serving beer with this amount of pressure to make it look good”. After all the pressure he had built up, he said he was on cloud nine and also acknowledged the responsibility of representing Andalusian bartenders at the national championship.
The three consolation prizes were awarded to Raúl de los Reyes Pascual, from Bar Rincón del Pablo in Granada, Ángeles Martínez from Cervecería Gorila in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) and Héctor Céspedes from La Cervezoteca in Alhaurín de la Torre (Málaga).
The ten finalists
Ten finalists from different parts of Andalusia took part in the regional grand final, after having passed different challenges that put their serving skills to the test. The finalists were: Sergio Toro Valenzuela, representing Bar Mamut Bola de Oro in Granada, Raúl de los Reyes Pascual, from Bar Rincón del Pablo in Granada, Manuel López, from the restaurant El Caladero in Granada, Felipe Andrés Soto, from Taberna Los Toneles in Granada, Héctor Céspedes, from La Cervezoteca in Alhaurín de la Torre (Málaga), Adrián de la Rosa, from Cervecería Barenostrum in Málaga, Alfredo Ruz, from Café Pub Ágora in Sierra de Yeguas (Málaga), Ángeles Martínez, from Cervecería Gorila in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), Juan Jesús Ortega, from Cervecería La Maceta in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) and José Antonio Castelló, from Epheta Sevilla (Seville).
The Jury
The jury evaluated the work carried out by the participants highly and the high level of execution. The atmosphere during the competition was very exciting and the public present encouraged the participants throughout.
The members of the jury were the prestigious oenologist and sommelier Manuel Morales (rondadevinos.es), Fernando Iglesias and Xabier Cubillo, both from the Beer Culture area at Hijos de Rivera. The three had to analyse each exercise and award points, according to previously defined parameters, for style, technique and the level of perfection when pulling a beer, and its final presentation.
Prizes
The five finalists won their weight in beer, and a cash prize for the winner of €500 and €250 for the runner-up. There were also three consolation prizes of €125 each. All the finalists were given a certificate of participation, while the winner and runner-up go straight through to the National Beer Pulling Championship, with paid travel and accommodation costs.
Estrella Galicia rewards professionalism and quality when serving beer.
After the success of the previous editions, Estrella Galicia has decided to once again test the skills and quality of service of catering professionals throughout Spain with the aim of rewarding the talent and effort of bartenders when serving the product at its optimum point for the consumer to enjoy.
Last year, Javier Sánchez from Cervecería el Gorila in Jerez not only won the regional prize but he also won Best Beer Puller in Spain held in Madrid and which he participated in representing Andalusia.
The grand final will be held at the beginning of 2016 with representatives from all the Spanish regions, winners of the classifying regional phases.
The aim of this championship is to promote beer culture, the values of beer as a product of excellence within the food and beverage industry, and acknowledge the work carried out by bartenders as a fundamental link in the distribution chain of Estrella Galicia products. Professionalism in catering establishments is fundamental to offer end consumers the full range of possibilities a premium beer such as Estrella Galicia has to offer.
