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Somebody's gotta do it ...

Lara O'Toole

Judge Yoichi Kiuchi hard at work.
Judge Yoichi Kiuchi hard at work.Wayne Taylor

Burgeoning numbers of craft beers and new breweries have resulted in a hot contest for top honours in the Australian International Beer Awards.

For chief judge Brad Rogers, it's a fun job but not an easy one.

''There's a lot of good people here. I think people underestimate what a good judge is. It's not sitting around the pub.''

By the end of this week, Mr Rogers and 42 judges from around the world will have assessed nearly 1500 entries, up 20 per cent on last year, at the Melbourne Showgrounds. ''We're chugging through it. It's a massive increase on last year.''

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The beers are judged on their appearance, aroma, flavour, body and style.

''The quality of beer has gone through the roof. I have been judging for 15-odd years now and it's quite phenomenal. You're seeing a lot less beer with defects.

''You want to say, I'd like to have another one.''

The winner will be announced on May 23 during Good Beer Week.

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