The grand finale of the German Beer Sommelier Championship will take place for the fourth time on November 13, 2018. Our valued beer maker from the Bierothek® Stuttgart - Marco Liebig will also be there. On this day, the 44-year-old can show the other five competitors what he can do.
The German Beer Sommelier Championship consists of two preliminary rounds and a final round, which are organized by the DOEMENS Academy. In the first preliminary round, different beer styles and typical beer tastes have to be recognized. Anyone who has excelled here and made it into the top ten will move on to the second round. Here a beer presentation has to be held in front of a jury, which ultimately selects the best six participants as the finalists of the competition. In addition, the best 15 participants can look forward to qualifying to take part in the World Beer Sommelier Championships 2019 in Rimini. In the final on November 13th, 2018, each finalist must give a presentation about a specially selected beer in front of a large audience and the expert jury at the BrauBeviale in Nuremberg. Whoever is most convincing wins and can call themselves the German Beer Sommelier Champion!
Bierothek® Magazine : Hi Marco. Let's start off by talking a little about yourself. Where are you originally from?
Marco : Hi everyone. I originally come from beautiful East Frisia - more precisely from Emden.
Bierothek® Magazine : Why is the topic of beer so fascinating to you?
Marco : There is an immensely large variety of hops, malts and yeasts that wonderfully conjure up so many styles of beer that it is always a great pleasure for me.
Bierothek® Magazine : When did you actually discover your love and affinity for beer?
Marco : It was the move to Franconia after almost 2/3 of my life in the north. My first experience with the beverage cooling rack was nothing short of epic! Such a huge cooling shelf with so many beers, which were also completely different, left me speechless.
Bierothek® Magazine : Let's talk about the German Beer Sommelier Championship, in which you are taking part. How did you prepare for the preliminary round of the championship and how explicitly for the final?
Marco : I actually started hosting tastings with friends almost every week 3 months beforehand. I was very strict and only used one style per tasting. There were always different breweries that we tasted. We started with Pilsener, then came the Helles, Export, Kölsch, Kristallweizen, Münchner Dunkel, Helle Bock and Belgian Blonde beers. I'm still preparing for the final.
Bierothek® Magazine : The preliminary round of the German Championship took place on October 13, 2018 - including you and over 40 other participants. Were you surprised when you were among the 6 best German beer sommeliers this year and can now fight for the title with your five opponents on November 13th?
Marco : I was so very surprised! After all, I just passed my beer sommelier exam in June this year.
Bierothek® Magazine : Finally, please give our readers a tip on how to learn to recognize special aromas and smells in beer?
Marco : Actually it's hard training. It's not just beer that is sampled regularly. It is also the case that I eat food more consciously, for example. I always try to capture the characteristics of the food. This includes color, consistency, scent, taste. I regularly buy different types of fruit and taste them at regular intervals throughout the day. I have spices that I “sniff” regularly. Since the taste buds renew themselves approximately every 7-9 days, it is important to create a “taste and scent memory”.
Bierothek® Magazine : Thank you for taking the time with us. We wish you much success on the final day of the German Beer Sommelier Championships and congratulate you on the great success you have achieved so far.
