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18 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 DECEMBER 2018 COMMERCIAL Cisk Pilsner awarded gold at Brussels Beer Challenge 2018 THIS year's edition of the Brus- sels Beer Challenge has award- ed Cisk Pilsner, brewed by Si- monds Farsons Cisk plc, a gold medal in the Bohemian-Style Pilsner category. The competi- tion was held in Mechelen, Bel- gium from the 2nd to the 4th November. The Brussels Beer Challenge, the first professional beer com- petition in Belgium, was created by Becomev in 2012 in response to the growing interest in beer culture. This year's edition of the Brus- sels Beer Challenge was held in the historic brewery 'Lamot' in the historical centre of Mechel- en. Over three days, 90 interna- tional judges renowned for their beer tasting expertise tasted over 1,600 beers from across the globe. Grouped by origin, style and typicity before being assessed by a panel of judges, the finest beers were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals for each category. "In winning gold and fighting off competition from breweries in the Czech Republic and the US, awarded silver and bronze respectively, Cisk Pilsner, from a small brewery in the Mediter- ranean, proves that it is on a par with global beers. We are very proud of this result, our brew- ing tradition and our heritage," commented Head Brewer and Chief Operations Officer, Mr Eugenio Caruana. Originally brewed by Farsons Brewery in the late 1940s, Cisk Pilsner was relaunched in 2016 and has already garnered sever- al international awards, namely, bronze medal in the Australian Beer Awards, silver medal in the International Beer Chal- lenge and World's Best Czech Style Pale Lager in the World Beer Awards. Cisk Pilsner is a premium Pilsner combining a tradition of brewing excellence and pas- sion with the finest quality Pils- en malt and Noble hops of the Saaz variety. Cool, crisp and im- mensely satisfying, with an alco- hol content of 5.5%, Cisk Pilsner offers the discerning beer con- noisseur a remarkably crisp and well-hopped flavour with a rich white head, a delicate bitterness and a superior aroma originat- ing from the rich essential oils present in the Noble hops. Cisk Pilsner is the premium beer in the Cisk portfolio, spearheaded by the award-win- ning Cisk Lager. The portfolio also includes Cisk Excel, Cisk Export, Cisk Strong and the Cisk Chill range of flavoured beers. Cisk Pilsner is available in 330ml glass bottles and on draught in selected outlets. WHO doesn't love Christmas? The season of good will tradi- tionally means feasting, par- ties, presents and festive decor – and unfortunately, it is also one of the most wasteful times of the year. The upcoming festive season is set to add to the already-crit- ical global problem presented by plastic, with many marine species predicted to be extinct within mere decades if the plas- tic waste issue is not seriously addressed. Now, a new video has been launched in Malta to help peo- ple to hugely reduce the amount of waste – including plastic waste – that they will create this Christmas, and so help to make Malta's Christmases greener for generations to come. The Jien u Int initiative has been launched by TV present- er Clare Agius and writer Jo Caruana, following the massive response to Clare's '2018 Plastic Horror Stories' video that she released earlier this year, draw- ing the attention of likeminded individuals, private and public entities and NGOs across Malta. Local businessperson and en- vironmentalist Caruana decid- ed to join Clare in creating ideas of how to reduce plastic over Christmas, and their first video went live last week. "The Christmas season is all about indulgence and every- where you go people are going to offer you plastic! Mulled wine in a plastic cup… a sample of cheese on a plastic plate… it's everywhere!" Clare says. "This Christmas – I am saying no. If something is being given to me in single-use plastic, I will not be accepting it. Thank you, but no thank you. Instead, I will be carrying a reusable bottle with me, so I won't miss out on the fun… and I won't be making more plastic waste." The video was created with the support of APS Bank. Hervé Delpech, Head of Strategy and Marketing said, "We are glad to support this initiative in line with our values. We hope this video will continue to build awareness and inspire people to take action to protect our home and environment for the benefit of future generations." The ideas Clare shares show how just a few simple changes to our Christmas routine can make a massive difference. Among the many useful tips recommended by Jien u Int, Clare suggests choosing reus- able cutlery, plates and straws over disposable plastic options at parties, getting inventive with wrapping paper alternatives like brown paper since most wrap- ping paper is not recyclable, refusing shopping bags, being discerning about buying gifts without plastic packaging, and decorating the house with nat- ural items such as pine cones, instead of plastic-ridden tinsel and baubles. Clare concludes, "I realised I have the power to say no. I don't need plastic – none of us do – and we can stop this cy- cle by standing up to plastic in small ways every day. It's my re- sponsibility, so my kids can not only enjoy this Christmas on our beautiful island, but many, many Christmases into the fu- ture." The initiative is supported by APS Bank. How not to feed the plastic monster this Christmas NOMINATIONS for the 2019 Malta EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ Award are now open and will run until 31 January 2019. The competition is open to entrepreneurs from all sec- tors, established and new, with the winner announced during an award ceremony in March 2019. In addition to the main award, ambitious young en- trepreneurs are encouraged to apply for the EY Rising Star Award. This will be present- ed to a contender running a high-growth business that is generating excitement in the market. The Maltese winner will be flown to Monaco later in 2019 to compete for the grand prize, the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year™ Award. This event brings together national win- ners from more than 50 coun- tries, selected from a pool of more than 5,000 nominees. The winner of the Rising Star Award will also travel to the Monaco event, providing a unique opportunity to net- work with some of the world's best entrepreneurs. The EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ Award was launched in the US in 1986 and has now spread to 165 cities in over 50 countries. It is the world's big- gest and most prestigious busi- ness award for entrepreneurs and the only one with a truly global dimension. Entrepreneur of the Year™ alumni include some of the most influential, innovative and exclusive entrepreneurs in the world; Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque de Soleil, Amazon founders Jeff Bezos and Reid Hoffman, Formula One's Eddie Jordan, Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Howard Schultz of Star- bucks to name a few. To be eligible, nominees must either be Maltese or have been operating a company based in Malta for at least two years. Anyone, including em- ployees, company advisors and financiers can nominate an entrepreneur, with the latter's consent. Entrepreneurs may also directly nominate them- selves. 2019 Malta EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ Award nominations open