Belgian wins World Draught Masters 2015

The 24-year-old Leuven bartender Jan Vanden Plas has won the World Championship beer tapping competition, defeating opponent Lori Wallace of New Zealand in the final. It is the third year in a row, and ninth time in total, that a Belgian wins the annual competition,  officially known as the Stella Artois World Draught Masters.

Earlier this month Vanden Plas was crowned champion of the Belgian beer taps, allowing him to represent his country on Saturday at London’s Borough Market. He beat out a total of 21 candidates with a flawless execution of the Stella Artois nine-step pouring ritual.

The participants were asked to demonstrate perfect command of the pouring ritual - from cleaning the glass to serving the beer at the table. The judges agreed that Vanden Plas, bartender at the Leuven cafe Louvain Louvain, has the nine-step ritual mastered.

Vanden Plas follows in the footsteps of Marjolein Geuens and Allaine Schaiko, the two Belgian winners of previous editions of the World Draught Masters competition, now in its 17th year.