More than 400 beers and ciders were judged in February for New World's Beer and Cider Awards.

Judges have sniffed, swirled, tasted and re-tasted hundreds of beers to select those worthy of being awarded medals for their quality and drinkability.

The New World Beer and Cider awards are decided by a panel of 15 independent experts including brewers, beer and cider writers, hop experts and a ciderologist.

The panel has spent two days at Westpac Stadium tasting 464 beverages from 70 breweries, entered in 13 categories.

MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ Independent experts examined hundreds of beers and ciders at the New World Beer and Cider Awards judging days in Wellington on February 23 and 24.

It seemed like a dream job for any beer or cider lover, but it was hard work, head judge Michael Donaldson said.

"It's quite fatiguing. Tasting 60 beers in the course of a day... [there] has to be an intense focus because you have to have the same sensory reactions at the start of the day and the end of it," he said.

All the tastings are done blind, with the beer poured out in a separate area that is off-limits to judges.

MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ Head judge Michael Donaldson takes a sniff at the aroma of one of 464 beverages entered in the awards.

Two bottles are used for each entry and judges can ask for a drink to be re-poured if they think there is something wrong or different between the glasses.

Each judge will taste about 60 drinks per day and each entry is tasted by a minimum of four judges.

"It's about, 'Is this a medal-worthy beer?' If not, it goes straight in the bucket," said Donaldson.

MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ The drinks are poured into craft beer glasses behind a screen and then given to the judges to taste 'blind'.

"Some people will love something and others won't be so sure about it so there's a bit of to and fro."

There is no limit to how many medals can be awarded in this the second year of the awards, but only one drink from each category will be crowned the best in class.

Those entries will have been tasted by about nine of the 15 judges before that top honour is awarded.

"The quality, by and large, has been outstanding. Last year there was about 30 gold medals awarded and we will probably be on par with that, but there are a lot more entries," Donaldson said.

Managing director of Foodstuffs New Zealand, which owns the New World brand, said the judges were some of the best minds in the industry, and customers would need to get in quick to taste the winners when they were announced.

"We expect stock to be limited as some of the Best in Class winners may be from small breweries with limited brewing capacity."

The winners will be announced in April and the top beverages would be available in all New World stores.

BY THE NUMBERS

* 464 different beers and ciders

* 15 independent judges

* 70 breweries participating

* More than 4000 bottles and cans used in the judging process

* At least 9 judges review the Best in Class winners

* 40 per cent increase in entries on last awards

* Biggest category, pale ales with 64 entries.