Four Points by Sheraton, a Marriott International brand known for its love of beer, is embarking upon a global trip discovering the world’s best brews. The journey kicked off last week the new Four Points Manhattan Midtown West on the eve of International Beer Day and will continue across the globe before culminating at the Four Points Barcelona Diagonal in October.
Four Points’ Best Brews Around the World celebrates the brand’s signature initiative, a dedicated program in which each of the brand’s 225+ hotels around the world showcases a local, craft beer that has been chosen based on taste, popularity, quality and proximity to the property. A Best Brew is available on tap at each Four Points, offering travelers an authentic taste of local beer culture wherever their travels may take them.
To add further authenticity and credibility to the Best Brews program, Four Points is enrolling select associates at each “Best Brews Around the World Brew Off” hotel in the globally recognized Cicerone Certification Program. This program is highly regarded in the food and beverage industry and is instrumental with the development of expert beer servers. Each of the selected Four Points associates will train and complete the first of four levels of the Cicerone Certification Program, becoming a Cicerone Certified Beer Server and on-property beer aficionado.
At each stop during the Best Brews Around the World tour, two beers from local craft breweries will go “head to head” for bragging rights and to claim the winning spot as the hotel’s newest Best Brew. The beers will be presented by the breweries and judged by the crowd, comprised of local beer lovers, each hotel’s newly certified Cicerone, and hotel guests. Every “Best Brew Off” competition will be hosted by an influential “beer expert” who will help educate the crowd and cast the final vote. At the kickoff event at Four Points Midtown Manhattan West, Peekskill Brewery and LIC Beer Project squared off, with LIC coming out on top.
Properties in Mexico, Canada, Australia, Kenya and Spain also are hosting competitions.
“Four Points has a love for locally crafted beers, which is why we’re traveling to the far corners of the globe to discover the best brews the world has to offer,” said Callette Nielsen, vice president, global brand manager for Four Points. “We know the perfect pint has universal appeal, which is why we’re celebrating International Beer Day with the launch of our ‘Best Brews Around the World.’ From Manhattan to Barcelona and Melbourne to Nairobi, we are taking our love of beer on the road. We invite local beer lovers and thirsty travelers to join us as we discover new Best Brews.”