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Some pronounce it "drawt," others "drowt," while some say "draft" - but no matter the language, competitors from 30 countries recently competed in the World Draught Master Championship, held here, the home to Stella Artois. The world's finest bartenders and bar owners compete in a rigorous test of beer-pouring technique, accuracy, cleanliness and speed.

For the first round of the competition, participants must pour two perfect Stellas and present them to the grim-faced judges in two minutes or less. Every beer must be poured, the head scraped, the glass cleaned again, and served expertly, following strict rules and guidelines of the nine-step Belgian pouring ritual. The winner becomes the World Draught Master Champion, and takes home a top prize of €2,500 ($4,000).

At the appointed signal, Canadian champion Tad Robson, 28, from Kelowna, B.C., calmly walked over to the gleaming white pouring station and began washing, or "purifying," two beer glasses. Two judges hovered like vultures, peering, observing and making notes.

"The cleaning of the glass is very important," said Paul Van de Walle, one of the judges. "We also judge the foam. It must be between three and four centimetres, no more or less."

Unlike some competitors, Mr. Robson had a casual, effortless style, and many in the room were privately picking him to be among the three finalists when he presented his seemingly perfectly poured Stellas to the judges.

Mr. Robson brought along his coach, Brady Kinnell, as moral support. They both work at Joeys restaurant in downtown Kelowna, where Mr. Robson is bar manager and Mr. Kinnell is sous-chef.

"I think he's doing great," Mr. Kinnell said. "In fact, a busy Friday night at Joeys is much crazier. You have to learn to multitask."

The international event, held in a tented room inside the massive Stella Artois brewery, featured flag waving, the occasional broken glass, laughter, cheers, nervous pacing and non-stop complimentary beer.

Though many in attendance thought Mr. Robson did a superb job, the judges felt otherwise. He did not make the final cut. The finals were a hard-fought battle of foam, form and function.

Volodymyr Vavryk, a bartender from Kiev came in third. Beijing's Claire Dong was second. And the new World Draught Master Champion is Tommy Goukens from Laakdal, Belgium.

This was the sixth win for Belgium in the 12 years the competition has been running. Some grumbled about the "political" nature of the win, but it was all forgiven, with more free beer lubricating the friendly international crowd.