Okay, I admit it. I’d never heard of the American Business Awards or the coveted Stevie Award — Greek for “crowned” — before I received the press release from Alaskan Brewing Co.

But out of 1,500 companies who entered, Alaskan Brewing is a finalist in four categories: Best Marketing Team, Best Creative Team, Best Marketer and Best Corporate Communicator. That last one made me chuckle, because my friend Kristi Monroe is the person nominated for that award and she’s also the person who sent out the press release telling me about it. But she deserves to win, so I’ll be rooting for her to win. Founders Geoff and Marcy Larsen are great people and they’ve managed to assemble a great group of people.

Oh, and they make great beer, too. Geoff, who also literally wrote the book about smoked beers, makes one of the best smoked beers in the world. The Alskan Smoked Porter is one of those rare beers that continues to improve dramaticially with age. I did a great lateral tasting of four vintages of the Smoked Porter a number of years ago put on by All Saints Brands at GABF.

From the press release:

The Alaskan Brewing Company is a finalist in every category it entered in its first year competing for the coveted Stevie Awards. Winners will be announced at the Fourth Annual American Business Awards in New York on June 12.

Citing innovative marketing programs and collateral materials, Alaskan Brewing is a finalist in four categories: Best Marketing Team, Best Creative Team, Best Marketer and Best Corporate Communicator.

“Our Brew Crew put together a series of highly effective marketing programs that catapulted Alaskan Brewing growth, making it the leading West Coast craft brewer during 2005,” said Sales and Marketing Director, Fred Hees, finalist in the Best Marketer category.

Hailed as “the business world’s version of the Oscars” by the New York Post (April 27, 2005), the American Business Awards are the only national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace.

“With 1,500 nominees submitted for consideration, we are so excited to be recognized with the likes of Microsoft and other large corporations,” said Kristi Monroe, finalist for Best Corporate Communicator. “Despite being a small business on a conservative budget in a remote location of Alaska, we are producing quality programs and obtaining successful, measurable results.”

“Among the work recognized are our partnerships with the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, Alaska Airlines and Alaska Seafood,” said Brand Manager Cindy Burchfield, a key member of the Creative and Marketing teams, both of which are finalists. “We are thrilled to share this honor with these friends of Alaskan Brewing and our longtime supporters.”

Good luck guys, I’ll be rooting for you.