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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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GABF Winners 2020

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Earlier today, the winners of the 39th Great American Beer Festival were announced (and the 34th with judging). Given the world in 2020, an impressive 8,806 entries in 91 categories (or 170 different beer styles if you include the subcategories) were tasted by 115 judges, of which I was again privileged to be one. Here are some more factoids on the results:

  • Category with the most entries: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale: 348 entries (This is the third year in a row that it’s been #1.
  • Top 5 Categories: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (377 entries); American-Style India Pale Ale (355 entries); German-Style Pilsener (200 entries); Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout (199 entries); and Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale (192 entries)
  • Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 97
  • 1,720 breweries in the competition from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C.
  • 337 first-time breweries entered the competition
  • 19 first-time breweries won medals
  • Only one brewery won 4 medals, Sun King Brewery of Indianapolis, Indiana. Three won 3 medals apiece: Cannonball Creek Brewing of Golden, Colorado; Chuckanut Brewery of Bellingham, Washington; and Riip Beer Co., from Huntington Beach, California. In addition, 23 breweries won 2 medals.

Medals Won by State:

  1. California = 62
  2. Colorado = 26
  3. Oregon = 22
  4. Washington = 16
  5. Virginia = 15
  6. North Carolina = 11
  7. TIE: Indiana = 10 / Texas = 10
  8. Ohio = 9
  9. TIE: Illinois = 6 / Michigan = 6
  10. TIE: IOWA = 5 / Missouri = 5 / Nevada = 5 / New York = 5
Print

The 2018 Great American
Beer Festival Winners

Category 1: American-Style Wheat Beer – 59 Entries
Gold: Whoopty Whoop Wheat, Wild Ride Brewing, Redmond, OR
Silver: Emmer, Lost Worlds Brewing, Cornelius, NC
Bronze: 10 Barrel TWheat, 10 Barrel Brewing Co. – Bend Pub, Bend, OR

Category 2: American-Style Fruit Beer – 125 Entries
Gold: Strawberry Zwickelbier, Twin Sisters Brewing Co., Bellingham, WA
Silver: Everything But The Seeds, 1623 Brewing Co., Eldersburg, MD
Bronze: Berry, Berry, Quite Contrary, Territorial Brewing Co., Springfield, MI

Category 3: Fruit Wheat Beer – 107 Entries
Gold: Liliko’i Kepolo, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Silver: Grandma’s Favorite Recipe, Silver Harbor Brewing Co., Saint Joseph, MI
Bronze: Afternoon Delight, Storm Peak Brewing Co., Steamboat Springs, CO

Category 4: Field Beer – 107 Entries
Gold: Lime Cucumber Gose, Urban South Brewery – New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
Silver: Coconut Bligh’s Barleywine, Dry Dock Brewing Co.- North Dock, Aurora, CO
Bronze: No Rules, Perrin Brewing Co., Comstock Park, MI

Category 5: Pumpkin Beer – 51 Entries
Gold: Gordgeous, NoDa Brewing Co. – NE, Charlotte, NC
Silver: 5 Phantoms 2018, Philipsburg Brewing Co., Philipsburg, MT
Bronze: Pumpkin Patch Ale, Rogue Ales & Spirits, Newport, OR

Category 6: Chili Beer – 76 Entries
Gold: 325 Pineapple Chili, Hoops Brewing, Duluth, MN
Silver: Poblano Pils, Cervecería Colorado, Denver, CO
Bronze: Hatch Chile Gatos, Fate Brewing Co., Scottsdale, AZ

Category 7: Herb and Spice Beer – 99 Entries
Gold: Allergeez, Panther Island Brewing, Fort Worth, TX
Silver: Yerba Buena, Del Cielo Brewing Co., Martinez, CA
Bronze: Powder Run, Living the Dream Brewing Co., Littleton, CO

Category 8: Chocolate Beer – 53 Entries
Gold: Weapon of Mash Destruction, Main & Six Brewing Co., Jacksonville, FL
Silver: Old Balltown Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Aged Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Brownie Milk Stout, PIVO Brewery, Calmar, IA
Bronze: Von Schrag, Mother’s Brewing Co., Springfield, MO

Category 9: Coffee Beer – 72 Entries
Gold: Daybreak, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing – Columbus, OH
Silver: Golden Stout, Karl Strauss Brewing Co. – Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
Bronze: BJ’s Coffee Blonde, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Reno, Reno, NV

Category 10: Coffee Stout or Porter – 75 Entries
Gold: Super Tonic, Docent Brewing, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Silver: The Riizzo, Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach, CA
Bronze: Venti is Large, Hop Dogma Brewing Co., Half Moon Bay, CA

Category 11: Specialty Beer – 35 Entries
Gold: Coco Burrito Porter, Shoe Tree Brewing Co., Carson City, NV
Silver: Cookies & Cream Milk Stout, Waconia Brewing Co., Waconia, MN
Bronze: Cactus Warrior, Toltec Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM

Category 12: Rye Beer – 52 Entries
Gold: Crazy Jackass Ale, Great American Restaurants – Sweetwater Tavern, Centreville, VA
Silver: Hugzilla, Gezellig Brewing Co., Newton, IA
Bronze: Chuckanut Rye, Chuckanut Brewery – North Nut, Bellingham, WA

Category 13: Honey Beer – 72 Entries
Gold: Honey Please, Armadillo Ale Works, Denton, TX
Silver: Tra La La, Grimm Artisanal Ales, Brooklyn, NY
Bronze: Grid City Honey Cream Ale, Grid City Beer Works, Salt Lake City, UT

Category 14: Session Beer or Non-Alcohol Beer – 89 Entries
Gold: Tip the Calf, SingleSpeed Brewing, Waterloo, IA
Silver: Guillaume, Pizza Port Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Straight Drank N/A IPA, Two Roots Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 15: Session India Pale Ale – 94 Entries
Gold: Hefty Fee, Docent Brewing, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Silver: Pedal Pounder, LazyG Brewhouse, Prescott, AZ
Bronze: On Pins & Needles, Institution Ale Co., Camarillo, CA

Category 16: Other Strong Beer – 82 Entries
Gold: Rico, Chihuahua Cerveza, Costa Mesa, CA
Silver: Krimson King, Accomplice Beer Co., Cheyenne, WY
Bronze: Hello, Sabro!, Danville Brewing Co., Danville, CA

Category 17: Experimental Beer – 115 Entries
Gold: Barrel Aged Coco Piña, Coastal Empire Beer Co., Savannah, GA
Silver: Choco Tuesday, Lone Pine Brewing Co. – Gorham Tasting Room, Gorham, ME
Bronze: Get Artistic, Creature Comforts Brewing Co., Athens, GA

Category 18: Experimental India Pale Ale – 103 Entries
Gold: Pepper & Peaches, Claremont Craft Ales, Claremont, CA
Silver: Lazy Tiger, Lamplighter Brewing Co., Cambridge, MA
Bronze: Vladimir Brutin, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO

Category 19: Historical Beer – 28 Entries
Gold: Decorah Nordic Gruit, PIVO Brewery, Calmar, IA
Silver: Seedstock Gratzer, Seedstock Brewery, Denver, CO
Bronze: Fr. Bernard’s Grodziskie, New Magnolia Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 20: Gluten-Free Beer – 45 Entries
Gold: Aurochs Hazy IPA, Aurochs Brewing Co., Emsworth, PA
Silver: 1808, ALT Brew, Madison, WI

Category 21: American-Belgo-Style Ale – 34 Entries
Gold: Tank 7, Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
Silver: Dear You, Ratio Beerworks, Denver, CO
Bronze: Still Single, Light the Lamp Brewery, Grayslake, IL

Category 22: American-Style Sour Ale – 36 Entries
Gold: Vice Sans Fruit, Wild Barrel Brewing Co., San Marcos, CA
Silver: Mirage, New Terrain Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: Sour IPA, New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO

Category 23: Fruited American-Style Sour Ale – 180 Entries
Gold: Guava Dreams, Del Cielo Brewing Co., Martinez, CA
Silver: Peach Afternoon, Port Brewing Co. / The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Bronze: Summer Sun, Stereo Brewing Co., Placentia, CA

Category 24: Brett Beer – 48 Entries
Gold: Bottle Conditioned Day Drinker, Lost Forty Brewing, Little Rock, AR
Silver: Touch of Brett, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR
Bronze: Saison de Walt, Flix Brewhouse, Carmel, IN

Category 25: Mixed-Culture Brett Beer – 74 Entries
Gold: Wild James, Coldfire Brewing, Eugene, OR
Silver: Déluge, Sanitas Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Bronze: Gathering Red Currants & Peaches, Grimm Artisanal Ales, Brooklyn, NY

Category 26: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer – 65 Entries
Gold: Afternoon Delight, Sun King Brewery – Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
Silver: Amburana Graham Cracker Porter, Denver Beer Co., Denver, CO
Bronze: B.A.DUNKEL, TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room, Tustin, CA

Category 27: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – 154 Entries
Gold: Amburana Dream, Denver Beer Co. – Olde Town Arvada, Arvada, CO
Silver: Bourbon B.A. Big Game, Bravery Brewing, Lancaster, CA
Bronze: Barrel-Aged Full Malted Jacket, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Long Beach, CA

Category 28: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout – 199 Entries
Gold: A Night to End All Dawns, Kane Brewing Co., Ocean, NJ
Silver: Ruckus, Melvin Brewing – Thai Me Up, Jackson, WY
Bronze: Grasp of Oak, Moksa Brewing Co., Rocklin, CA

Category 29: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 54 Entries
Gold: Cuvee De Funk, Lone Pine Brewing Co., Portland, ME
Silver: Triad Blanc, IMBIB Custom Brews, Reno, NV
Bronze: Freedom 7, True Anomaly Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 30: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 111 Entries
Gold: The Many Lives of Our Lives, Big aLICe Brewing Co., Long Island City, NY
Silver: Cleft, Little Fish Brewing Co., Athens, OH
Bronze: Cherry Busey, Sun King Brewery – Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN

Category 31: Kellerbier or Zwickelbier – 71 Entries
Gold: Safety Dance, Smartmouth Brewing Co., Norfolk, VA
Silver: Royal Bohemian Pilsner, Earth Rider Brewery, Superior, WI
Bronze: TF Brewing Granary Keller Bier, Templin Family Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT

Category 32: Smoke Beer – 60 Entries
Gold: O’Fallon Smoked Porter, O’Fallon Brewery, Maryland Heights, MO
Silver: Holy Smokes!, Santa Maria Brewing Co., Atascadero, CA
Bronze: Buchenrauch, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, Columbus, OH

Category 33: American Lager – 137 Entries
Gold: Lager at World’s End, Epidemic Ales, Concord, CA
Silver: Seismic Tremor, Seismic Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA
Bronze: Lite Thinking, Pollyanna Brewing Co., Lemont, IL

Category 34: Light Lager – 85 Entries
Gold: Wander Litely, Wander Brewing, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Chuckanut Chuck Lite, Chuckanut Brewery – North Nut, Bellingham, WA
Bronze: Pachanga, Sun King Brewery – Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN

Category 35: American Pilsener – 120 Entries
Gold: Beachscape, Ventura Coast Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Silver: Imagine a World with Beer Cellars Instead of 401ks, Freetail Brewing Co., San Antonio, TX
Bronze: Pilsner, Old Town Brewing, Portland, OR

Category 36: International Pilsener – 114 Entries
Gold: Japanese Lager, pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River, OR
Silver: Rioveza, Kern River Brewing Co. – The Backyard, Kernville, CA
Bronze: Little Wing, Horse Thief Hollow Brewing Co., Chicago, IL

Category 37: American-Style Cream Ale – 135 Entries
Gold: Moonlite, Moontown Brewing Co., Whitestown, IN
Silver: Cerveza, True North Ale Co., Ipswich, MA
Bronze: Let’s Talk About Mex, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO

Category 38: American Amber Lager – 111 Entries
Gold: Volksbier Vienna, Wibby Brewing, Longmont, CO
Silver: Oktoberfest, Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Bronze: Amber Lager, Skipping Rock Beer Co., Staunton, VA

Category 39: German-Style Pilsener – 200 Entries
Gold: Sprockets, Gravely Brewing Co., Louisville, KY
Silver: Prost Pils, Prost Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Bronze: Pils, Kansas City Bier Co., Kansas City, MO

Category 40: Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 137 Entries
Gold: Perle Haggard, Ex Novo Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: Fortune & Glory, Precarious Beer Project – Precarious Beer Hall, Williamsburg, VA
Bronze: Tres Tres, Ocean Beach Brewery, San Diego, CA

Category 41: Munich-Style Helles – 131 Entries
Gold: Augenblick Light Lager, Masthead Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
Silver: Nashville Lager, Nashville Brewing Co., Nashville, TN
Bronze: Helles, Kulshan Brewing Co. – K2, Bellingham, WA

Category 42: Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest – 90 Entries
Gold: CounterWeight Fest Bier, Counter Weight Brewing Co., Hamden, CT
Silver: The Prince of DORTness, Quarter Celtic Brewpub, Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Funfest, Bootlegger’s Brewery, Fullerton, CA

Category 43: Vienna-Style Lager – 109 Entries
Gold: RhinO’fest, Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Ashburn, VA
Silver: Vienna Lager, East Rock Brewing Co., New Haven, CT
Bronze: Oktoberfest, Port City Brewing Co., Alexandria, VA

Category 44: German-Style Maerzen – 142 Entries
Gold: Amber’s Lager-Amber Lager, Irwin Brewing Co., Crested Butte, CO
Silver: White Rocktoberfest, White Rock Alehouse & Brewery, Dallas, TX
Bronze: Big Grove Oktoberfest, Big Grove Brewery, Iowa City, IA

Category 45: German Dark Lager – 98 Entries
Gold: Maximilian, La Reforma, Albuquerque, NM
Silver: Dozer Line, Topa Topa Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Bronze: Umbeereon, GameCraft Brewing, Laguna Hills, CA

Category 46: International Dark Lager – 89 Entries
Gold: Baltic Porter, Skipping Rock Beer Co., Staunton, VA
Silver: Murder Ballads, Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
Bronze: Public Enemy Baltic Porter, Dust Bowl Brewing Co., Turlock, CA

Category 47: Bock – 50 Entries
Gold: Chuckanut Maibock, Chuckanut Brewery – North Nut, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Maibock, NoDa Brewing Co. – NE, Charlotte, NC
Bronze: Skool House Bock, Moontown Brewing Co., Whitestown, IN

Category 48: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock – 40 Entries
Gold: Agent Provocator, Clandestine Brewing, San Jose, CA
Silver: Duck-Rabbit Duck-Rabbator, Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, NC
Bronze: Doppelbock, Lupulin Brewing, Big Lake, MN

Category 49: Golden or Blonde Ale – 137 Entries
Gold: Carolinian, Columbia Craft Brewing Co., Columbia, SC
Silver: Salty Crew, Coronado Brewing Co., Coronado, CA
Bronze: Sunlight Cream Ale, Sun King Brewery – Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN

Category 50: German-Style Koelsch – 162 Entries
Gold: Kolsch, pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River, OR
Silver: Kodiak Kolsch, Bear Chase Brewing Co., Bluemont, VA
Bronze: Kolsch Money, Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, Framingham, MA

Category 51: English Ale – 93 Entries
Gold: Proper Beer, Proper Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT
Silver: Summer Lovin’, Blue Mountain Brewery, Afton, VA
Bronze: Uncle Dave’s, Discretion Brewing, Soquel, CA

Category 52: International Pale Ale – 87 Entries
Gold: Locals Only, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Silver: Carlsbad Crush, Burgeon Beer Co., Carlsbad, CA
Bronze: Inner Light, Our Mutual Friend Brewing, Denver, CO

Category 53: American-Style Pale Ale – 156 Entries
Gold: Featherweight Pale Ale, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Silver: Somewhere Golden, Institution Ale Co., Camarillo, CA
Bronze: Pantsless, Alarmist Brewing, Chicago, IL

Category 54: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale – 137 Entries
Gold: Moon Haze, Blue Moon Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Hazy L IPA, Bale Breaker Brewing Co., Yakima, WA
Bronze: Mosaic Pale Ale, Random Row Brewing Co., Charlottesville, VA

Category 55: American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 149 Entries
Gold: Built For Speed, Grains of Wrath Brewing, Camas, WA
Silver: Superpower IPA, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Bronze: Mai Tai P.A., Alvarado Street Brewery & Tasting Room, Salinas, CA

Category 56: Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale – 145 Entries
Gold: Goofy Boots, Penrose Brewing Co., Geneva, IL
Silver: Reuben’s Crush, Reuben’s Brews – The Taproom, Seattle, WA
Bronze: Tight Quarters, Slice Beer Co., Lincoln, CA

Category 57: American-Style India Pale Ale – 355 Entries
Gold: IPA, Perry Street Brewing, Spokane, WA
Silver: Updrift India Pale Ale, Pelican Brewing Co. – Tillamook, Tillamook, OR
Bronze: Nothing Noble, Von Ebert Brewing – Pearl, Portland, OR

Category 58: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale – 377 Entries
Gold: Spellbinder, Wren House Brewing Co., Phoenix, AZ
Silver: Yojo, Moonraker Brewing Co., Auburn, CA
Bronze: Wicked Pawesome, Metazoa Brewing Co. – Stringtown Production Facility, Indianapolis, IN

Category 59: Imperial India Pale Ale – 166 Entries
Gold: Hammerland DIPA, El Segundo Brewing Co., El Segundo, CA
Silver: Double Cone, Alvarado Street Brewery & Tasting Room, Salinas, CA
Bronze: Freak of Nature Double IPA, Wicked Weed Brewing, Asheville, NC

Category 60: Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale – 192 Entries
Gold: The Hopsplainer, Burke-Gilman Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Silver: Not A Scientist, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, WA
Bronze: Sugar on My Tongue, Highland Park Brewery, Los Angeles, CA

Category 61: American-Style Amber/Red Ale – 110 Entries
Gold: Avalon Amber Ale, Bowigens Beer Co., Casselberry, FL
Silver: Justin’s Easy Going Amber, Zuni Street Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Bronze: Paulie’s Not Irish, Old Town Brewing, Portland, OR

Category 62: Strong Red Ale – 75 Entries
Gold: Happy Days, Claremont Craft Ales, Claremont, CA
Silver: Side Hike, Kern River Brewing Co., Kernville, CA
Bronze: Devil’s Path, El Segundo Brewing Co., El Segundo, CA

Category 63: English Mild or Bitter – 57 Entries
Gold: Deep Roots, Three Weavers Brewing Co., Inglewood, CA
Silver: English Pale Mild Ale, Wallenpaupack Brewing Co., Hawley, PA
Bronze: MSB (McFleshman’s Special Bitter), McFleshman’s Brewing Co., Appleton, WI

Category 64: Extra Special Bitter – 56 Entries
Gold: Wicket Awesome, Eureka Heights Brew Co., Houston, TX
Silver: Extra Special StormBreaker, StormBreaker Brewing, Portland, OR
Bronze: English Sporting Beer, Midwest Coast Brewing Co., Chicago, IL

Category 65: Scottish-Style Ale – 43 Entries
Gold: Back Country, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT
Silver: It Takes a Tribe Red Ale, Goat Patch Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO
Bronze: Taildragger Clan-Destine, Saddle Mountain Brewing Co., Goodyear, AZ

Category 66: Irish-Style Red Ale – 78 Entries
Gold: Balefire Irish Red, Mirror Image Brewing Co., Frederick, CO
Silver: Crimson Lass, Quarter Celtic Brewpub, Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Vixen, Old Bust Head Brewing Co., Vint Hill, VA

Category 67: English-Style Brown Ale – 55 Entries
Gold: Get Up Offa That Brown, Golden Road Brewing, Anaheim, CA
Silver: Bloodhound Brown Ale, Attic Brewing Co., Philadelphia, PA
Bronze: Brown Ale, Lowercase Brewing – Production Facility, Seattle, WA

Category 68: American-Style Brown Ale – 60 Entries
Gold: Brown Ale, Second Street Brewery, Santa Fe, NM
Silver: Wallops Island, Rocket Frog Brewing Co., Sterling, VA
Bronze: All-American Brown, Auburn Alehouse, Auburn, CA

Category 69: American-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout – 69 Entries
Gold: Wookey Jack, Firestone Walker Brewing Co. – The Propagator, Marina del Rey, CA
Silver: Black the Riipper, Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach, CA
Bronze: 1979 Stout, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Mills River, Mills River, NC

Category 70: German-Style Sour Ale – 54 Entries
Gold: Breakside Gose, Breakside Brewery, Portland, OR
Silver: Slightly Sour, Second Chance Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: First Steps on a Sour Planet, Aeronaut Brewing Co., Somerville, MA

Category 71: Specialty Berliner-Style Weisse – 74 Entries
Gold: Razzle Fo Shazzle, Great Basin Brewing Co. – Reno, Reno, NV
Silver: Glitz & Glam, Eppig Brewing, Vista, CA
Bronze: Plumpricot, Beale’s, Bedford, VA

Category 72: Contemporary Gose – 81 Entries
Gold: Cruise to Nowhere, Town Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Silver: Haole Punch, Alvarado Street Brewery & Grill, Monterey, CA
Bronze: Steady As She Gose – P.O.G., Big Ugly Brewing, Chesapeake, VA

Category 73: German-Style Altbier – 44 Entries
Gold: Howitzer Amber, Red Leg Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO
Silver: Control ALT, Devil’s Logic Brewing, Charlotte, NC
Bronze: Altitude Alt, Altitude Chophouse & Brewery, Laramie, WY

Category 74: German-Style Wheat Ale – 145 Entries
Gold: Goggle Fogger Hefeweizen, Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon, North Olmsted, OH
Silver: Hefeweizen, Kansas City Bier Co., Kansas City, MO
Bronze: Doc’s Dunkel, Gravely Brewing Co., Louisville, KY

Category 75: Belgian-Style Ale or French-Style Ale – 74 Entries
Gold: First To Fall, The Good Society, Seattle, WA
Silver: Crazy Train, Fretboard Brewing Co., Blue Ash, OH
Bronze: III Belgian Blond, Third Window Brewing Co., Santa Barbara, CA

Category 76: Belgian-Style Witbier – 72 Entries
Gold: White, Allagash Brewing Co., Portland, ME
Silver: Boeman Belgian White, Ogopogo Brewing, San Gabriel, CA
Bronze: Wolk, Lock 27 Brewing, Centerville, OH

Category 77: Classic Saison – 80 Entries
Gold: Beyond the Gnome World, Silver Branch Brewing Co., Silver Spring, MD
Silver: Tomorrow’s Verse, Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse, Sacramento, CA
Bronze: Meadowlark, Metazoa Brewing Co. – Taproom, Indianapolis, IN

Category 78: Specialty Saison – 74 Entries
Gold: Farmhouse Cuvée, Alesong Brewing & Tasting Room, Eugene, OR
Silver: Seeds of Infinity, Coldfire Brewing, Eugene, OR
Bronze: Obeisance, Von Ebert Brewing – Glendoveer, Portland, OR

Category 79: Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale – 108 Entries
Gold: Funk Yeah, Beachwood Blendery, Long Beach, CA
Silver: Peche, Block 15 Brewing Co., Corvallis, OR
Bronze: Cerise Morte, Wicked Weed – Funk House, Arden, NC

Category 80: Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale – 103 Entries
Gold: Cosmic Sloth, Pinthouse Pizza – South Lamar, Austin, TX
Silver: Qualified, Taxman Brewing Co., Bargersville, IN
Bronze: Hell Camino Belgian Quad, Dos Desperados Brewery, San Diego, CA

Category 81: Belgian-Style Abbey Ale – 106 Entries
Gold: Dubbel or Nothing, Monkless Belgian Ales, Bend, OR
Silver: 228 Tripel, Stormcloud Brewing Co., Frankfort, MI
Bronze: Lux Mundi, Save The World Brewing Co., Marble Falls, TX

Category 82: Belgian-Style Specialty Ale – 47 Entries
Gold: Tangible Passion, Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach, CA
Silver: Goin’ Stag, Cabin Boys Brewery, Tulsa, OK
Bronze: Orange Diva, StillFire Brewing, Suwanee, GA

Category 83: Brown Porter – 54 Entries
Gold: Brown Claw, Kern River Brewing Co., Kernville, CA
Silver: FivePine Porter, Three Creeks Brewing Co., Sisters, OR
Bronze: Old Normal, Bend Brewing Co., Bend, OR

Category 84: Robust Porter – 60 Entries
Gold: Tabula Rasa, Second Chance Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Porter, Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Bronze: Thriller Pillar Porter, Bron Yr Aur Brewing Co., Naches, WA

Category 85: Stout – 72 Entries
Gold: ODIS, O’Connor Brewing Co., Norfolk, VA
Silver: Void of Light, Gun Hill Brewing Co., Bronx, NY
Bronze: Dry Stout, The Post Brewing Co., Lafayette, CO

Category 86: Sweet Stout or Cream Stout – 39 Entries
Gold: Moozie Milk Stout, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Korova Milk Porter, Gnarly Barley Brewing Co., Hammond, LA
Bronze: Irish Prenup, Barley Naked Brewing Co., Stafford, VA

Category 87: Oatmeal Stout – 52 Entries
Gold: Settlers’ Oatmeal Stout, Vallensons’ Brewing Co., Pearland, TX
Silver: North Tower Stout, Earth Rider Brewery, Superior, WI
Bronze: Stagecoach Stout, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Buellton, CA

Category 88: Imperial Stout – 88 Entries
Gold: The Snow, Community Beer Works, Buffalo, NY
Silver: Doggin Wrench, Five Branches Brewing, Tarpon Springs, FL
Bronze: Stoutacus, Shoe Tree Brewing Co., Carson City, NV

Category 89: Scotch Ale – 58 Entries
Gold: No. 17 Scotch Ale, The Freehouse, Minneapolis, MN
Silver: The Bruce, Überbrew, Billings, MT
Bronze: Wee Heavy HINDER, H.H. Hinder Brewing Co., Waupaca, WI

Category 90: Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine-Style Ale – 91 Entries
Gold: Miss Cleo’s Barkleywine, Sanford Brewing Co., Sanford, FL
Silver: Baby Maker, Triple C Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Bronze: Waterline Wee Heavy, Waterline Brewing Co., Wilmington, NC

Category 91: Fresh Hop Beer – 58 Entries
Gold: Conelick’r, Three Creeks Brewing Co., Sisters, OR
Silver: Fresh Hop Ride the Pine, Belching Beaver Brewery – Tavern & Grill, Vista, CA
Bronze: Fresh Hop Hazealicious, Reuben’s Brews – Production Brewery, Seattle, WA

2020 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
The Good Society, Seattle, WA
Phil Cammarano & Nick Berger

Mid-Size Brewpub and Mid-Size Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Monkless Belgian Ales, Bend, OR
Todd Clement & Chris Dinsdale

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
The Freehouse, Minneapolis, MN
The Freehouse Team

Very Small Brewing Company and Very Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Five Branches Brewing, Tarpon Springs, FL
Jerry Brown

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Big aLICe Brewing Co., Long Island City, NY
Big aLICe Production Team

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Lost Forty Brewing, Little Rock, AR
Lost Forty Brewing Team

Brewery Group and Brewery Group Brewer of the Year
Three Creeks Brewing Co., Sisters, OR
Team Three Creeks

NFL Football: Pick The Winners At Brookston Fantasy Games 2020: Pandemic Edition

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This is the fourteenth year for the Brookston Fantasy Football Games. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last thirteen, so if you love football and beer, consider joining us this year, whether you’ve played in past seasons or are a newcomer. The NFL season begins tomorrow, Thursday, September 10, so you’ve got just a few hours to sign up. And this year is the Pandemic Edition, which just means with so little else to do, everybody should sign up this year. Why not join us?

I’ve again set up two free Yahoo fantasy football games, one a simple pick ’em game and the other a survival pool. Up to 50 people can play each game (that’s Yahoo’s limit, not mine), so if you’re a regular Bulletin reader feel free to sign up for one or even both. It’s free to play, all you need is a Yahoo ID, which is also free. Below is a description of each game and the details on how to join each league and play.

Pro Football Pick’em

In this Pick’em game, just pick the winner for every game each week, with no spread, and let’s see who gets the most correct throughout the season. All that’s at stake is bragging rights, but it’s still great fun.

Also, like the last few years, we’ll be able to keep picking all through the playoffs, so the game will continue through to the Super Bowl, which is pretty cool.

In order to join the group, just go to Pro Football Pick’em, click the “Sign Up” button and look for a link or bottom that reads “Join Group.” From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information…

Group ID#: 33460 (Brookston Football Picks)
Password: brookston

Survival Football

If picking all sixteen football games every week seems like too much, then Survival Football is for you. In Survival Football, you only have to pick one game each week. The only catch is you can’t pick the same team to win more than once all season. And you better be sure about each game you pick because if you’re wrong, you’re out for the season. Actually a few years ago they added a new feature and I changed the game so to be kicked out you have to be wrong twice. In that way more people stand a better chance of lasting longer into the season. So get one wrong, and you’re still okay, get a second wrong, now you’re gone for the season. Last man standing wins.

Again, like the last few years, we can keep picking all through the playoffs, assuming our luck holds. So the game could even continue through to the Super Bowl.

This year it’s even easier to join, with a new streamlined sign-up process. Just click on this direct link and follow the instructions from there.

With 50 players allowed in each game, there’s plenty of room, so don’t be shy. Sign up for one or both games. In past seasons, I’ve posted the standings on the home page, but wasn’t able to figure out a way to do that recently. Hopefully, I’ll figure out something this year. Anyway, why not join us? Go head to head again me and my team, the Brookston Brew Jays.

Historic Beer Birthday: Bert Grant

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Today would have been Bert Grant’s 92nd birthday, and he is still definitely missed. Bert opened the country’s first brewpub in 1982 in Yakima, Washington and was a fixture in the industry until his death in late July of 2001. Join me tonight in lifting a pint to Bert’s memory.

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Here’s his obituary from Real Beer:

Craft brewing pioneer Bert Grant, who founded the first modern day brewpub in the United States, is dead at 73.

Grant had been ill for two years and died Tuesday at the University of British Columbia Hospital in Vancouver. He had moved to that city a year ago to be close to his children.

When Grant founded his brewpub in Yakima, Wash., in 1982 there were fewer than 50 individual brewing operations in the U.S. Today there are more than 1,500. That brewpub expanded to become a bottling microbrewery, selling about 10,000 barrels of Bert Grant’s Ales in 2001. He sold the brewery to Chateau Ste. Michelle wines in 1995, but Grant remained an active spokesman until being slowed by illness.

He’d sometimes wear a kilt at his pub in Yakima and occasionally dance on the bar. He kept a claymore — a double-bladed broadsword — just in case he had to enforce his ban on smoking.

He was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1928. He moved to Toronto, where he grew up and got his first job in a brewery … at 16, he became a beer taster. He remained in the beer business all his life. He moved to Yakima in 1967, where he helped build and operate two plants that processed hops. His patented processing of hops is still in use today.

Bert Grant Bert was one of a kind,” said Paul Shipman, who founded Red Hook Brewery around the time Grant began Yakima Brewing and Malting Co. “He was a scientist, a brewer, and I don’t think he even graduated high school.”

He remained dedicated to assertive beer and carried a vial of hop oil in his pocket to boost the flavor of a bland domestic beer. His first priority was to brew beer he liked. “It may not be your favorite beer,” Grant’s son Peter said. “But it was his.”

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Bert at GABF in the 1990s.

And here is his obituary from the New York Times:

Bert Grant, a veteran brew master who in 1982 opened the granddaddy of all the good, bad and so-so brew pubs slaking thirsts across the country today, died on July 31 at a hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he had recently made his home. He was 73 and a longtime resident of Yakima, Wash.

The cause was a bowel rupture, his family said.

Mr. Grant’s experience in brewing stretched back to his teenage years in Canada. He worked at big brewing companies and later as an international consultant to them before settling in Yakima, the center of American hops country.

Mr. Grant started the Yakima Brewing and Malting Company in the 19th-century former home of the Yakima Opera, using plenty of the flavorful hops he thought other beers lacked. At first he brewed just eight kegs at a time.

Friends who sampled his recipe liked it and spread the word. It caught on with Yakima beer lovers, who welcomed it as an alternative to national brands and expensive imports. Mr. Grant got some chairs to sit on in the lobby and convinced skeptical licensing officials that Washington State law permitted each brewer to operate one pub.

This gave birth in the summer of 1982 to Grant’s Brewery Pub, the first such establishment in the United States since Prohibition. Food and tables were added, and a growing clientele prompted Mr. Grant to move his pub across the street into what used to be Yakima’s downtown railroad station. He liked to greet customers personally and, as a native of Scotland, often did so wearing a plaid kilt with a clan pin.

His brewing company, meanwhile, came to offer an assortment of beers and ales, including seasonal brews that varied with the harvest of the region’s distinctive types of hops. Mr. Grant built the company into one of the Northwest’s leading microbreweries and started bottling his brands, like Grant’s Scottish Ale, Imperial Stout and HefeWeizen. Last year, Yakima Brewing and Malting brewed 10,000 barrels and shipped bottles to distributors in 20 states, from Alaska to Connecticut to Florida.

Herbert Lewis Grant was born in Dundee but immigrated to Canada with his parents as a toddler. With World War II draining his adopted country of manpower, he left school at 16 to work at Canadian Breweries (now Carling).

He moved on to the United States to develop a pilot brewing program for Stroh and, as his reputation grew, became an independent consultant for makers like Anheuser-Busch and the Australian brewer Foster’s.
Also working for hops companies, he became well acquainted with Yakima and moved there when he decided to brew to his own taste. He sold his business in 1995 to Stimson Lane Ltd., a long-established winery, but remained a consultant to it until recently.

Mr. Grant is survived by two sons, David H., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Peter A., of Vancouver; three daughters, Shannon D. Grant and Melanie Bond of Vancouver, and Wendy Cundall of Calgary, Alberta; and five grandchildren. Also surviving is his former wife, Daphne Grant of Vancouver.

According to family lore, the Scottish doctor who delivered little Herbert lifted him by the heels and, slapping breath into him, said, ”Bottoms up.” His first cradle, the lore goes, was an oaken barrel sawed in half — possibly apocryphal, Mr. Grant allowed.

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And finally, here’s a great retrospective written by Ryan Messer for the Yakima Herald in 2017, entitled “Bert Grant: The Godfather of Craft Brewing.”

He’s been called the “Dean of America’s craft brewers” and the Wall Street Journal called him “The Patriarch of the micro movement.” Personally, I prefer Bert Grant as the “Neil Young of Microbrews.” Neil didn’t invent Rock ’n Roll, but he was the Godfather of Grunge. Likewise, Bert didn’t invent beer but what he did to change it made an indelible mark.

Most people know Bert Grant as the man who gave us Yakima brewing and Malting Co., or Grant’s Ales. While he launched that business in 1982, his passion for beer, and hops in general, started decades before.

Bert was born in 1928 in Dundee, Scotland. Before he reached the age of 10, the Grant family moved to Toronto, and Bert had consumed his first beer. I should say his first of many beers. I don’t even know if it’s possible to quantify what Bert consumed over his lifetime. As a child, Bert’s father let him drink opened beers left behind, and his first job at age 16 was to taste beer; 50-100 per day — you do the math.

The thing about beer drinking for Bert was that he truly enjoyed it. It wasn’t about the feeling, it was about the flavor. And, it was about the science behind the flavor. Bert was a chemist and loved studying why one beer could taste remarkable, and another could ruin your evening.

Part of his career included working for Canadian Breweries (parent company of Carling) and Stroh Brewing Company, doing experimental brewing. He had the freedom to try new things, but sadly neither company utilized his research or expertise. Finally, Bert realized consulting was the best direction for him. He eventually worked with large breweries spanning the globe such as Guinness, Coors, Foster’s, Anheuser-Busch and Yakima hop company, S.S. Steiner.

Steiner was the business that really changed Bert’s world, and ours as a collective of beer drinkers. They convinced him to move to Yakima and redesign a hop extract plant. After great success, Bert and Steiner changed gears — literally. Under Bert’s supervision, Steiner built the first hop pellet plant in the United States. This was a game changer for the beer industry. It took the varying aroma of a whole hop cone (based on time from harvest) and replaced it with exacting smell and bitterness. It was similar in nature to the extract, but far easier and more precise for the brewer to use.

With over 40 years of beer tasting and testing under his belt, Bert wanted to share his knowledge with the world, or at least the people of the Yakima Valley. It would be a daunting task because at the time, no one even knew what a microbrew was. In the early ‘80s, there were two little known breweries in California, Sierra Nevada and Anchor Brewing, that were making something entirely different than the “King of Beers.” In 1982, when Bert was ready to start brewing professionally, his only competition in the state was Redhook. On July 1st that year, Yakima Brewing and Malting Co. poured its first Grant’s Scottish Ale in the old Opera House on Yakima’s Front Street.

Bert was at the helm as one of the chief investors and brewmaster, and the recipes and ideas all stemmed from him. He started with his son-in-law and a few others to round out the investment team and hired Rick Desmarais (who he had worked with at Steiner) as his first head brewer and Dan Boutillier as production manager. Within the first few years the Scottish Ale shared tap space with an Imperial Stout and an India Pale Ale (IPA). A few years beyond that, a low calorie “Celtic Ale”, Weis (white beer), “Spiced Ale” (winter beer) and Yakima Cider (a hard cider made exclusively from apple concentrate) were added to the lineup.

The unique thing about Yakima Brewing and Malting is that it started without a bottling line. It was only available in plastic bottles that the consumer could bring or purchase like a crude precursor to today’s growler. It was also available for consumption on premises. This is what really stood out because it was the first time anyone had an establishment of that nature in the United States since before prohibition. Yakima, Washington was the home of the first “brewpub” in America in over 60 years.

In 1984, Bert hired Darren Waytuck who eventually became head brewer. Waytuck said it was a tremendous learning experience working for someone like Bert. “He wasn’t only into the chemistry of the beer and that process, but in hops as well. That was really his forte. But he also had incredible experience. Someone new might know if a beer was flawed but wouldn’t know why. It was Bert’s job to understand why and how to correct it.”

As brew master, Bert was still in charge of all things happening with his beer. All ideas would come from him on the brewing process and ingredients. When asked about what hops they used to brew with, Waytuck said, “I preferred the whole hop cone and didn’t care for the smell of a hop pellet, but Bert insisted. When I still didn’t use them, Bert ran us out of whole hops so I had to use the pellets.”

Bert was a risk taker though, and had no problem with pushing the envelope for something he was passionate about. “No one was out there getting their beer in front of people like Bert did, it just didn’t happen before his time.” Waytuck said. With that success they had to build a bottling line directly behind the brewery in the Opera House. They also expanded into a space to the north for a larger pub which my mother, Jana Johnson, ran for the better part of two decades. When that wasn’t enough, the brewery expanded to a 20,000 square foot building off Washington Avenue and the pub moved across the street to the old train depot.

Waytuck and the crew enjoyed their craft, but he said, “it was a lot more fun at the Opera House. It became more corporate at the new brewery and was more of a task.”

Shortly after the locations changed, Bert continued to push the envelope, but this time with an organization that no one beats — the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, (ATF). Bert had done some testing on his beers and found that a 12 ounce bottle of Scottish Ale contained beneficial vitamins and nutrients, including 170 percent of the U.S. RDA of Vitamin B-12. He had table tents printed, added it to his 6-pack cartons and even made shirts advertising the news (although a bit tattered, I’m happy to say I still have mine).

Of course the ATF wouldn’t allow someone to suggest that beer was actually healthy for you and ordered him to stop. At the same time, the Bureau looked into his cider making process which was not technically a beer, but considered by them as a wine. Not only did they prevent him from continuing to make the cider, they required he pay back taxes for the years he paid too little. Waytuck said, “It was tough for Bert. He didn’t like the confrontation, but he was going to push as far as he could.”

After achieving a greater success than I believe Bert imagined he could, Yakima Brewing and Malting was sold to Stimson Lane, the parent company of Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest and other wineries in Washington and California, in 1995. While his role changed, Bert stayed on with the company until he passed away in July of 2001. Stimson Lane sold the company only a few months later. Waytuck stayed committed to the brand and eventually became brewmaster, before the company closed in 2004. “I promised Bert I would see it through and make the best beer as long as we were open,” Waytuck said.

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Me and the two Berts at OBF.

Beer Birthday: Dave Buhler

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Today is Dave Buhler’s 61st birthday. Interestingly, like Dick Cantwell, whose birthday was yesterday, Dave is also a co-founder of Elysian Brewing in Seattle, Washington. Join me in wishing Dave a very happy birthday.

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Fal Allen and Dave Buhler at OBF.

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Dave and Celebrator publisher Tom Dalldorf (at right). Neither Tom or I could identify the fellow in the middle, sorry about that. Can anybody help me out and tell me who that is?

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At the Celebrator’s best of the West Beer Festival in 2009.

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Dave with his former business partner and Elyisian co-founder Dick Cantwell at GABF in 2006.

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2020

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Earlier today, the 20th annual Double IPA Festival was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California. I got there early for judging again this year, and was sequestered in the dark, dank basement out of the view of the beautiful Bay Area sun for most of the morning. We judged over 100 Double and Triple IPAs for most of the morning.

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First rounds of Double IPAs being judged (Triples were on the other table).

Double IPAs

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The DIPA Fest judges.

Triple IPAs

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Beautiful downtown Hayward.

Peoples Choice Awards

Congratulations to all the winners.

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And a special shout out to industry veteran Matt Sallie, who was surprised by an impromptu celebration of his 50th birthday at the Bistro today.

Beer Birthday: The Beer Can

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Today is “Beer Can Appreciation Day,” because on this day 85 years ago — January 24, 1935 — the humble beer can was sold for the very first time. So join me in wishing the beer can a happy birthday.

Below is an article I wrote about beer cans alnost 15 years ago telling the story of their history.

The beer can debuted in 1935, when an otherwise obscure brewery from New Jersey — Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co. — test-marketed them in Virginia, as far from their home market as possible. Breweries may have been initially reluctant, but the public loved cans — they were an overnight sensation. By the end of that first year, Schlitz (then one of America’s biggest brewers) had their beer in cans and every other brewery quickly followed suit.

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The beer can was invented by American Can, who patented “Vinylite,” a plastic lining for cans marketed under the brand name “Keglined.” Over the years, the technology continued to improve, from tin to all-aluminum, from cone tops to flat tops, from clumsy openers to pull tops, yet one seemingly intractable problem remained: metal turbity. That’s the technical term for metal leeching into the beer, and consumers increasingly complained about the tainted metallic flavor in canned beer.

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But then craft beer became popular, and with it better beer evangelists preached that canned beer could never be good. And that remained conventional wisdom for decades, made virtually dogma. During that same time, however, research by the can companies solved the metal turbidity problem. Using an organic polymer — really a water-based epoxy acrylic — that was sprayed inside each can during manufacturing, it could now honestly be said that the beer never touched the metal.

Unfortunately, the only beer in cans was not the type that most beer geeks would willingly quaff. The other great hurdle to getting craft beer in a can was the cost. You could buy a cheap, used bottling line but canning lines were quite massive and very expensive. And the people who made cans were used to selling them to big breweries, and so the minimum run for a can was something on the order of a full railroad car, too many and too expensive for even the biggest microbreweries.

But then the bottom fell out of microbrewing, and by the late-1990s equipment suppliers were also feeling the pinch. Hoping to survive the economic downturn, Canada’s Cask Brewing Systems created an affordable solution. They designed a small manual canning line that was cheaper than the average bottling line and persuaded Ball Corporation (a leading can manufacturer) to significantly reduce their minimum orders. All they had to do was convince someone to try canning their beer.

And so Cask started appearing at trade shows and repeatedly sending literature to breweries. When Dale Katechis, of Oskar Blues, in Lyons, Colorado, first read the pitch, he “just laughed and laughed,” thinking there’s “no way this can be done.” But the more he looked into it, the less he laughed. A few months later — in 2002 — Dale’s Pale Ale was released, the first craft beer to be hand-canned. By 2005, Oskar Blues was the biggest brewpub in the U.S. and Dale’s was declared by the New York Times to be the best pale ale in America.

The Oskar Blues team became evangelists for canned beer with the slogan “the canned-beer apocalypse.” Other small breweries noticed Dale’s success and he was only too happy to show them the light. Today, there are nearly forty [in 2006] craft brewers hand-canning their beer.

There are almost as many kinds of beer in cans as there are styles these days, too, from extreme, strong offerings like Surly’s Furious (a 100-IBU Imperial IPA) and Old Chubb (a Scotch Ale) to more unusual beers like Maui Brewing’s CoCoNut Porter and 21st Amendment’s Hell or High Watermelon to lighter lagers like Sly Fox’s Pikeland Pils and Steamwoks Steam Engine Lager. And now that New Belgium Brewing, one of the largest American craft brewers, is canning their popular Fat Tire Amber Ale, expect to see many more beers in cans in the future.

The biggest challenge is unmaking the dogmatic perception of beer in cans as an evil. It’s a persistent prejudice, but is slowly beginning to change as the advantages to canned beer become more widely known. They keep out all UV light, avoiding the skunky taste of clear and green glass. Cans have lower oxygen levels, meaning longer shelf life. They won’t break; they chill faster and can be taken more places, especially where glass is prohibited. And they’re more environmentally friendly, using less packaging plus more of the can is recyclable, with more used in manufacturing recycled cans. Cans are also lighter, resulting in lower transportation costs and fewer fossil fuels needed.

But in the end, the only thing that matters is how the beer tastes. Side-by-side can vs. draft taste tests reveal that it is virtually impossible to tell the difference. That, coupled with the real advantages of the packaging, means that craft beer in cans is where the future of craft beer is heading.

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Shaun O’Sullivan, co-owner of 21st Amendment, showing off one of his early can designs. 21A was the third brewery in California to can their beer.

When I originally wrote that article, around two dozen small breweries were canning their beer, and when I first posted this in 2011 that number had quadrupled, with over 100 small brewers canning their beer. In 2015, the Canned Beer Database lists 480 breweries offering their beer in cans. It’s great to see good beer in cans become more and more common, and we should continue to see more canned beer from craft brewers in the future. Why not pick up some today and see for yourself how good it now is from a can, especially as we celebrate “Beer Can Appreciation Day.”

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Brussels Beer Challenge Winners 2019

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Last Monday, the winners of the 8th annual Brussels Beer Challenge were announced. A little over 1,650 beers were judged in 8 broad styles (Pale Ale, Dark Ale, Red Ale, Pils, Stout/Porter, White, Flavoured Beers, Specialty Beers) and then further subdivided into 83 smaller categories (lambic, abbey, chocolate beers, etc.) by 90 judges, of which I was again privileged to be one. This year the competition was held in Mons, with entries from 35 countries. After three days of judging, the awards were announced last Monday, but it took me this long to go through and reformat the winners into a list. Congratulations to all the winners!

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Belgium won the most medals, with the United States coming in second. Here are the top medal winners, by country.

Medals Won by Country:

  1. Belgium = 76
  2. United States = 46
  3. Italy = 24
  4. Netherlands = 21
  5. China = 18
  6. France = 16
  7. Germany = 15
  8. Brazil = 12
  9. Canada = 8
  10. Taiwan = 5
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The 2019 Brussels Beer Challenge Winners

Category 1 — Dark Ale: Abbey / Trappist Style Dubbel
Gold: AFFLIGEM DUBBEL (Brouwerij Alken-Maes; Belgium)
Silver: LA TRAPPE DUBBEL (Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven B.V.; Netherlands)
Bronze: STEENBRUGGE DUBBEL BRUIN (Brouwerij Palm – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium; Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: DELIRIUM NOCTURNUM (Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV; Belgium)

Category 2 — Dark Ale: Brown Ale
Gold: BRUGSE ZOT DUBBEL Brouwerij De Halve Maan (Belgium)
Silver: LA BRUNETTE Brasserie du Renard (Belgium)
Bronze: LA GERVOISE BRUNE SAS Brasserie Etienne (France)
Certificate of Excellence: TRIPLE SECRET DES MOINES BRUNE Brasserie Goudale (France)

Category 3 — Dark Ale: Dark/Black IPA
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BLACK BUCKET Kinnegar Brewing (Ireland)
Certificate of Excellence: SABRO LASER Brasserie de la Pleine Lune (France)

Category 4 — Dark Ale: Oud Bruin (Flanders Brown Ale)
Gold: QUEUE DE CHARRUE VIEILLE BRUNE Brasserie Vanuxeem (Belgium)
Silver: LIEFMANS GOUDENBAND Duvel Moortgat (Belgium)
Bronze: WEST ODNAR Firestone Walker Brewing Company (United States)

Category 5 — Dark Ale: Strong Dark Ale
Gold: CHIMAY GRANDE RÉSERVE Bières de Chimay (Belgium)
Silver: DE POES BRUIN Brouwerij De Poes BVBA (Belgium)
Bronze: TÜBINATOR Cerveceria Principal (Chile)
Certificate of Excellence: BARLEY WINE BRUNE MILLÉSIME 2017 Cap d’Ona (France)
Certificate of Excellence: LEFORT Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste (Belgium)

Category 6 — Flavoured Beer: Chocolate
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: NOI CIOCCOLATO Noi Cervejaria (Brazil)

Category 7 — Flavoured Beer: Coffee
Gold: MACONDO COFFEE STOUT Cervecería BBC (Colombia)
Silver: BRIGADEIRO Jack’s Abby Brewing (United States)
Bronze: FOXTAIL DOUBLE STOUT Hourglass Brewing (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: PURPLE SAISON 18 Brewery (China)

Category 8 — Flavoured Beer: Field Beer
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: No Award
Certificate of Excellence: TOMATO GOSE NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)

Category 9 — Flavoured Beer: Fruit Beer
Gold: AMBAR IMPERIAL CITRUS La Zaragozana S.A. (Spain)
Silver: MANGO GOSE NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Bronze: LILLE RØDE Lindheim Ølkompani (Norway)
Certificate of Excellence: NIUBIC SOUR NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Certificate of Excellence: RODENBACH ALEXANDER Brouwerij Rodenbach – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium (Belgium)

Category 10 — Flavoured Beer: Herb & Spice
Gold: SUPER 8 SAISON Brouwerij Haacht (Belgium)
Silver: IJZERHARD IPA Oproer (Netherlands)
Bronze: LOHN BIER CARVOEIRA Lohn Bier (Brazil)
Bronze: BAMBERG HABANERO RAUCHBIER Cervejaria Bamberg (Brazil)

Category 11 — Flavoured Beer: Honey Beer
Gold: BIÈRE DE MIEL Brasserie Dupont (Belgium)
Silver: MAJA HONEY ALE Jeb sas di Bau’ Chiara & C (Italy)
Bronze: MEXICAN HONEY Indeed Brewing Company (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: MAJA WINTER EDITION HONEY ALE Jeb sas di Bau’ Chiara & C (Italy)

Category 12 — Flavoured Beer: Old Style Fruit-Lambic
Gold: OLD KRIEK CUVÉE RENÉ Lindemans Brewery (Belgium)
Silver: OUDE KRIEK OUD BEERSEL Oud Beersel BVBA (Belgium)
Bronze: OUDE QUETSCHE TILQUIN À L’ANCIENNE Gueuzerie Tilquin S.A. (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: OUDE KRIEK BOON Brouwerij Boon (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: SELVA SOUR Birra dell’Eremo (Italy)

Category 13 — Flavoured Beer: Pumpkin Ale
Gold: BRANDY BARREL-AGED IMPERIAL PUMPKIN ALE Lakefront Brewery (United States)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: PUMPKIN ALE Low land Brewery di Elettromeccanica di Nicola Soldani (Italy)

Category 14 — Flavoured Beer: Russian Imperial Stout Barrel Or Oaked Aged
Gold: BOURBON BARREL AGED DARK STAR Fremont Brewing (United States)
Silver: FATHER OF ALL TSUNAMIS Pelican Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: BLACK BUTTE XXXI Deschutes Brewery (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: BLACK CURRANT BARREL AGED IMPARIAL STOUT Suzhou City Guangtu Brewing Co. (China)

Category 15 — Flavoured Beer: Smoked Beer
Gold: OTHMAR RAUCH Ootmarsummer Bierbrouwerij Heupink & Co (Netherlands)
Silver: BUCKSKIN RAUCHBIER Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)
Bronze: THE WALL KAMALEON RAUCH Evo Srl (Italy)

Category 16 — Flavoured Beer: Sweet/Milk Stout
Gold: No Award
Silver: STEEL TOE STOUT Ska Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: LOCAL LEGEND Deep Ellum Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: SAMUEL ADAMS CREAM STOUT Boston Beer Company (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: KOFI Brasserie Atrium S.A. (Belgium)

Category 17 — Flavoured Beer: Wood/Barrel Aged (Less Than 10% ABV)
Gold: MOLE MERKIN Firestone Walker Brewing Company (United States)
Silver: RODENBACH VINTAGE Brouwerij Rodenbach – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium (Belgium)
Bronze: BRAVO Cervejaria Backer (Brazil)
Certificate of Excellence: RESERVA SOUR WOOD Cervejaria Backer (Brazil)

Category 18 — Flavoured Beer: Wood/Barrel Aged Higher Than 10% ABV)
Gold: DUVEL BARREL AGED Duvel Moortgat (Belgium)
Silver: BAKERY: COCONUT MACAROON The Bruery (United States)
Silver: SILLY SCOTCH PINOT BARREL AGED Brasserie de Silly (Belgium)
Bronze: No Award
Certificate of Excellence: BARLEY WINE MYSTÈRE MILLÉSIME 2017 Cap d’Ona (France)

Category 19 — Lager: American-Style Pilsner
Gold: No Award
Silver: LAGER Firestone Walker Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: TRUE LOVE Champion Brewing Company (United States)

Category 20 — Lager: Bohemian-Style Pilsner
Gold: BERNARD CELEBRATION LAGER Rodinný Pivovar Bernard a.s. (Czech Republic)
Silver: PRIMÁTOR ANTONÍN Primátor A.s. (Czech Republic)
Bronze: BITTA VON TRESEN Muttermilch – Vienna Brewery (Austria)

Category 21 — Lager: Dark/Dunkel (Including Schwarzbier)
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: CERNOVAR CERNÉ Tradicní Pivovar v Rakovníku, a.s. (Czech Republic)
Certificate of Excellence: SCHWARZBIER 4 Pines Brewing Company (Australia)

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The City Hall in Mons, Belgium.

Category 22 — Lager: German-Style Dunkel Bock/Doppelbock
Gold: MAESTRA DUNKEL Mahou San Miguel (Spain)
Silver: BROTAS BEER BOCK Brotas Beer Industria de Bebidas LTDA (Brazil)
Bronze: WEYERMANN BAMBERGER HOFBRÄU EXQUISATOR Mich. Weyermann GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: LINDEBOOM HERFSTBOCK Lindeboom Bierbrouwerij B.V. (Netherlands)

Category 23 — Lager: German-Style Eisbock
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: IJSBOK SNAB Bierbrouwers (Netherlands)

Category 24 — Lager: German-Style Helles-/MaiBock/Doppelbock
Gold: BUCKSKIN HELLER BOCK Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)
Silver: WOW Soralama’ SRL (Italy)
Bronze: BOCK Birrificio Bradipongo S.r.l. (Italy)
Bronze: MAESTRA DOBLE LÚPULO Mahou San Miguel (Spain)

Category 25 — Lager: German-Style Märzen
Gold: SAMUEL ADAMS OCTOBERFEST Boston Beer Company (United States)
Silver: OKTOBERFEST Ninkasi Fabriques (France)
Bronze: OKTOBERFEST STYLE pFriem Family Brewers (United States)

Category 26 — Lager: German-Style Pilsner
Gold: KIRISHIMA BEER PILSNER Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Silver: BUCKSKIN GERMAN PILSNER Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)
Bronze: KETTERER PILS Familienbrauerei M. Ketterer GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: PILS2 Birrificio Otus Srl (Italy)

Category 27 — Lager: Helles
Gold: BAYREUTHER HELL Bayreuther Bierbrauerei AG (Germany)
Gold: WALDHAUS SPEZIAL GOLD Privatbrauerei Waldhaus Joh. Schmid GmbH (Germany)
Silver: BUCKSKIN MUNICH HELLES Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)

Category 28 — Lager: Hoppy Lager
Gold: AMERICAN MAGUT Birrificio Lambrate (Italy)
Gold: JOPEN CRAFT PILSENER Jopen BV (Netherlands)
Silver: SUPER CADIX Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie (Belgium)
Bronze: NORTH ARCTIC LAGER Tornion Panimo Oy (Finland)
Certificate of Excellence: LAGER DES ÉTOILES Brasserie de la Pleine Lune (France)

Category 29 — Lager: International Style Pilsner
Gold: ALFA EDEL PILS Meens Brouwerij BV (Netherlands)
Silver: LISA Birra del Borgo (Italy)
Bronze: CORNELISSEN LUXURY LAGER Brouwerij Cornelissen (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: CASTEL Brasimba (Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The)

Category 30 — Lager: Light Lager
Gold: UTICA CLUB PILSENER Saranac Brewery / FX Matt Brewing Co. (United States)
Silver: YANJING U8 Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co.,Ltd. (China)
Bronze: PEARL RIVER DRAFT BEER Guangzhou Zhujiang Browery CO., LTD. (China)

Category 31 — Lager: Vienna Lager
Gold: KIRISHIMA BEER AMBER Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Silver: LAGUNA BAJA North Coast Brewing Co Inc (United States)
Bronze: No Award

Category 32 — Pale&Amber Ale: (Belgian Style) Tripel
Gold: ST. BERNARDUS TRIPEL St. Bernardus Brouwerij (Belgium)
Silver: DELIRIUM TREMENS Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Bronze: GOUDEN CAROLUS TRIPEL Brouwerij Het Anker (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: BROEDER JACOB TRIPEL Brouwerij Broeder Jacob (Belgium)

Category 33 — Pale&Amber Ale: Abbey / Trappist Style Blond
Gold: TER DOLEN BLOND Brouwerij Ter Dolen (Belgium)
Silver: ST-FEUILLIEN BLONDE Brasserie St-Feuillien (Belgium)
Bronze: AFFLIGEM BLOND Brouwerij Alken-Maes (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: LA TRAPPE BLOND Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven B.V. (Netherlands)

Category 34 — Pale&Amber Ale: Altbier
Gold: BAMBERG ALTBIER Cervejaria Bamberg (Brazil)
Silver: VENLOOSCH ALT Lindeboom Bierbrouwerij B.V. (Netherlands)
Bronze: SAMUEL ADAMS BOSTON ALE Boston Beer Company (United States)

Category 35 — Pale&Amber Ale: Amber
Gold: 1410 SNAB Bierbrouwers (Netherlands)
Silver: OBAA TWO Obaa Sprl (Belgium)
Bronze: CHIPIE Archibald Microbrasserie (Canada)
Bronze: LA BONNE AVENTURE Microbrasserie Pit Caribou (Canada)

Category 36 — Pale&Amber Ale: American IPA (Higher Than 6.5 ABV)
Gold: LUSH Fremont Brewing (United States)
Silver: WEEKEND VIBES Coronado Brewing (United States)
Bronze: IPA pFriem Family Brewers (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: MELVIN IPA Melvin Brewing (United States)

Category 37 — Pale&Amber Ale: American IPA (Less Than 6.5 ABV)
Gold: STAY WEST IPA Breakside Brewery & Taproom (United States)
Gold: WANDERLUST IPA Breakside Brewery & Taproom (United States)
Bronze: BIRD OF PREY Uiltje Brewing Company (Netherlands)
Certificate of Excellence: FUMO IPA Chengdu Fengshou Craft Beer Company, Ltd (China)

Category 38 — Pale&Amber Ale: American Pale Ale
Gold: VOLCELEST OATMEAL PALE ALE Brasserie de la Vallee de Chevreuse (France)
Silver: HOP.E Birra Mastino (Italy)
Bronze: RUDE Birrificio Artigianale La Villana (Italy)
Certificate of Excellence: LEISURE LAGOON Coronado Brewing (United States)

Category 39 — Pale&Amber Ale: Belgian Style IPA
Gold: DELIRIUM ARGENTUM Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BAPTIST IPA Brouwerij Van Steenberge (Belgium)
Bronze: JACK’S PRECIOUS IPA Brouwerij The Musketeers (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: BSL006 Brasserie Saint-Lazare SA (Belgium)

Category 40 — Pale&Amber Ale: Best Bitter
Gold: BAMBERG SEPULTURA ALE Cervejaria Bamberg (Brazil)
Silver: SEA FURY Sharps Brewery (United Kingdom)
Bronze: AMBROSIA Ambrosia e.U. (Austria)

Category 41 — Pale&Amber Ale: Bières De Garde Ambrée
Gold: SILLY SAISON Brasserie de Silly (Belgium)
Silver: BRASSEURS SAVOYARDS AMBRÉE Les Brasseurs Savoyards (France)
Bronze: SINT IDESBALD ROUSSE Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: LA TRAPPE ISID’OR Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven B.V. (Netherlands)

Category 42 — Pale&Amber Ale: Bitter
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: No Award
Certificate of Excellence: KIRKE Corsaire Microbrasserie (Canada)

Mons-3
My awesome table for judging in Mons. A great group of tasters.

Category 43 — Pale&Amber Ale: Bitter Blond/Golden Ale
Gold: TER DOLEN ARMAND Brouwerij Ter Dolen (Belgium)
Silver: MALHEUR 6 Brouwerij Malheur (Belgium)
Bronze: REMI Brouwerij De Bock (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: HOUPPE Brasserie Artisanale de Namur (Belgium)

Category 44 — Pale&Amber Ale: Double Saison
Gold: SAISON DUPONT DRY HOP Brasserie Dupont (Belgium)
Silver: SAISON DU SABLIER Hourglass Brewing (United States)
Bronze: LA GUILLOTINE Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: AUBEOLE D’ESTINNES Marie-Jeanne Nolf (Belgium)

Category 45 — Pale&Amber Ale: English IPA
Gold: MARTIN’S DOUBLE IPA 55 John Martin ‘s (Belgium)
Silver: CIBOIRE Archibald Microbrasserie (Canada)
Bronze: BURTON ENGLISH IPA Juguetes Perdidos Cerveza Artesanal (Argentina)
Bronze: SAN BLAS Lord Chambray LTD (Malta)

Category 46 — Pale&Amber Ale: Imperial IPA
Gold: L’!! (DOUBLE EXCLAMATION) Noire et Blanche Inc. (Canada)
Silver: KNOTTY DOUBLE IPA Three Weavers Brewing, Co. (United States)
Bronze: 2×4 DOUBLE IPA Melvin Brewing (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: BURIED IN HOPS Anarchy Brew Co. (United Kingdom)
Certificate of Excellence: RETREAT (THIS IS A HAZY DOUBLE IPA) The Bruery (United States)

Category 47 — Pale&Amber Ale: Kölsch
Gold: BUCKSKIN KÖLSCH Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: DRAUGHT 4 Pines Brewing Company (Australia)

Category 48 — Pale&Amber Ale: Light Bitter Blond/Golden Ale
Gold: STRANDGAPER Scheldebrouwerij BVBA (Belgium)
Silver: KOMPEL BOVENGRONDS Brouwerij Kompel (Belgium)
Bronze: KIWANDA CREAM ALE Pelican Brewing Company (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: HERKENRODE CISTER Brouwerij Cornelissen (Belgium)

Category 49 — Pale&Amber Ale: Modern Saison
Gold: LA SAISON DU TRACTEUR Microbrasserie Le Trou du diable (Canada)
Silver: PACIFICA Birrificio Artigianale La Villana (Italy)
Bronze: NOBLESSE OBLIGE Brasserie au Baron (France)
Certificate of Excellence: CLASSIC Blackberry Farm Brewery (United States)

Category 50 — Pale&Amber Ale: New England IPA
Gold: HAZEALICIOUS Reuben’s Brews (United States)
Silver: HAZY LITTLE THING Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (United States)
Bronze: LIUXI HAZY IPA Witchcraft Brewery (China)
Bronze: WHAT ROUGH BEAST Breakside Brewery & Taproom (United States)

Category 51 — Pale&Amber Ale: Pacific IPA
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BEAK BENDER HOPPINATED INDIA PALE ALE Pelican Brewing Company (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: TKO IPA Boxing Cat Brewery (China)

Category 52 — Pale&Amber Ale: Session IPA
Gold: PALM SESSION IPA Brouwerij Palm – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium (Belgium)
Silver: BE ADORABLE Mister B Brewery (Italy)
Bronze: 24-JUIL Oproer (Netherlands)
Certificate of Excellence: SUMMER SESSION TROPICAL IPA Brouwerij Hoop (Netherlands)

Category 53 — Pale&Amber Ale: Strong Blonde/Golden Ale
Gold: OMER. TRADITIONAL BLOND Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste (Belgium)
Silver: OMMEGANG Brouwerij Haacht (Belgium)
Bronze: HAPKIN Brouwerij Alken-Maes (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: ST-FEUILLIEN GRAND CRU Brasserie St-Feuillien (Belgium)

Category 54 — Pale&Amber Ale: Strong/Extra Special Bitter
Gold: SAWTOOTH ALE Left Hand Brewing Company (United States)
Silver: GATSBY Birrificio Artigianale La Villana (Italy)
Bronze: BRAUFACTUM PALOR Die Internationale Brau-Manufacturen GmbH (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: MONSERRATE ROJA Cervecería BBC (Colombia)

Category 55 — Pale&Amber Ale: Traditional Saison
Gold: SAISON AVENA Brasserie Deseveaux (Belgium)
Silver: SAISON D’EPEAUTRE Scrl Brasserie De Blaugies (Belgium)
Bronze: SAISON 1900 Brasserie Lefebvre (Belgium)

Category 56 — Red Ale: American Red Ale
Gold: POTALA TIBETAN RED ALE NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Silver: KABREW GYEONGBOKGUNG Kabrew (South Korea)
Bronze: RED EYES Pravda Beer Theatre (Ukraine)

Category 57 — Red Ale: Irish Red Ale
Gold: No Award
Silver: RED & GO Birrificio Otus Srl (Italy)
Bronze: BROTAS BEER RED ALE Brotas Beer Industria de Bebidas LTDA (Brazil)

Category 58— Red Ale: Oud Rood (Flanders Red Ale)
Gold: RODENBACH GRAND CRU Brouwerij Rodenbach – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium (Belgium)
Silver: VARVAR BREW CARMINE Varvar Brew (Ukraine)
Bronze: DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE Brouwerij Verhaeghe Vichte (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: OUD BRUNELLO Birrificio del Ducato (Italy)

Category 59 — Speciality Beer: Alcohol-Free And Low-Alcohol Beers
Gold: WANDERLUST Van Moll Craft Beer (Netherlands)
Silver: MAISEL & FRIENDS ALKOHOLFREI Brauerei Gebr. Maisel (Germany)
Bronze: BROWN ALE Big Drop (United Kingdom)
Bronze: STOUT Big Drop (United Kingdom)
Certificate of Excellence: FREAK KRIEK ZERO POINT THREE FEEL FREE MERRY CHERRY BEER The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company (Belgium)

Category 60 — Speciality Beer: Barley Wine
Gold: WEYERMANN NR. 10 BARLEY WINE Mich. Weyermann GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Silver: BARLEY WHAT? Brasserie Historique de l’Abbaye du Cateau (France)
Bronze: SCHWARZBRÄU AGED BOCK Schwarzbräu GmbH (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: BREW 3000 Fremont Brewing (United States)

Category 61 — Speciality Beer: Brut Beer
Gold: MALHEUR BIÈRE BRUT Brouwerij Malheur (Belgium)
Silver: BRUT IPA Ninkasi Fabriques (France)
Bronze: DAME JEANNE “BRUT SUR LIE” Dame Jeanne (Belgium)

Category 62 — Speciality Beer: Gluten Free
Gold: No Award
Silver: GRISETTE TRIPLE BIO GLUTEN FREE Brasserie St-Feuillien (Belgium)
Bronze: CAULIER BLONDE GLUTEN FREE Brasserie 28 (Belgium)

Category 63 — Speciality Beer: Hybrid
Gold: No Award
Silver: NOORDTSINGLE Brouwerij Noordt (Netherlands)
Bronze: No Award

Mons-2
The famous Belfry of Mons.

Category 64 — Speciality Beer: Old Style Gueuze-Lambic
Gold: OLD GUEUZE CUVÉE RENÉ Lindemans Brewery (Belgium)
Silver: OUDE GEUZE VANDERVELDEN 137 Oud Beersel BVBA (Belgium)
Bronze: OUDE GEUZE BOON BLACK LABEL EDITION N°4 Brouwerij Boon (Belgium)
Bronze: OUDE GEUZE BRETT ELLE Lambiek Fabriek VOF (Belgium)

Category 65 — Speciality Beer: Other Sour Ale
Gold: LIMOILOU BEACH Microbrasserie La Souche (Canada)
Silver: VARVAR BREW D’RYE Varvar Brew (Ukraine)
Bronze: TIMMERMANS LAMBICUS BLANCHE John Martin’s (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: BODEBROWN BRUT SOUR BLANC Cervejaria Bodebrown (Brazil)

Category 66 — Speciality Beer: Speciality Beer (Higher Than 7 ABV)
Gold: DRUIF BLANC pFriem Family Brewers (United States)
Silver: DANDAO Chengdu Fengshou Craft Beer Company, Ltd (China)
Silver: GOUDALE Brasserie Goudale (France)
Bronze: ROTTEN SKULL PRUNE IMPERIAL STOUT Brasserie de la Vallee de Chevreuse (France)
Certificate of Excellence: BODEBROWN – CAVE COLINAS DE PEDRAS BLACK BRUT METODO ORIGINALE Cervejaria Bodebrown (Brazil)

Category 67 — Speciality Beer: Speciality Beer (Less Than 7 ABV)
Gold: PRUIM pFriem Family Brewers (United States)
Silver: VIVEN CHAMPAGNER WEISSE Brouwerij Viven (Belgium)
Bronze: BARREN SHOWER CHAMPAGNE IPA NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Certificate of Excellence: ENTRE NOUS BLONDE Brasserie de Hosdent (Belgium)

Category 68 — Speciality Beer: Speciality Beer: Italian Style Grape Ale
Gold: LIMES Brùton (Italy)
Silver: L’EQUILIBRISTA Birra del Borgo (Italy)
Bronze: ROÈ Birrificio Sagrin (Italy)
Certificate of Excellence: BODEBROWN LA GRISETTE SUPÉRIOR Cervejaria Bodebrown (Brazil)

Category 69 — Speciality Beer: Winter Ales
Gold: PIETRA BRASSIN D’HIVER Brasserie Pietra (France)
Silver: CUVÉE DE NOËL Juguetes Perdidos Cerveza Artesanal (Argentina)
Silver: DELIRIUM NOËL Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Bronze: No Award
Certificate of Excellence: ROUSSE DE NOËL Cap d’Ona (France)

Category 70 — Stout/ Porter: American Stout
Gold: OBSIDIAN STOUT Deschutes Brewery (United States)
Silver: ALL BLACK Stanislaus Brewskovitch BV (Netherlands)
Silver: MORE COMPLICATED THAN YOUR GIRLFRIEND STOUT The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company (Belgium)
Bronze: No Award

Category 71 — Stout/ Porter: Baltic Porter
Gold: NISSOS 7 BEAUFORT Cyclades Microbrewery at Tinos island (Greece)
Silver: PORTER Brouwerij Noordt (Netherlands)
Bronze: SPECIAL ONE IBEER (Italy)

Category 72 — Stout/ Porter: Dry Stout
Gold: KABREW DARK ALE Kabrew (South Korea)
Silver: NITRO STOUT 4 Pines Brewing Company (Australia)
Bronze: KIRISHIMA BEER STOUT Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Japan)

Category 73 — Stout/ Porter: Oatmeal Stout
Gold: AMBRANERA Birrificio Otus Srl (Italy)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: THE POET New Holland Brewing (United States)

Category 74 — Stout/ Porter: Porter
Gold: YANNARODDY Kinnegar Brewing (Ireland)
Silver: GASPÉSIENNE #13 Microbrasserie Pit Caribou (Canada)
Bronze: UNCINO Birrificio Artigianale La Villana (Italy)

Category 75 — Stout/ Porter: Russian Imperial Stout
Gold: RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT Crooked Spider (Netherlands)
Silver: FROM SIAN TO DON Pravda Beer Theatre (Ukraine)
Bronze: RASKOLNIKOV IMPERIAL STOUT Craft Brew Riots (Russian Federation)
Certificate of Excellence: SINGULARITY Northern Light Brewery (Sweden)

Category 76 — Stout/ Porter: Stout Export
Gold: DUITS & LAURET WINTERSTOUT Brouwerij Duits & Lauret (Netherlands)
Silver: TSUNAMI STOUT Pelican Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: ELBOW PATCHES The Virginia Beer Company (United States)

Category 77 — Wheat: Dubbel Wit/Imperial White
Gold: WITWIT 1975 sas di Nicola Grande e C (Italy)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: No Award

Category 78 — Wheat: Dunkel Weizen
Gold: TUMMA HEILI Panimo Honkavuori (Finland)
Silver: SCHWARZBRÄU WEISSBIER DUNKEL Schwarzbräu GmbH (Germany)
Bronze: WALDHAUS SCHWARZWALD WEISSE DUNKEL Privatbrauerei Waldhaus Joh. Schmid GmbH (Germany)

Category 79 — Wheat: Dunkel Weizen(Doppel)Bock
Gold: TAP6 AVENTINUS Schneider Weisse G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH (Germany)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: No Award

Category 80 — Wheat: Gose
Gold: SALT SHAKER GOSE Suzhou City Guangtu Brewing Co., Ltd (China)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BEIJING GOSE MODERN NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)

Category 81 — Wheat: Weizen
Gold: 撕BEER WEIZEN Urbrew (China) Craft Beer Co., Ltd. (China)
Silver: TAP7 ORIGINAL Schneider Weisse G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH (Germany)
Bronze: MAISEL’S WEISSE ORIGINAL Brauerei Gebr. Maisel (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: SCHWARZBRÄU WEISSBIER HELL Schwarzbräu GmbH (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: WEISSBIER HELL Brauerei M.C. Wieninger (Germany)

Category 82 — Wheat: White IPA/Hoppy Weizen
Gold: NIUBI WHEAT NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BROMEO HOPPY WHEAT Boxing Cat Brewery (China)
Certificate of Excellence: LAGUNITAS LITTLE SUMPIN’ SUMPIN’ Heineken Spain (United States)

Category 83 — Wheat: Witbier
Gold: BLANCHE DE NAMUR Brasserie du Bocq (Belgium)
Silver: HOEGAARDEN WHITE AB Inbev Hoegaarden (Belgium)
Bronze: VEDETT EXTRA WHITE Duvel Moortgat (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: BLANCHE DE THINES Belgo Sapiens Brewers / Brasserie Ceres Belgique SPRL (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: LOWLANDER WHITE ALE Lowlander Beer Co. (Netherlands)

The Comac Trophy: Best in Show

bbc2019-international-revelation-comac-trophy

International Revelation
CHIMAY GRANDE RÉSERVE Bières de Chimay (Belgium)

Best American Beer

bbc2019-both-american-revelation

American Revelation — Fermentis Trophy
BOURBON BARREL AGED DARK STAR Fremont Brewing (United States)

Best Belgian Beer

bbc2019-belgian-revelation

Belgian Revelation
TER DOLEN BLOND Brouwerij Ter Dolen (Belgium)

Best Chinese Beer

bbc2019-chinese-revelation

Chinese Revelation
POTALA TIBETAN RED ALE NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)

Best Dutch Beer

bbc2019-dutch-revelation

Dutch Revelation
WANDERLUST Van Moll Craft Beer (The Netherlands)

Best French Beer

bbc2019-french-revelation

French Revelation
VOLCELEST OATMEAL PALE ALE Brasserie de la Vallee de Chevreuse (France)

Best Italian Beer

bbc2019-italian-revelation

Italian Revelation
AMERICAN MAGUT Birrificio Lambrate (Italy)

GABF Winners 2019

By Leave a Comment

gabf-2014

On Saturday, the winners of the 38th Great American Beer Festival were announced. A record 9,497 entries (plus 113 Pro-Am and 70 Collaboration entries were judged) in 107 (or 174 different beer styles if you include the subcategories), categories by 322 judges, of which I was again privileged to be one. Here are some more factoids on the results and the festival:

  • Category with the most entries: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale: 348 entries (This is the second year in a row that it’s been #1, unseating American-style IPA, which had been number #1 since 2002)
  • Top 5 Categories: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (348 entries); American-Style India Pale Ale (342 entries); Fruited American-Style Sour Ale (215 entries); German-Style Pilsener (183 entries); and Imperial India Pale Ale (173 entries)
  • Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 88
  • 2,295 breweries in the competition from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
  • 401 first-time breweries entered the competition
  • 37 first-time breweries won medals
  • Over 800 breweries in the festival hall
  • Over 4,000 beers served at the festival
  • 60,000 attendees
gabf-2019-glasses

Medals Won by State:

  1. California = 68
  2. Colorado = 40
  3. Texas = 16
  4. TIE: Ohio = 15 / Oregon = 15
  5. Washington = 14
  6. Virginia = 13
  7. North Carolina = 12
  8. Illinois = 10
  9. TIE: Florida = 9 / Indiana = 9
  10. Arizona = 8
Print

The 2018 Great American
Beer Festival Winners

GABF19-awards-02
Charlie Papazian ready to hand out the awards.

Category 1: American-Style Wheat Beer – 80 Entries
Gold: No medal awarded
Silver: Cumberland Punch, East Nashville Beer Works, Nashville, TN
Bronze: Termes Beer, Spearfish Brewing Co., Spearfish, SD

Category 2: American-Style Fruit Beer – 144 Entries
Gold: Salt River, Historic Brewing Co., Flagstaff, AZ
Silver: Quat, Tampa Bay Brewing Co. – Ybor City, Tampa, FL
Bronze: Boom Dynamite, O.H.S.O. Brewery + Distillery, Phoenix, AZ

Category 3: Fruit Wheat Beer – 109 Entries
Gold: Bitchin’ Berry, Great Basin Brewing Co. – Production Facility, Reno, NV
Silver: Cherry Wheat, Sierra Blanca Brewing Co., Moriarty, NM
Bronze: Smash, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR

Category 4: Belgian-Style Fruit Beer – 52 Entries
Gold: Foxy Lady, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Silver: All the Goodness, Gezellig Brewing Co., Newton, IA
Bronze: Cherry Valley Farmhouse, Heritage Hill Brewhouse & Kitchen, Pompey, NY

Category 5: Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer – 51 Entries
Gold: Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, Stevens Point Brewery, Stevens Point, WI
Silver: Pumpkin Rumble, Mistress Brewing Co., Ankeny, IA
Bronze: Pumpkinator, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 6: Field Beer – 104 Entries
Gold: Scoring Discrepancies, Listermann Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Dessert Station: Cherry Almond Cookie, Corporate Ladder Brewing Co., Palmetto, FL
Bronze: Grandma’s Pecan, The Dudes’ Brewing Co., Somis, CA

Category 7: Chili Beer – 96 Entries
Gold: Jalapeno Pineapple Pils, Brickway Brewery & Distillery, Omaha, NE
Silver: Bringin’ Da Heat, Devil’s Creek Brewery, Collingswood, NJ
Bronze: Oyster Jalapeno Porter, Bull Island Brewing Co., Hampton, VA

Category 8: Herb and Spice Beer – 119 Entries
Gold: Kveik Thai Tom Kha, Shades Brewing, Park City, UT
Silver: One Night in Bangkok Smoothie IPA, Midland Brewing, Midland, MI
Bronze: Deck Daze, Vail Brewing Co. – Vail Village Pilot, Vail, CO

Category 9: Chocolate Beer – 68 Entries
Gold: Old Balltown Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Aged Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Brownie Milk Stout, PIVO Brewery, Calmar, IA
Silver: Contains Chocolate, Corporate Ladder Brewing Co., Palmetto, FL
Bronze: Somebody Else’s Dream, Fort Myers Brewing Co., Fort Myers, FL

Category 10: Coffee Beer – 97 Entries
Gold: Duluth Coffee Pale Ale, Earth Rider Brewery, Superior, WI
Silver: Clear Sky Daybreak, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, Columbus, OH
Bronze: Central Perk, Ambitious Ales, Long Beach, CA

Category 11: Coffee Stout or Porter – 100 Entries
Gold: There is No Cow Level, GameCraft Brewing, Laguna Hills, CA
Silver: Portola Breakfast Stout, Tustin Brewing Co., Tustin, CA
Bronze: White Russian, SunUp Brewing Co., Phoenix, AZ

Category 12: Specialty Beer – 67 Entries
Gold: Rye Hipster Brunch Stout, Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven, MI
Silver: Agavemente, SouthNorte Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: I Did It All For The Cookie, FiftyFifty Brewing Co., Truckee, CA

Category 13: Rye Beer – 53 Entries
Gold: Rye Dawn, Breakwater Brewing Co., Oceanside, CA
Silver: Unite the Clans, Third Space Brewing, Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Suss it Out, Level Crossing Brewing Co., South Salt Lake, UT

Category 14: Honey Beer – 66 Entries
Gold: A&M Honey Bock, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Boulder, Boulder, CO
Silver: Honey Hole, SpindleTap Brewery, Houston, TX
Bronze: Jetty, Great South Bay Brewery, Bay Shore, NY

Category 15: Non-Alcohol Beer or Alcohol-Free Beer – 17 Entries
Gold: Enough Said N/A, Two Roots Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Bravus Oatmeal Stout, Bravus Brewing Co., Newport Beach, CA
Bronze: Bravus Barrel-Aged Bourbon Stout, Bravus Brewing Co., Newport Beach, CA

Category 16: Session Beer – 50 Entries
Gold: Texas Lager, Community Beer Co., Dallas, TX
Silver: Lite It!, Light the Lamp Brewery, Grayslake, IL
Bronze: Peacekeeper, Launch Pad Brewery, Aurora, CO

Category 17: Session India Pale Ale – 94 Entries
Gold: Gravity Check, Kern River Brewing Co. – The Backyard, Kernville, CA
Silver: Trump Hands, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: That IPA, Community Beer Works, Buffalo, NY

Category 18: Other Strong Beer – 29 Entries
Gold: Northstar Imperial Porter, Twisted Pine Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Silver: False Hope, Spilled Grain Brewhouse, Annandale, MN
Bronze: Double Brown Ale, Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery, Santa Fe, NM

Category 19: Experimental Beer – 124 Entries
Gold: Fungus Shui, Meadowlark Brewing, Sidney, MT
Silver: Shibbleshabble, Primitive Beer, Longmont, CO
Bronze: Fluffernutter, Kings Brewing Co., Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Category 20: Fresh Hop Beer – 40 Entries
Gold: Fresh Hop Green Battles, Pinthouse Pizza North, Austin, TX
Silver: Hop Stalker, Fat Head’s Brewery – Canton, Canton, OH
Bronze: Aqua Seafoam Shame, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, WA

GABF19-awards-Cloudburst
Cloudburst Brewing.

Category 21: Historical Beer – 47 Entries
Gold: No medal awarded
Silver: Afterburner Smoked Lager, Four Day Ray Brewing, Fishers, IN
Bronze: Decorah Nordic Gruit, PIVO Brewery, Calmar, IA

Category 22: Gluten-Free Beer – 59 Entries
Gold: Boombastic Hazy IPA, Holidaily Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Silver: Co-Conspirator Apricot Sour, Revelation Craft Brewing Co., Rehoboth Beach, DE
Bronze: Grandpa’s Nap, Evasion Brewing – Production Facility, McMinnville, OR

Category 23: American-Belgo-Style Ale – 41 Entries
Gold: Wit-Tington, Central District Brewing, Austin, TX
Silver: Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
Bronze: White Rainbow, Red Rock Brewery – Production, Salt Lake City, UT

Category 24: American-Style Sour Ale – 42 Entries
Gold: Low pHunk, MobCraft Beer, Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Alegria, Millersburg Brewing, Millersburg, OH
Bronze: Citra Acid Test, Triple C Brewing, Charlotte, NC

Category 25: Fruited American-Style Sour Ale – 215 Entries
Gold: Roxanne, St. Elmo Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: Hoochie Mama, Storm Peak Brewing Co., Steamboat Springs, CO
Bronze: Sour Blackberry Raspberry, Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co., Charleston, SC

Category 26: Brett Beer – 58 Entries
Gold: Who’s Brett?, The Hold By Revelry Brewing, Charleston, SC
Silver: St. Eldritch, Cellar Works Brewing Co., Sarver, PA
Bronze: C’Mon Sunshine, Birds Fly South Ale Project, Greenville, SC

Category 27: Mixed-Culture Brett Beer – 94 Entries
Gold: Standard Issue, Central Standard Brewing, Wichita, KS
Silver: Farmer’s Reserve No. 5, Almanac Beer Co., Alameda, CA
Bronze: Côte d’Or – Double Cerise, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM

Category 28: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer – 66 Entries
Gold: Amburana Dream, Denver Beer Co. – Olde Town Arvada, Arvada, CO
Silver: Gran Muckle, Sun King Brewing, Indianapolis, IN
Bronze: Bourbon Barrel Aged Lady In Red, Bombshell Beer Co., Holly Springs, NC

Category 29: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – 155 Entries
Gold: Knotty Dog, Big Dog’s Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV
Silver: Double Barrel Louie, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs, CO
Bronze: Bourbon Legend, Great Heights Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 30: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout – 172 Entries
Gold: Barrel Aged Imperial Pajamas, Begyle Brewing, Chicago, IL
Silver: Ales from the Crypt: Te Quiero, O.H.S.O. Brewery – Gilbert, AZ
Bronze: Señor Rhino, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR

Category 31: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 82 Entries
Gold: Sour Brown Aged on Palo Santo, Hi-Wire Brewing – South Slope, Asheville, NC
Silver: Agent Orange – Apple Brandy Barrel, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM
Bronze: Reserve Doree, The Chamber By Wooden Robot Brewery, Charlotte, NC

Category 32: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 128 Entries
Gold: Midnight Choir, Sun King Brewing, Indianapolis, IN
Silver: Crimson Cherry Variant, Upland Brewing Co. – Bloomington Brewpub, Bloomington, IN
Bronze: Rossano, Kings Brewing Co., Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Category 33: Aged Beer – 38 Entries
Gold: A Creator’s Calling, The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Silver: Belgian Quad, Green Mountain Beer Co., Lakewood, CO
Bronze: Mob Barley, Meadowlark Brewing, Sidney, MT

GABF19-awards-Lost-Abbey
The Lost Abbey.

Category 34: Kellerbier or Zwickelbier – 96 Entries
Gold: German Pilsner, Port City Brewing Co., Alexandria, VA
Silver: Loral Zwickelbier, Haas Innovations Brewing, Yakima, WA
Bronze: Stand By, Rockwell Beer Co., St. Louis, MO

Category 35: Smoke Beer – 60 Entries
Gold: Red-Fish Rauchbock, Sockeye Brewing, Boise, ID
Silver: TF Brewing Rauch Bier, Templin Family Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Up In Smoke, Fat Head’s Brewery – Canton, Canton, OH

Category 36: American-Style Lager or American-Style Pilsener – 153 Entries
Gold: Lite Reading, Pollyanna Brewing Co., Lemont, IL
Silver: Valley Beer, Wren House Brewing Co., Phoenix, AZ
Bronze: Schaben’s, Thunderhead Brewing Co., Kearney, NE

Category 37: Contemporary American-Style Pilsener – 61 Entries
Gold: Lazy River Pils, New Trail Brewing Co., Williamsport, PA
Silver: Citra Pils, Saint Archer Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: Citraveza, Alvarado Street Brewery, Salinas, CA

Category 38: International-Style Pilsener – 108 Entries
Gold: Torcido, Barebottle Brewing Co., San Francisco, CA
Silver: Upslope Craft Lager, Upslope Brewing Co. Boulder, CO
Bronze: Party, MAP Brewing Co., Bozeman, MT

GABF19-awards-Barebottle
Barebottle Brewing Co.

Category 39: Light Lager – 90 Entries
Gold: Altitude Banquet, Altitude Chophouse and Brewery, Laramie, WY
Silver: Sif’s Light Lager, Odin Brewing Co., Tukwila, WA
Bronze: Lightner Creek Lager, Carver Brewing Co., Durango, CO

Category 40: India Pale Lager or Malt Liquor – 55 Entries
Gold: Timbo Pils, Highland Park Brewery – Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA
Silver: Go Kart Mozart, MotoSonora Brewing Co., Tucson, AZ
Bronze: Yeah Buoy IPL, Logboat Brewing Co., Columbia, MO

Category 41: American-Style Cream Ale – 87 Entries
Gold: Sea Señor! Mex Lager, SouthNorte Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Los Dudes’ Cerveza Lager Mexicana, Dudes’ Brewing Co., Somis, CA
Bronze: Gold Style, Ballast Point Brewing Co. – Chicago, Chicago, IL

Category 42: American-Style Amber Lager – 101 Entries
Gold: Märzen, Sudwerk Brewing Co., Davis, CA
Silver: Oktoberfest, Huss Brewing Co., Tempe, AZ
Bronze: Grist Maerzen, Grist Brewing Co., Highlands Ranch, CO

Category 43: German-Style Pilsener – 183 Entries
Gold: Parliament Drive, Blind Owl Brewery, Indianapolis, IN
Silver: Golden Age Pilsner, Family Business Beer Co., Dripping Springs, TX
Bronze: Pils, Hardywood West Creek, Richmond, VA

Category 44: Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 123 Entries
Gold: Bohemian Shine, Castle Island Brewing Co., Norwood, MA
Silver: Bo Pils, East Brother Beer Co., Richmond, CA
Bronze: The People’s Pilsner, Sudwerk Brewing Co., Davis, CA

GABF19-awards-East-Bros
East Brother Beer Co.

Category 45: Munich-Style Helles – 138 Entries
Gold: Altstadt Lager, Altstadt Brewery, Fredericksburg, TX
Silver: Florida Sunshine, Crooked Can Brewing Co., Winter Garden, FL
Bronze: Wayfinder Hell, Wayfinder Beer, Portland, OR

Category 46: Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest – 96 Entries
Gold: Schnitzengiggles, New England Brewing Co., Woodbridge, CT
Silver: Lindauer Lager, Wit’s End Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Bronze: Chuckanut Fest Bier, Chuckanut Brewery, Burlington, WA

GABF19-awards-Chuckanut
Chuckanut Brewery.

Category 47: Vienna-Style Lager – 93 Entries
Gold: Jomo, Starr Hill Brewery, Crozet, VA
Silver: Vienna Lager, Grains of Wrath Brewing, Camas, WA
Bronze: Moonlight Sonata, Chilly Water Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN

Category 48: German-Style Maerzen – 165 Entries
Gold: Oktoberfest, Bear Chase Brewing Co., Bluemont, VA
Silver: Rocktoberfest, Hutton & Smith Brewing Co., Chattanooga, TN
Bronze: Festie, Starr Hill Pilot Brewery & Side Stage, Roanoke, VA

Category 49: German-Style Dark Lager – 127 Entries
Gold: Pious Monk Dunkel, Church Brew Works, Lawrenceville, PA
Silver: Black Lager, Bingo Beer Co., Richmond, VA
Bronze: Don’t Drop That Dun Dun Dunkel, TAPS Brewery, Tustin, CA

Category 50: International-Style Dark Lager – 31 Entries
Gold: Dark Horse, Snake River Brewing Co., Jackson, WY
Silver: El Corn, The Post Brewing Co., Lafayette, CO
Bronze: Schwarzbier, Hofbräuhaus Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Category 51: Bock – 45 Entries
Gold: Tackle Bock, Bobbing Bobber Brewing Co., Hutchinson, MN
Silver: Maibock, Dry Dock Brewing Co. – South Dock, Aurora, CO
Bronze: Dunkel Bock, Pilot Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC

Category 52: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock – 57 Entries
Gold: Eis Nine, Sun King Brewing – Fishers Small Batch, Fishers, IN
Silver: Doppelbock, Scorched Earth Brewing Co., Algonquin, IL
Bronze: Eis Vienne, Devils Backbone Brewing Co. – Basecamp, Roseland, VA

GABF19-awards-DAB
Sun King Brewing.

Category 53: Baltic-Style Porter – 51 Entries
Gold: Snap Yo’ Baltics, Freetail Brewing Co. – Brewpub, San Antonio, TX
Silver: Dark Reckoning, Morgan Territory Brewing, Tracy, CA
Bronze: Murder Ballads, Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH

Category 54: Golden or Blonde Ale – 150 Entries
Gold: 1956 Golden Ale, Bootstrap Brewing, Longmont, CO
Silver: MadeWest Standard, MadeWest Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Bronze: Luke’s Original, Lucky Luke Brewing Co., Palmdale, CA

Category 55: German-Style Koelsch – 167 Entries
Gold: Altstadt Kolsch, Altstadt Brewery, Fredericksburg, TX
Silver: Ice Cutter Kölsch, Joyride Brewing Co., Edgewater, CO
Bronze: Dry Creek Blonde Ale, Santa Clara Valley Brewing, San Jose, CA

GABF19-awards-Santa-Clara-Valley
Santa Clara Valley Brewing.

Category 56: English-Style Summer Ale – 39 Entries
Gold: Organic California Blonde Ale, Eel River Brewing Co., Scotia, CA
Silver: Quid, Rhinegeist – Innovation Brewery, Cincinnati, OH
Bronze: Breakside Wentworth by the Sea, Breakside Brewery, Portland, OR

Category 57: English-Style or International-Style Pale Ale – 104 Entries
Gold: Ferment Pale Ale, Ferment Brewing Co., Hood River, OR
Silver: Annadel Pale Ale, Third Street AleWorks, Santa Rosa, CA
Bronze: Endless Summer Nights, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, WA

Category 58: Australian-Style Pale Ale – 61 Entries
Gold: Australian For Pale, Green Cheek Beer Co., Orange, CA
Silver: Mountain Standard IPA, Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
Bronze: Pete’s Stash, Vail Brewing Co. – Vail Village Pilot, Vail, CO

Category 59: American-Style Pale Ale – 169 Entries
Gold: Johnny Utah, Georgetown Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Silver: Acclimated APA, La Cumbre Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Breakside Woodlawn Pale Ale, Breakside Brewery, Portland, OR

GABF19-awards-Breakside
Breakside Brewery.

Category 60: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale – 114 Entries
Gold: Gulp, Tribus Beer Co., Milford, CT
Silver: Itsy Bits, WeldWerks Brewing Co., Greeley, CO
Bronze: Mo-Haze-Ic, Migration Brewing Co. – Wilkes, Portland, OR

Category 61: American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 131 Entries
Gold: Superpower IPA, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: NoPac IPA, Crossbuck Brewing, Walla Walla, WA
Bronze: JAF IPA, JAFB Wooster Brewery, Wooster, OH

Category 62: Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale – 106 Entries
Gold: Breakside What Rough Beast, Breakside Brewery, Portland, OR
Silver: Kaaterskill, West Kill Brewing, West Kill, NY
Bronze: Goofy Boots, Penrose Brewing Co., Geneva, IL

Category 63: American-Style India Pale Ale – 342 Entries
Gold: More Dodge Less RAM, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Radiant Beauty, Green Cheek Beer Co., Orange, CA
Bronze: Weekend Vibes IPA, Coronado Brewing Co. – Production Facility, San Diego, CA

GABF19-awards-Coronado
Coronado Brewing.

Category 64: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale – 348 Entries
Gold: Beezer, Old Irving Brewing Co., Chicago, IL
Silver: Hazy IPA, City Lights Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Devil’s Gulch, Pond Farm Brewing Co., San Rafael, CA

Category 65: Emerging India Pale Ale – 124 Entries
Gold: Pure Tropics, Parish Brewing Co., Broussard, LA
Silver: Vladimir Brutin, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: No medal awarded

Category 66: Imperial India Pale Ale – 173 Entries
Gold: Double Cone, Alvarado Street Brewery, Salinas, CA
Silver: Westbound Double IPA, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs, CO
Bronze: Sharrow, Brew Hub, Lakeland, FL

GABF19-awards-Alvarado-St
Alvarado Street Brewing.

Category 67: Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale – 165 Entries
Gold: Extra Extra Juicy Bits, WeldWerks Brewing Co., Greeley, CO
Silver: Juice Jockey, Phantom Ales, Anaheim, CA
Bronze: Chaos Emeralds, Lone Pine Brewing Co. – Gorham, Gorham, ME

Category 68: American-Style Amber/Red Ale – 127 Entries
Gold: Diablo Rojo, Boneyard Beer, Bend, OR
Silver: 1890 Founder’s Ale, Grayton Beer Co., Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Bronze: Red Alert, Aftershock Brewing Co., Temecula, CA

Category 69: Double Hoppy Red Ale – 49 Entries
Gold: Station 101, Claremont Craft Ales, Claremont, CA
Silver: Side Hike, Kern River Brewing Co., Kernville, CA
Bronze: Cannon Ball, Migration Brewing Co. – Glisan, Portland, OR

Category 70: Imperial Red Ale – 38 Entries
Gold: Bone Head Imperial Red, Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon, North Olmsted, OH
Silver: Frogs Like Possum, King’s Court Brewing Co., Poughkeepsie, NY
Bronze: Gifted Gunslinger, Big Sexy Brewing Co., Sacramento, CA

Category 71: English-Style Mild Ale – 40 Entries
Gold: Hold The Reins, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Sliding Rock, BearWaters Brewing Co., Canton, NC
Bronze: Saddle Bronc Brown, Black Tooth Brewing Co., Sheridan, WY

Category 72: Ordinary or Special Bitter – 41 Entries
Gold: Chronic Amber Ale, Pizza Port – Bressi Ranch, Carlsbad, CA
Silver: Cousin Jack, Dostal Alley Brewpub & Casino, Central City, CO
Bronze: Milford Pub Ale, River’s Edge Brewing Co., Milford, MI

Category 73: Extra Special Bitter – 63 Entries
Gold: ESB, Hillman Beer, Asheville, NC
Silver: Bridgeview, Henderson Brewing Co., Henderson, KY
Bronze: Red Ale, The Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery, Hampton, VA

Category 74: English-Style India Pale Ale – 39 Entries
Gold: Hop’lin IPA, Southbound Brewing Co., Savannah, GA
Silver: Shanghai’d IPA, Old Town Brewing, Portland, OR
Bronze: Hoppy Poppy, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. – Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
Category 75: Scottish-Style Ale – 56 Entries
Gold: Taildragger Clan-Destine, Saddle Mountain Brewing Co., Goodyear, AZ
Silver: Yarmouth, Arkane Aleworks, Largo, FL
Bronze: Thistle Dew, Ursa Minor Brewing, Duluth, MN

Category 76: Irish-Style Red Ale – 82 Entries
Gold: Outraged Daughters, Wise Man Brewing, Winston-Salem, NC
Silver: Balefire Irish Red, Mirror Image Brewing Co., Frederick, CO
Bronze: Red Molly Irish Red Ale, Pale Fire Brewing Co., Harrisonburg, VA

Category 77: English-Style Brown Ale – 67 Entries
Gold: Bobcat Brown Ale, Bridger Brewing, Bozeman, MT
Silver: Eclipse Brown Ale, Equinox Brewing, Fort Collins, CO
Bronze: Mischievous Brown, Helltown Brewing, Export, PA

Category 78: American-Style Brown Ale – 99 Entries
Gold: Naked Sunbather, Mad Swede Brewing Co., Boise, ID
Silver: Bull Creek Brown Ale, Springfield Brewing Co., Springfield, MO
Bronze: Browner Than Ivan, Chula Vista Brewery, Chula Vista, CA

Category 79: American-Style Black Ale – 35 Entries
Gold: Alpha Force Double Tap, Überbrew, Billings, MT
Silver: Bowie Knife, Thunderhawk Alements, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Turmoil, Barley Brown’s Beer, Baker City, OR

Category 80: German-Style Sour Ale – 63 Entries
Gold: Meier, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM
Silver: Meersalz, Narrow Gauge Brewing Co., Florissant, MO
Bronze: And the Award Gose to…, Big Dog’s Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV

Category 81: Specialty Berliner Weisse – 82 Entries
Gold: Midwestern Exotic, Barrel Theory Beer Co., St. Paul, MN
Silver: Jungalow Juice, Arrow Lodge Brewing, Covina, CA
Bronze: Raspberry Vermonter Weiss, 14th Star Brewing, Saint Albans, VT

Category 82: Contemporary Gose – 102 Entries
Gold: Cruise to Nowhere, Town Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Silver: Mimosa Gose, Pilot Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Bronze: Galactic Minotaurt, True Vine Brewing Co., Tyler, TX

Category 83: German-Style Altbier – 64 Entries
Gold: Rhine Heights ALT, Vintage Brewing Co. – Madison, Madison, WI
Silver: Howitzer Amber, Red Leg Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO
Bronze: Jeremy Altbier, The Royal Oak Brewery, Royal Oak, MI

Category 84: South German-Style Hefeweizen – 150 Entries
Gold: Prosperity Wheat, Market Garden Brewery, Cleveland, OH
Silver: Hug Deal Gone Sideweiss, Gezellig Brewing Co., Newton, IA
Bronze: Leisel Weapon, Noon Whistle Brewing Co., Lombard, IL

Category 85: German-Style Wheat Ale – 37 Entries
Gold: Krystal Clear, TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room, Tustin, CA
Silver: Dunkelweisse, Swashbuckler Brewing Co., Manheim, PA
Bronze: HefeWeizen, Live Oak Brewing Co., Austin, TX

Category 86: Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale – 51 Entries
Gold: Nènette, Kern River Brewing Co. – The Backyard, Kernville, CA
Silver: Hell’s Keep, Squatters Craft Beers, Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Suddenly a Saint, Moonraker Brewing Co., Auburn, CA

Category 87: Belgian-Style Witbier – 94 Entries
Gold: Way West Wit, Zuni Street Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Boeman Belgian White, Ogopogo Brewing, San Gabriel, CA
Bronze: Under a Blood Orange Sky, Temblor Brewing Co., Bakersfield, CA

Category 88: Classic Saison – 106 Entries
Gold: Meadowlark, Metazoa Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN
Silver: Summer Opal, Firestone Walker Propagator, Marina Del Rey, CA
Bronze: Gray Matter, Aspetuck Brew Lab, Bridgeport, CT

Category 89: Specialty Saison – 91 Entries
Gold: Obeisance, Von Ebert Brewing – Glendoveer, Portland, OR
Silver: Westfield, Cellar West Artisan Ales, Lafayette, CO
Bronze: Palisade #2, Fortside Brewing Co., Vancouver, WA

Category 90: Belgian- and French-Style Ale – 47 Entries
Gold: Junebug, Echo Brewing Co., Erie, CO
Silver: Swingin’ Single, Piece Brewery, Chicago, IL
Bronze: Industrial Gris, Resident Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

GABF19-awards-Revolution
Piece Brewery.

Category 91: Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale – 95 Entries
Gold: Get The Funk Out, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Denver, CO
Silver: Olly, Free Will Brewing Co., Perkasie, PA
Bronze: Saison Apothēca, Yeast of Eden, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA

Category 92: Belgian-Style Dubbel – 26 Entries
Gold: Dedication, Vintage Brewing Co. – Madison, Madison, WI
Silver: Belgian Dubbel, Sugar Creek Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Bronze: OB Bubble Dubbel, Kilowatt Brewing, San Diego, CA

Category 93: Belgian-Style Tripel – 83 Entries
Gold: Princeps Pacis, Save The World Brewing Co., Marble Falls, TX
Silver: Marvella, Red Rock Brewery – Production, Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Triple-Whirl, 217 Brew Works, Wilson, NC

Category 94: Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale – 44 Entries
Gold: Fu Fighter, Good River Beer, Denver, CO
Silver: Sandy Dunes Saison, River Bluff Brewing, St. Joseph, MO
Bronze: Stay Gold, Bluebird Brasserie, Sherman Oaks, CA

Category 95: Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale or Belgian-Style Quadrupel – 62 Entries
Gold: Quad Damn It, Chicago Brewing Co. – Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
Silver: Séréneté Grand Cru, Bruz Beers, Denver, CO
Bronze: Sisters Quad, Bitter Sisters Brewing Co., Addison, TX

Category 96: Other Belgian-Style Ale – 30 Entries
Gold: Very, Very Far, Off Color Brewing, Chicago, IL
Silver: Conquer Then Divide, Barrage Brewing Co., Farmingdale, NY
Bronze: Pentuple, Hoppin’ Frog Brewing, Akron, OH

Category 97: Brown Porter – 61 Entries
Gold: Maduro Brown Ale, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
Silver: Brown Claw, Kern River Brewing Co. – The Backyard, Kernville, CA
Bronze: Honey Porter, Cape May Brewing Co. – Rio Grande, Cape May, NJ

Category 98: Robust Porter – 87 Entries
Gold: Tabula Rasa, Second Chance Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Powell Street Porter, Bartlett Hall, San Francisco, CA
Bronze: Shadowcaster Porter, Folklore Brewing & Meadery, Dothan, AL

Category 99: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout – 43 Entries
Gold: SeaSide Stout, Pizza Port – Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA
Silver: Shooter McMunn’s, Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Ashburn, VA
Bronze: O’Dark Thirty, 6 Bears & A Goat Brewing Co., Fredericksburg, VA

Category 100: Export Stout – 42 Entries
Gold: Correspondent, Wander Brewing, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Thor’s Shadow Imperial Stout, Odin Brewing Co., Tukwila, WA
Bronze: Void of Light, Gun Hill Brewing Co., Bronx, NY

GABF19-awards-Stone
Stone Brewing.

Category 101: American-Style Stout – 55 Entries
Gold: Black Cliffs, Boise Brewing, Boise, ID
Silver: Liberty Station Cimmerian Portal, Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Kilgore, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Long Beach, CA

GABF19-awards-Beachwood
Beachwood BBQ & Brewing.

Category 102: Sweet Stout or Cream Stout – 67 Entries
Gold: Moozie, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Emperor Norton’s Sweet Stout, 21st Amendment Brewery, San Leandro, CA
Bronze: Volcano Mudslide Sweet Stout, Feather Falls Brewing, Oroville, CA

GABF19-awards-21A
21st Amendment Brewery.

Category 103: Oatmeal Stout – 69 Entries
Gold: 80 Chain Stout, MAP Brewing Co., Bozeman, MT
Silver: Yonder Mountain Stout, Vine Street Pub & Brewery, Denver, CO
Bronze: Shaman Stout, Toltec Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM

Category 104: Imperial Stout – 93 Entries
Gold: The Russian, 2SP Brewing Co., Aston, PA
Silver: Black Cauldron Imperial Stout, Grand Teton Brewing, Victor, ID
Bronze: Rescue Buoy Imperial Stout, Rip Current Brewing, San Marcos, CA

GABF19-awards-Rip-Current
Rip Current Brewing.

Category 105: Scotch Ale – 52 Entries
Gold: Knuckle Dragger, Dueces Wild Brewery, Colorado Springs, CO
Silver: Real Heavy, Real Ale Brewing Co., Blanco, TX
Bronze: Wee Heavy Metal, Hutton & Smith Brewing Co., Chattanooga, TN

Category 106: Old Ale or Strong Ale – 36 Entries
Gold: Private Stock Ale, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Old Scrooge, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Bronze: Last Will & Testament, Monday Night Brewing, Atlanta, GA

GABF19-awards-AleSmith
AleSmith Brewing.

Category 107: Barley Wine-Style Ale – 59 Entries
Gold: Old Diablo, Morgan Territory Brewing, Tracy, CA
Silver: Freebooter Barleywine, Coronado Brewing Co., Coronado, CA
Bronze: Three Ryes Men, Reuben’s Brews – The Taproom, Seattle, WA

GABF19-awards-Morgan-Territory
Morgan Territory Brewing.

Pro-Am Competition – 113 Entries
Gold: Distemper, IMBĪB Custom Brews, Reno, NV
Brewmaster: IMBĪB Brew Crew
AHA Member: Lance Newlin
Silver: Leicht, Precarious Beer Project – Beer Hall, Williamsburg, VA
Brewmaster: Greg Fleehart
AHA Member: Joel Miller
Bronze: Chess with Checkers, New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
Brewmaster: The Employee Owners of New Belgium
AHA Member: Erich Purcell

Collaboration Competition – 70 Entries
Gold: Getting By on Central Time, Sun King Brewing, Indianapolis, IN
Indiana Brewers Guild Beer Brigadiers
Silver: Are You Pricklish?, Taft’s Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Against the Grain Brewing, Louisville, KY
Bronze: Willie Big Dog, Public Coast Brewing Co., Cannon Beach, OR
Big Dog’s Brewing CO., Las Vegas, NV

2019 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM
Rowley Farmhouse Ales

Mid-Size Brewpub and Mid-Size Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs, CO
Westbound & Down Brewery Team

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Vintage Brewing Co. – Madison, Madison, WI
Drinking Fresh Thinking

Very Small Brewing Company and Very Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Brink Brew Crew

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Marks Lanham & David Lin

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Silver City Brew Team

Brewery Group and Brewery Group Brewer of the Year
Kern River Brewing Co., Kernville, CA

GABF19-awards-Kern-River-BOtY
Kern River Brewing.

California Craft Brewers Cup 2019

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ccba

Last month, I participated in judging a new beer competition in California: the California Craft Brewers Cup, put on by the California Craft Brewers Association. Over four days, 80 judges evaluated nearly 1,300 beers in 61 categories from 194 breweries in the state. The winners were announced at the annual California Beer Summit, held this year in Long Beach, September 12-14.

REVISED FINAL CCBC LOGO_PDF

Below are the results of the 2019 inaugural California Craft Brewers Cup:

Winners – California Craft Brewers Cup

Category 1: Standard American Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Alvarado Street Brewery Monterey Beer
2nd Urban Roots Brewing Sidework
3rd Taps Brewery Light

Category 2: International Lager

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Knee Deep Brewing Company Hola Señor
2nd Dust Bowl Brewing Co Taco Truck Amber
3rd Dust Bowl Brewing Co Taco Truck Lager

Category 3: Pilsner

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Discretion Brewing Shimmer Pils
2nd Dust Bowl Brewing Co Hobo
3rd Secret Trail Brewing Company Comanche Creek

Category 4: Bohemian-Style Pilsner (Czech Lager)

Place Organization Entry Name
1st East Brother Beer Co Bo Pils
2nd Ten Mile Brewing Swarthy Czechsman
3rd Rip Current Brewing Choppy Surf Czech-Style Pilsner

Category 5: Pale European Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Angel City Brewery Eastside Export Lager
2nd Device Brewing Company Das Crispy
3rd Alaro Craft Brewery La Boheme

Category 6: Munich-Style Helles

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Bike Dog Brewing Co. Summer Is Always Helles
2nd Smog City Brewing Co. South Bay Lager
3rd The Original 40 Brewing Company Chrispy Boi

Category 7: German/Vienna-Style Marzen

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Crooked Lane Brewing Co Oktoberfest
2nd Dust Bowl Brewing Co Oktoberfest
3rd Fiftyfifty Brewing Oktoberfest

Category 8: European-Style Dark Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Taps Brewery Don’t Drop That Dun Dun Dunkel
2nd Crooked Lane Brewing Co Thirsty Pretzels
3rd Angel City Brewery Black Lager

Category 9: Bock

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Rip Current Brewing Breakline Bock
2nd Faultline Brewing Co Spring Bock
3rd Main Street Brewery Main Street Maibock

Category 10: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Crooked Lane Brewing Co Oreamnos
2nd Morgan Territroy Brewing Lubricator
3rd Phantom Ales Phantom Doppelbock

Category 11: American Style Cream Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Unsung Brewing Company Buzzman
2nd Claremont Craft Ales Norman
3rd South Park Brewing Jenny

Category 12: Kölsch

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Indie Brewing Company Pacific Kolsch Highway
2nd Standard Deviant Brewing Kolsch
3rd Ketch Brewing Ketch Kolsch

Category 13: Altbier/CA Common

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Fiftyfifty Brewing Alternate Ending
2nd Redwood Curtain Brewing Company Dusseldorf Altbier
3rd Angel City Brewery 45rpm

Category 15: Baltic-Style Porter

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Angel City Brewery Baltic Porter
2nd Morgan Territroy Brewing Dark Reckoning
3rd Eppig Brewing Natural Bridge: Baltic Porter

Category 16: American-Style Wheat Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Yorkshire Square Brewery Water-Upon-Sea
2nd Inc 82 Brewing For Hef’s Sake
3rd New Glory Craft Brewery Gummy Worms

Category 17: German-Style Wheat Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Taps Brewery Krystal Clear
2nd Beachwood Bbq & Brewing La Cabra
3rd Island Brewing Company Pch – Pacific Coast Hefeweizen

Category 18: Berliner-Style Weisse

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Crooked Lane Brewing Co Street Weisse
2nd Stereo Brewing Company Summer Sun
3rd Beachwood Bbq & Brewing Tart Simpson

Category 19: Gose

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Porchlight Brewing Co Patio Smooches
2nd Alesmith Brewing Company Alesmith Gose
3rd Mraz Brewing Company Llc Purple Plum

Category 20: Rye Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Burning Beard Brewing Roggen the Lightning

Category 21: Fruit Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Del Cielo Brewing Guava Dreams
2nd Urban Roots Brewing Chocolate Moustache Coconut Imperal Stout
3rd Fort Rock Brewing Gose the Destroyer

Category 23: Herb & Spice Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Moksa Brewing Co Intemperance
2nd Moksa Brewing Co Summerthyme
3rd Garage Brewing Co Toasted Marshmallow Milk Stout

Category 24: Coffee Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Gamecraft Brewing Company There Is No Cow Level
2nd Ambitious Ales Central Perk
3rd Pizza Port Brewing Co- Bressi Ranch Bacon and Eggs

Category 25: Chocolate Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Belching Beaver Brewery Viva la Beaver
2nd Beachwood Bbq & Brewing Vanilla Fudge
3rd Pizza Port San Clemente Dusk Til Dawn

Category 26: Smoked Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st South Park Brewing Bread & Smoke
2nd Hop Dogma Brewing Company Smoke On the Lager

Category 27: Historical

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Anaheim Brewery Anaheim 1888 (R)
2nd Angel City Brewery Adambier

Category 28: Blonde or Golden Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Mountain Rambler Brewery Venusian Blonde Ale
2nd Dos Desperados Brewery Surfeza Blonde Ale
3rd Track 7 Brewing Co. Bee Line Blonde

Category 29: British Mild & Bitters

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Burning Beard Brewing Banksy
2nd Thorn Brewing Co. West Kensington
3rd The Monk’s Cellar Crooked Bridge Esb

Category 30: Standard British Ales

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Peter B’s Brewpub Inclusion Amber
2nd Porchlight Brewing Co The O.P.
3rd Standard Deviant Brewing Porter

Category 31: British Strong Ales

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Morgan Territroy Brewing Highland Marauder
2nd Alesmith Brewing Company Alesmith Private Stock Ale 2017
3rd Crooked Lane Brewing Co Gnarly Goat

Category 32: Irish/Scottish Ales

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Karl Strauss Brewing Company Red Trolley Ale
2nd Triple Rock Brewing Co. Cleverpenny
3rd Island Brewing Company Jubilee Ale

Category 34: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Crooked Lane Brewing Co Dark Bent
2nd Pocock Brewing Company It’s My Island
3rd Societe Brewing Company The Pugilist

Category 35: Stouts (Dry)

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Del Cielo Brewing Smooth Ride
2nd Seismic Brewing Company Oatmeal Stout
3rd Island Brewing Company Starry Night Stout

Category 36: Stouts (Sweet)

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Super Owl Brewing Udder Nonsense
2nd Feather Falls Brewing Company Volcano Mudslide Sweet Stout
3rd Riley’s Brewing Cowlifornia

Category 37: Imperial Stouts

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Rip Current Brewing Rescue Buoy Imperial Stout
2nd Rouleur Brewing Company Niterideur Imperial Stout

Category 38: American Amber & Brown Ales

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Tortugo Brewing Baltra Red
2nd Institution Ale Co. Restraint
3rd Crooked Lane Brewing Co Hard Headed Red

Category 39: American Porter & Stout

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Rock Bottom Brewery la Jolla Padfoot Porter
2nd Fiftyfifty Brewing Donner Party Porter
3rd Kern River Brewing Company Brown Claw

Category 40: American Pale Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Alesmith Brewing Company Alesmith San Diego Pale Ale .394
2nd Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co Figueroa Mountain Mosaic
3rd Societe Brewing Company The Publican

Category 41: English-Style India Pale Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Alaro Craft Brewery Castillo
2nd Loomis Basin Brewing Co.,inc Vindicator IPA
3rd Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co Hoppy Poppy

Category 42: American-Style India Pale Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Gamecraft Brewing Company Pay To Win
2nd Auburn Alehouse Gold Digger IPA
3rd Out of Bounds Brewing Company Joyrider

Category 43: New England-Style India Pale Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Resident Brewing Chasing Mosaic
2nd North Park Beer Co. Art Is Hard
3rd Knee Deep Brewing Company Oopsie d’Hazy

Category 44: American Imperial IPA

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Moksa Brewing Co Sticky Sips
2nd Tarantula Hill Brewing Company Batch 002
3rd Taps Brewery Poseidon

Category 45: Specialty IPA

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Alvarado Street Brewery Champagne Hopi
2nd Drake’s Brewing Co. Aroma Coma
3rd Knee Deep Brewing Company Man Juice

Category 46: Strong American Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Bravery Brewing Company Centennial Barleywine
2nd Knee Deep Brewing Company Imperial Tanilla
3rd Mraz Brewing Company Llc Operias

Category 47: Belgian-Style Witbier

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Temblor Brewing Co Under A Blood Orange Sky
2nd Main Street Brewery Katarina Wit
3rd Tarantula Hill Brewing Company T.O. Wit

Category 48: Classic Saison

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Resident Brewing Golden Kiss
2nd Hillenbrand Farmhaus Brewery Farmhaus
3rd Alaro Craft Brewery Rabbit Hole

Category 49: Specialty Saison

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Gilman Brewing Company Champ Rochaux
2nd Innovation Brew Works Cattle Rancher
3rd Ferment.Drink.Repeat – Fdr Brewing Company Barbados Grapefruit Saison

Category 50: Belgian & French-Style Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Barmhaus Brewing Co. Batch #4
2nd Resident Brewing Industrial Gris
3rd Triple Rock Brewing Co. Bid Adieu

Category 51: Belgian Strong Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Second Chance Beer Company Glorious
2nd Alesmith Brewing Company Alesmith Grand Cru
3rd Riip Beer Company Marooned 12

Category 52: Trappist Style Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Main Street Brewery Bishop’s Tipple Trippel
2nd Faction Brewing Company Defcon I
3rd Societe Brewing Company The Debutante

Category 53: Belgian Sour Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Soquel Fermentation Project Red #2 -With Raspberry
2nd Alesmith Brewing Company Alesmith Obk
3rd Port Brewing and the Lost Abbey Red Poppy

Category 54: Belgian-Style Lambic

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Thorn Brewing Co. Framboise d’Tatas
2nd Mraz Brewing Company Llc Black Creek
3rd Flatland Brewing Company Unwritten Stories

Category 55: American Wild Ale

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Original Pattern Brewing Company Berrya 51
2nd Chapman Crafted Beer Absofruitly! Raspberry
3rd Soquel Fermentation Project Golden Sour #4 With Mango and Passionfruit

Category 56: Wood (Wine)

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Duck Foot Brewing Co. Sour Blonde
2nd Fiftyfifty Brewing Old Digs Malbec
3rd Seismic Brewing Company Steinstrasse

Category 57: Wood (Spirit)

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Bravery Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel-Aged the Shroud
2nd Drake’s Brewing Co. Santa’s Brass
3rd Silva Brewing Silva Stout

Category 58: Alternative Fermentable Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Morgan Territroy Brewing Bees Better Have My Honey
2nd Angel City Brewery Rap On the Beezer
3rd Discretion Brewing Ten Million Flowers

Category 59: Experimental Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Kings Brewing Company Fluffernutter
2nd Burgeon Beer Company Bird’s Milk
3rd Silva Brewing The Pink Stuff

Category 60: Session Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Pizza Port Brew Co. – Ocean Beach Guillaume
2nd Eppig Brewing Natural Bridge: Vienna Lager
3rd Noble Ale Works Nose Candy

Category 61: Chili Beer

Place Organization Entry Name
1st Duck Foot Brewing Co. Slow Burn
2nd Stereo Brewing Company I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
3rd Garage Brewing Co Hatch Chile IPA
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In addition to the individual awards, there were also two big awards, “Best in Show,” taken from the individual gold medal winners, and “Californa Brewery of the Year.”

CCBC: Best of Show

Rip Current Brewing’s Breakline Bock, a Traditional German-Style Bock.

California Brewery of the Year

Crooked Lane Brewing Company, located in Auburn.

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In addition to the two big brewery awards, they also gave a Pioneer’s Award and the California Guild of the Year.

California Guild of the Year

Sacramento Area Brewers Guild.

2019 Pioneer

Tom McCormick.

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Bistro IPA Festival Winners 2019

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bistro

Today was the 22nd annual IPA Festival and the 2nd annual Hazy IPA Festival at the Bistro. The weather cooperated and it ended up being a sunny day in Hayward, making it was perfect beer-drinking weather once we emerged from judging in the basement. This year the judging was split into two groups, regular clear IPAs and hazy IPAs. There were 32 traditional American-style IPAs and 40 hazies. The full list of winners is below.

BistroIPA19-2
Final Round judging of Traditional IPAs.

Traditional IPAs

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Starting the first round with Hazy IPAs.

Hazy IPAs

Peoples Choice Awards

  • People’s Choice Award — Traditional IPA: Altamont Mau Waui
  • People’s Choice Award — Hazy IPA: Urban Roots Lapse of Judgement

Congratulations to all the winners.