Fastest Growing Breweries in 2018

March 28, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Yesterday, the Brewers Association released its list of “50 Fastest Growing U.S. Craft Breweries of 2018.” This is the second year for the list, and I’m glad they started creating it last year, because the annual Top 50 list has grown increasingly static over the years, and isn’t a good way to see who’s shaking things up anymore. Most of the movement tends to now be confined to the bottom half or even the bottom quarter of the list, with minimal changes above that. This list, on the other hand, sees new breweries on it each year (at least so far) and gives a better picture of which breweries are moving product at a faster pace than the previous year. And while it’s probably on a small base, it still shows who’s worth watching.

From the press release:

Representing 27 states across the U.S., these small and independent breweries experienced a median growth of 163 percent with the median size being 1,350 barrels of in-house production in 2018. Breweries on the list range from 50 barrels to more than 40,000, and grew from less than 70,000 barrels collectively in 2017 to more than 170,000 barrels in 2018. As a group, these brewing companies represent approximately 10 percent of total craft growth by volume for the year, and include 13 brewpubs, 35 microbreweries, and two regional craft breweries.
“Even as market competition continues to increase, these small and independent breweries and brewpubs demonstrate there are still growth opportunities across a diverse set of regions and business models,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association.

In my neck of the woods — California — six breweries made the list. That represents 12% of the total. Half of the California breweries are in the Bay Area and Northern California, and they’re all in the top half of the list with one, Sacramento’s New Glory, in the Top 10. They opened in 2012. Of the other two, Woods Beer Co. has several locations now, and has been around for several years (16 brewing, 7 with their own brewery). The other one is Humble Sea Brewing, located in Santa Cruz, which just opened in early 2016. Congratulations to all the breweries who made the list.

This is a shortened version of the methodology they used, for the full write-up, see the BA’s press release.

Growth is measured based on production at their own facilities. Breweries must have opened by December 31, 2016 or earlier to be considered. It only includes breweries that reported 2018 production to the Brewers Association’s annual Beer Industry Production Survey; breweries with staff estimates or data from state excise tax reports were not considered. Breweries also needed a validated production figure for 2017, either via the production survey, or state excise tax data.

Beers Of Joy

February 20, 2019 By Jay Brooks

So this looks like it should be fun. There’s a new beer film being released on March 1, which is called Beers of Joy. It apparently follows the journey of four individuals in beer, but two of them are good friends of mine, Tonya Cornett and Sean Paxton.

Below is the press release from yesterday, announcing the film’s release:

Beer. It’s what you reach for after a long day and how you celebrate with friends – and now, it’s the focus of a new feature-length documentary – “Beers of Joy” – debuting worldwide on March 1, 2019. Written and Directed by David Swift and Scott Owen of One-Eleven Entertainment, the film examines the rich history, detailed science and unique personalities of the beer world, and encourages viewers to consider the stories behind their favorite pints. Beer lovers everywhere are invited to celebrate the film when it makes its theatrical debut at select theater locations across the country, as well as on-demand on iTunes, Comcast, Spectrum and more.

From medieval monasteries to historic German villages and all the breweries in between, “Beers of Joy” follows the fascinating journey of four distinctly different characters and how they ultimately converge over a shared enjoyment of the beloved brew, including:

Tonya Cornett, Gold-medal-winning Innovation Brewmaster at 10 Barrel Brewing Co., embarks on a quest across Germany and Italy to discover the ancient, cutting edge traditions and secrets to brewing a true Berliner Weisse, while finding masters of their craft along the way.
Beer educator Ryan Daley and Joe Vogelbacher, CEO and Co-founder of Sugar Creek Brewing Co., attempt to pass the prestigious Master Cicerone® exam, beer’s equivalent to wine’s Master Sommelier, known as one of the most difficult tests ever created.
Sean Z. Paxton, a self-taught chef and accomplished home brewer goes back centuries in time to discover the roots of culinary and brewing techniques and how they inspire modern day appreciation and pairings, culminating in his undertaking of an actual, 16th-century feast that may prove to be the most difficult thing he’s ever attempted.

“It’s incredible just how vast the world of beer is. Through all of my studying and experiences, I still feel as though I’ve barely scratched the surface,” said Ryan Daley. “To me, the magic of beer is how it brings people together regardless of how much you know. If you’re sitting with a pint of beer in front of you and enjoying the flavor and the company, then you’re usually in a good spot.”

The concept of what became “Beers of Joy” was first born out of Anheuser-Busch’s desire to create an entertaining film that not only celebrated the beer industry, but told the inspiring stories of the people behind it in a way that would resonate far beyond the world of beer. Producer Jonathan Hack partnered with Popular Mechanics and the award-winning filmmakers at One-Eleven Entertainment, who both shared a passion to create a true love letter to the world’s most popular and oldest fermented beverage. “Beers of Joy” is being distributed worldwide by Gravitas Ventures.

“As Directors and beer enthusiasts, it was an incredible experience for us to discover and document the amazing and compelling stories of the characters in ‘Beers of Joy,'” said David Swift, Writer-Director with Scott Owen, and CEO of One-Eleven Entertainment. “In the film, we are fortunate to have some of the biggest luminaries in the world of beer and brewing from across the globe share their passion, their knowledge and their perspective on this special beverage. We hope ‘Beers of Joy’ and its characters make you love more, laugh more, and learn more than you ever thought you might about humanity’s connection to beer… which you should always ‘Pour with Vigor!‘”

If you read through the press release, you’ll no doubt notice that Anheuser-Busch InBev provided some of the financing for the film, as did Popular Mechanics, too. But even in their own press release, their involvement seems to be downplayed, and they’re the last of the five company’s listed that were part of the making of the documentary. I’m sure there will be some hand-wringing over that, but I’m still keen to see Tonya and Sean and want to give is a fair shake. Neither of them is going to be involved in anything if they’re not comfortable with how it’s being done.

The film will make its theatrical debut during an exclusive showing at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn, N.Y. on March 1^st featuring a Q&A with the cast and filmmakers.

So at least Sean has a good excuse for missing my birthday party the next day, since he’ll be in New York for the premiere. Here is the trailer for the film, which gives a good flavor as to what we can expect from it:

Beers of Joy – Trailer from One-Eleven Entertainment on Vimeo.

Sierra Nevada Acquires Sufferfest Beer Co.

February 4, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Today, Sierra Nevada Brewing announced the acqisition of their first brewery, San Francisco’s Sufferfest Beer Company. According to today’s press release, Sierra Nevada is buying 100% of the brewery. A relatively new brewery, founded in 2016 (according to the press release) or 2015 (on their Facebook page), their focus has been on beer aimed at active, athletic beer-drinkers.

Here’s the press release:

“While still in its infancy, Sufferfest is at the front of the wave of ‘functional’ alcoholic beverages,” said Sierra Nevada President and CEO Jeff White. “By joining with Sierra Nevada, Sufferfest will be better positioned to grow and continue to lead the way in a rapidly growing and highly competitive space.”
Sufferfest, which launched in 2016, is beloved by athletes for its gluten-removed line of beers like its 95-calorie Kolsch brewed with bee pollen and its FKT (Fastest Known Time) Pale Ale brewed with salt and black currant.
“The complementary nature of our offerings and their position at the cusp of this emerging category are not the only reasons Sufferfest made sense,” said White. “From the moment we met, it was clear that our two companies are deeply aligned in our values and our commitment to do the right thing.”
Sufferfest is a Certified B Corporation and a values-driven company. Founder and CEO Caitlin Landesberg, a long-distance trail runner, started the company with a vision to create the perfect post-sweat beer for herself and fellow sufferers.
“I’ve always craved a beer after a race, but when I couldn’t find a beer that agreed with my dietary and performance needs, it left a genuine void in the post-race social experience,” explained Landesberg. “The finish line is where we get to celebrate the ail, anguish and suffering we’ve all been through together. I so wanted to continue to be part of this occasion, but didn’t want to keep compromising on taste or ingredients.”
A homebrewers course in 2012 followed by coursework at UC Davis enlightened her on the microbiology of beer and its many positive attributes. She started her quest to develop a beer by athletes, for athletes, and after years of improvements and sampling her beers among fellow runners, local heroes and professional athletes, Sufferfest Beer Company was born.
“Sierra Nevada is the perfect fit,” explained Landesberg. “If it were any other company, this would not be a consideration for us. Sierra Nevada is a family-owned and operated business that isn’t driven by shareholder pressure to meet quarterly numbers,” she continued. “I’ve always been so impressed by their commitment to the communities they serve. They are really driven by their own north star.”
“Sufferfest represents an authentic and genuine platform for us to connect with more and different people,” said White. “This isn’t something cooked up by an ad agency. Sufferfest is a group of tireless, deeply committed people who love to have fun. In other words, they feel like us.”

And on Sufferfest’s website, founder Caitlin Landesberg issued a statement about the acquisition:

When I think back to the early days of Sufferfest Beer Company, it’s humbling and gratifying to remember the coursework I pursued at UC Davis School of Brewing. And the time I spent sitting in line at the City Planning office, or haggling at the Alcohol Beverage Control. There were also the days I hand labeled each of our beers and personally visited each account on a weekly basis. We are aptly named because building this company has been nothing but a sufferfest.
The most fulfilling part, however, has been the people I’ve met and have had the pleasure to work with along the way. Our team of employees are truly a family — we are connected by our belief in this company’s values and purpose. Despite never belonging, we’ve changed the craft beer landscape and created something lasting. Thank you for believing in me and taking this leap of faith with me.
It is with great excitement that I’m announcing the next chapter in Sufferfest’s wild and wonderful story. Today, we officially join the Sierra Nevada Beer Company family.
As a founder, this partnership feels like a dream: Sierra Nevada not only possesses the operational and manufacturing muscle we need to grow Sufferfest, but also is so aligned with Sufferfest in terms of values: sustainability, conservation, and a deep love of the outdoors. They are masters of their craft, and we have a lot to learn from them. Given any choice of a strategic partner, I would choose Sierra Nevada each and every time. The stars aligned.
The most exciting thing here is the vote of confidence in our ability to change the craft beer landscape. We’ve spent the last few years doing things differently, and it speaks volumes to the power of what we’re building that we were able to secure the partnership of Sierra Nevada, a leader in the craft beer space.
This partnership with Sierra Nevada enables us to do more of what we love: brew award-winning, functional beer, grow our tribe, and be in the hands of sweaty consumers all over the country. I am so proud of this team and so moved by all that we’ve done to bring Sufferfest to this exciting day. 2019 is going to be a wild ride, and I couldn’t more confident in the ability of this team to rise to the occasion and keep winning.

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2019

February 2, 2019 By Jay Brooks

On Saturday the 19th 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 66 Double IPAs and 34 Triple IPAs.

Double IPAs

1st Place: Kern River Double Church
2nd Place: Urban Roots Bigger On the Inside
3rd Place: Beachwood BBQ & Brewery Greenshift

Bistro-DIPA19-UR — Peter Hoey from Urban Roots accepting his silver medal from Double IPA.

Triple IPAs

1st Place: Morgan Territory Menace to Sobriety
2nd Place: Faction Brewing / SARA Cuddle Tent
3rd Place: Kern River YUB Trippin’

Bistro-DIPA19-MT — Craig Cauwels from Morgan Territory winning gold for his triple IPA.

Peoples Choice Awards

People’s Choice Award — Double IPA: Cellarmaker Triple Mt. Nelson
People’s Choice Award — Triple IPA: Russian River Pliny the Younger

Congratulations to all the winners.

Bistro-DIPA19-1 — It was a beautiful day at the Bistro for tasting 100 Double and Triple IPAs.

Potato Peel Beer

January 13, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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My good friend Luc De Raedemaeker, who among quite a bit more, publishes the Belgian beer magaine Biere Grand Cru that started in 2014. Knowing my love (some might say obsession) with frites, my universal name for fried potatoes or fries, he included me in a tweet about an article covering a new Dutch beer that uses potato peels from a frites business.

Beer in which old bread is processed during brewing, we already had, but also when making fries a lot of ‘waste’ is produced. To put it in the words of FrietHoes say “potatoes are round, french fries square”. Throwing away the leftovers would be a shame, especially because they are still trying to make their production process as sustainable as possible. In search of a solution they came into contact with Jopen as beer lovers and the solution was not far away.
Potatoes are full of starch and you can use some of them during the brewing process. Jopen therefore developed a beer in which the leftover potato (the ‘shells’) is added to the batter. Still nice fruity hopping and ‘Klaar is Kees’. The result is a dark blond beer with a hoppy aroma of citrus fruit and a nice bitterness so that it dries super smoothly. Ideal for a pack of salty fries …

I’m in.

Schillenbier_etiket

I’ve had a few potato beers before. Widmer Brothers made one for OBF a number of years ago, I believe. And I certainly remember a couple more. But this is even more interesting because it’s recycling at its finest. Taking the leftover potato peels from making frites is just genius. The people behind it, Friethoes, grow their own organic potatoes, operate frites shops, food trucks, and have other potato-related businesses. But the peels were going to waste. So why not? Of course, now I’m dead keen to try a bottle. So they partnered with Brouwerij Troost to brew the beer.

Until I can get my own bottle, here’s a review of it from a Dutch blog called Lauriekoek:

Beer is usually made of malt, yeast and hops. Malt does not necessarily have to be malt, other sources of sugar and starch are also suitable for fermentation. You can also use potato starch, because that too can be converted into alcohol and bubbles by yeast. And that’s what FrietHoes did, together with brewery Troost. By working in a smart way on the potato residues as part of the ingredients in the beer, FrietHoes comes a step closer to the zero waste goal.
Peeling beer is described as a Weizen. Of course this is not a Weizen in the most German sense of the word, because it differs from the traditional ingredients. It is a bit between a Weizen and a Belgian wheat beer, partly because of the addition of coriander seeds and orange peel, to give it a fresher character. Peeling beer is sweet and a little weeïg, but a bit more acidic than other white beers and with the typical notes of banana and clove that you can also find in weizen beers. The acidity in this beer is easy to combine with fatty dishes such as everything that comes out of a frying pan.
All in all, FrietHoes has succeeded in developing a beer with potato that fits well with the deep-fried delicacies that they mainly sell. Whether it is a really accessible beer, I wonder. For a number of people, perhaps it is just a bit too sour.

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And here’s another review from BierNet.nl:

Friethoes Schillenbier
New: Schillenbier from Friethoes . An unofficial Weizen beer made from hops, barley and pieces of potato from Friethoes fries factory. The fries bakers worked together with Brouwerij Troost to process the remains from the fries cutting plant and use them in a new and cool product. From now on: fries and beer from Friethoes.
Brewery Troost has often brewed with other ingredients with the aim to prevent waste. In the past they also brewed Pieper Bier and Bammetjes beer.
That’s how you make beer
Friethoes Schillenbier bottleYou already knew: beer is made from malt, hops and yeast. You mainly use malt to give color and flavor to your beer. The starch in malt also provides alcohol and bubbles with the help of a little yeast. You do not need malt starch per se, you can also use potato starch.
And that is exactly what Friethoes and Troost have done: the waste is converted into a main component. In the end, fewer raw materials are needed to make the same fries and the same beer. Hoera!
Es ist (k) ein Weizen
The new Schillenbier naturally had to taste good with fries, which is why the brewers chose Weizen beer . Weizen is sweet, mild and accessible and that fits well with a first-class salty burger.
The new Schillenbier consists of 50% wheat malt, a little barley and little hops. Officially you can not call that Weizen. If you are a bit of a German, you know that according to the Reinheitsgebot you do not use beeper starch in Weizen, even if it tastes exactly the same. No Weizen.
A responsible company
Friethoes wants to make fries in a responsible and honest way. That’s why it uses as many local potatoes and local ingredients as possible, uses green electricity for their fries and 100% E-numberless sunflower oil to bake the fries.
The packaging is made of biodegradable plastic, recycled paper and cardboard and the forks in the recycled wood store. Schillenbier is an initiative and an experiment to determine the value of the waste stream. The goal is to be the first zero waste fries company in the Netherlands by 2019.

Russian River’s New Windsor Brewery Opens Today

October 11, 2018 By Jay Brooks

russian-river
At 11:00 AM today, the grand opening of the new Russian River Brewing Co. production brewery and brewpub in Windsor, California, took place. The 85,000 square foot building houses a 75-bbl state-of-the-art brewhouse, a tank farm, barrel room, coolship, and much more. Eventually, they’ll offer both a guided tour and a free self-guided tour that will give visitors a unique view into the brewery’s operations. To see the whole thing, you really need to take both tours. But that part of the experiences is still a few weeks away as they focus on other aspects of the business.

The extrance to the restaurant/brewpub. (Photo yesterday, courtesy of Natalie Cilurzo)

What will open today is the restaurant and brewpub, which owners Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo refer to simply as the Pub. It has a warm, rustic feel and includes several areas and seating for nearly 190 guests. In addition, there’s a 1,000-sq. ft. gift shop, a separate tasting room, and a tour lobby (for when the tours start). Growler fills will be available in three locations. Here are the basics:

Russian River Windsor
700 Mitchell Lane,
Windsor, CA 95
(707) 545-2337 (BEER)

HOURS:

Sunday-Thursday: 11:00 AM-10:00 PM
Friday-Saturday: 11:00 AM-11:00 PM

I was fortunate enough to have visited the brewery leading up to today’s opening, and here is what you can expect to see when you visit the brewery.

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There’s a larger circular fireplace with comfy chairs where you sit with a beer and wait for your table, or just sit and converse with your friends.

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Of course, you can just sit at the bar, too.

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Or sit for a meal and one of several dining areas.

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The menu is completely different from the original downtown Santa Rosa brewpub, with no pizza, but they do have a selection of salads and other nibbles.

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Along with several entrees, like these delicious burgers topped with malted bacon and cheddar fondue.

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There’s also a second back bar in an adjacent dining area, that in the summer will open up to an open area that overlooks several acres of wetlands. The first beer brewed at the new place was Windsor Porter, a variation on Vinnie’s award-winning Porter (fun fact: Russian River’s very first medal at GABF was for their Porter). It was also the first beer he brewed at the original brewery at Korbel, and also when the opened the downtown Santa Rosa brewpub in 2004. It’s now pouring in the brewpub (and is quite tasty) along with the first batch of Pliny the Elder, with many more to follow.

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You can also pick up bottles of the Windsor Porter in the gift shop, and they’re labeled “Batch 1.” The gift shop itself is fairly large, and in fact, just the cooler in the adjacent shop is larger than the whole gift shop at the original brewpub.

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Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo in the new brewhouse, which is 75-bbls, a little bigger than their previous one, which was 50-bbls.

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But the new brewhouse is a cathedral of beer, large enough that you can barely make out Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo, who are looking down from the top of the spiral staircase at the upper center of the photo.

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GABF Winners 2018

September 24, 2018 By Jay Brooks

Yesterday, the winners of the 37th Great American Beer Festival were announced. A record 8,496 beers were judged in 102 categories (or 167 different beer styles if you include the subcategories), plus the ProAm and Collaboration competitions, by 293 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: 391 entries (unseating American-style IPA, which had been number #1 since 2002)
Top 5 Categories: IPA (336 entries); Imperial IPA (208); Wood- & Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (179); Session IPA (161); and American Pale Ale (160)
Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 83
2,404 breweries in the competition from 49 states, plus Washington, D.C. (No brewery from Mississippi entered a beer.)
537 first-time breweries entered the competition
31 first-time breweries won medals
3 breweries tied for most medals won, with three apiece; 10 Barrel Brewing, Alesong Brewing and Blending, and Lewis & Clark Brewing
Over 800 breweries in the festival hall
Over 4,000 beers served at the festival
62,000 attendees
New Categories This Year: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale, Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double India Pale Ale, American-Style Pilsener, Australian-Style Pale Ale, plus a new category outsie the numbered ones, Collaboration Beers

Medals Won by State:

California = 72
Colorado = 30
Oregon = 22
Texas = 18
Washington = 17
Ohio = 14
North Carolina = 13
Minnesota = 12
Illinois = 11
Michigan = 9
Virginia = 8
TIE:
- Florida = 7
- South Carolina = 7
New Mexico = 6
TIE:
- Indiana = 5
- Massachusetts = 5
- Montana = 5
- Pennsylvania = 5
TIE:
- Georgia = 4
- Kansas = 4
- Nevada = 4
- Wisconsin = 4
TIE:
- New Jersey = 3
- New York = 3
TIE:
- Arizona = 2
- New Hampshire = 2
- Tennessee = 2
- Utah = 2
- Wyoming = 2

gabf-2018-theatre

The 2018 Great American Beer Festival Winners

Category 1: American-Style Wheat Beer – 54 Entries
Gold: Sweet As Pacific Ale, GoodLife Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Silver: Goofy Footed, Escape Brewing Co., Trinity, FL
Bronze: Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, WA

GABF-Awards18-01
Steve Luke from Cloudburst Brewing, on the left, opening his shirt to reveal his “Fuck AB-InBev” T-Shirt. I’ve judged with Steve a couple of times recently, and he’s an awesome person.

Category 2: American-Style Wheat Beer with Yeast – 37 Entries
Gold: Miner’s Gold, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT
Silver: Fuzztail, Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver, OR
Bronze: Hefeweizen, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, OR

Category 3: American-Style Fruit Beer – 140 Entries
Gold: Raspberry Twist Lager, Garage Brewing Co., Temecula, CA
Silver: Cherry Blonde, Ignite Brewing Co., Barberton, OH
Bronze: Tropic Maelstrom, Peter B’s Brewpub, Monterey, CA

Category 4: Fruit Wheat Beer – 103 Entries
Gold: Passionate Envy, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Silver: Purple Line, Smylie Brothers Brewing Co., Evanston, IL
Bronze: Cherry Wheat, Sierra Blanca Brewing Co., Moriarty, NM

Category 5: Belgian-Style Fruit Beer – 65 Entries
Gold: Foxy Lady, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Silver: Blood-Orange Wit, Great Basin Brewing Co. – Sparks, Sparks, NV
Bronze: Kumquat Saison, Smog City Brewing Wood Cellar, Torrance, CA

Category 6: Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer – 38 Entries
Gold: Gordgeous, NoDa Brewing Co. – NE, Charlotte, NC
Silver: Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, Stevens Point Brewery, Stevens Point, WI
Bronze: Phantoms Pumpkin Spice Barleywine, Philipsburg Brewing Co.
– The Vault, Philipsburg, MT

Category 7: Field Beer – 90 Entries
Gold: Cool for the Summer, Lakes & Legends Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN
Silver: Coco Piña Gose, Coastal Empire Beer Co., Savannah, GA
Bronze: Hawaiian Lion Toasted Coconut & Coffee Porter, Big Top Brewing Co., Sarasota, FL

Category 8: Chili Beer – 96 Entries
Gold: White Legs Jalapeno Wheat, Tribute Brewing Co., Eagle River, WI
Silver: Chamuco, Künstler Brewing, San Antonio, TX
Bronze: San Antonio Hatch Lager, Ranger Creek Brewery, San Antonio, TX

Category 9: Herb and Spice Beer – 130 Entries
Gold: Pendragon, Royal Docks Brewhouse and Cannery, Massillon, OH
Silver: Hazelnut Crunch, North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery – Slaughter, Austin, TX
Bronze: Wheatstone Bridge, Tin Whiskers Brewing, St. Paul, MN

Category 10: Chocolate Beer – 59 Entries
Gold: Coco for Coxness, Copperpoint Brewing Co., Boynton Beach, FL
Silver: Genesee Brew House Pilot Batch Dark Chocolate Scotch Ale, Genesee Brew House,
Rochester, NY
Bronze: Chocolate Macadamia Nut Stout, Kilowatt Brewing, San Diego, CA

Category 11: Coffee Beer – 92 Entries
Gold: Coffee Cream Ale, Kiitos Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT
Silver: Mystery Airship 4.0: Temple Cascara Golden Ale, New Helvetia Brewing Co.,
Sacramento, CA
Bronze: First Call, Modist Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN

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I first met the owner of New Helvetia long before he opened his brewery, and it’s been great watching it grow.

Category 12: Coffee Stout or Porter – 113 Entries
Gold: Speargun, Snake River Brewing Co., Jackson, WY
Silver: Breakfast Stout, Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Bronze: Udder Chaos, RAM Restaurant & Brewery – Seattle, Seattle, WA

GABF-Awards18-03
If you want me to take your picture, take a flag on stage with you. I’ve known Chris Ericson from Snake River for a lot of years, but it’s the Wyoming flag thta sealed the deal.

Category 13: Specialty Beer – 55 Entries
Gold: Graham Cracker Porter, Denver Beer Co. – Canworks, Denver, CO
Silver: Double Stack, Great Notion Brewing, Portland, OR
Bronze: I Did It All For The Cookie, FiftyFifty Brewing – Production Facility, Truckee, CA

Category 14: Rye Beer – 57 Entries
Gold: Rye Dawn, Breakwater Brewing Co., Oceanside, CA
Silver: Unite the Clans, Third Space Brewing, Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Rise Up Rye, Gun Hill Brewing Co., Bronx, NY

Category 15: Honey Beer – 79 Entries
Gold: Belgian Honey Blonde, No Clue Craft Brewery, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Silver: Honey Comb Cream Ale, Rock Bottom Brewery – Pittsburgh, Denver, CO
Bronze: Basil Better Have My Honey, Low Tide Brewing, Johns Island, SC

Category 16: Session Beer – 50 Entries
Gold: Natural Bridge: Vienna Lager, Eppig Brewing, San Diego, CA
Silver: Noble Miner, Burgeon Beer Co., Carlsbad, CA
Bronze: Stonefly Session Ale, Three Creeks Production, Sisters, OR

Category 17: Session India Pale Ale – 92 Entries
Gold: The Coachman, Societe Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Little Downtown Tom, Three Mile Brewing Co., Davis, CA
Bronze: Mosaic Reprise, Little City Brewing Co., Raleigh, NC

GABF-Awards18-04
I first met Travis when he was brewing at Russian River, and it’s great to see his own place, Societe Brewing, do so well.

Category 18: Other Strong Beer – 44 Entries
Gold: Golden Prairie Doppel Alt, Argus Brewery, Chicago, IL
Silver: False Hope, Spilled Grain Brewhouse, Annandale, MN
Bronze: Lampshade Porter, Starr Brothers Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM

Category 19: Experimental Beer – 112 Entries
Gold: Feral Brute, Firestone Walker Barrelworks, Buellton, CA
Silver: Terroir Pinot Noir, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR
Bronze: Chips & Salsa Cream Ale, Cogstone Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO

GABF-Awards18-05
Matt Van Wyk, from Alesong, is one of my favorite people, and it’s great to see his new place doing so well. Alesong was one of only three breweries to win three medals.

Category 20: Historical Beer – 38 Entries
Gold: Pushing Trees, Central Standard Brewing, Wichita, KS
Silver: The BIG Lubelski, Divine Barrel Brewing, Charlotte, NC
Bronze: Zungen Brecher, Home Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 21: Gluten-Free Beer – 38 Entries
Gold: Puckerberry, High Hops Brewery, Windsor, CO
Silver: Aurochs Blonde Ale, Aurochs Brewing Co., Emsworth, PA
Bronze: Dark Ale, Ground Breaker Brewing, Portland, OR

Category 22: American-Belgo-Style Ale – 51 Entries
Gold: Whitewall Wheat, Crank Arm Brewing Co., Raleigh, NC
Silver: #4.5 Dry Hopped Saison, Brown Truck Brewery, High Point, NC
Bronze: Mischief, The Bruery, Placentia, CA

Category 23: American-Style Sour Ale – 53 Entries
Gold: Kveik 1, Shades of Pale Brewery, Park City, UT
Silver: Brevity, Brewery Silvaticus, Amesbury, MA
Bronze: Wicked Shifty, Shoe Tree Brewing Co., Carson City, NV

Category 24: Fruited American-Style Sour Ale – 148 Entries
Gold: Pink Passionfruit Sour, BearWaters Brewing Co., Canton, NC
Silver: Kirby Pucker No. 21, Eastlake Craft Brewery, Minneapolis, MN
Bronze: Flaming Fury, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., Elmsford, NY

Category 25: Brett Beer – 61 Entries
Gold: C’mon Sunshine, Birds Fly South Ale Project, Greenville, SC
Silver: Terroir Pinot Gris, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR
Bronze: Touch of Brett Mandarina, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR

Category 26: Mixed-Culture Brett Beer – 77 Entries
Gold: Druif, pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River, OR
Silver: Citra Dry Hopped Funk Yo Couch, Wiley Roots Brewing Co., Greeley, CO
Bronze: Coming to Fruition: Cherry, Oregon City Brewing Co., Oregon City, OR

Category 27: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer – 77 Entries
Gold: Barrel Aged Japance Off, Denver Beer Co. – Olde Town Arvada, Arvada, CO
Silver: Redrum, Duck Foot Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: beWILDering C, Ten Pin Brewing Co., Moses Lake, WA

Category 28: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – 162 Entries
Gold: Santa’s Brass, Drake’s Brewing Co., San Leandro, CA
Silver: Willett Barrel-Aged Ye Old Sprinklerhead Barleywine, The Wrecking Bar Brewpub,
Atlanta, GA
Bronze: Straight Jacket, Revolution Brewing, Chicago, IL

Great to see Wil Turner from Revolution Brewing, too.

Category 29: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout – 177 Entries
Gold: 70K Amburana, Against the Grain Brewery, Louisville, KY
Silver: A Night to End All Dawns, Kane Brewing, Ocean, NJ
Bronze: Eclipse, FiftyFifty Brewing Co., Truckee, CA

Category 30: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 76 Entries
Gold: 3 Barrel Circus, River Dog Brewing Co., Bluffton, SC
Silver: Duck Duck Gooze, Port Brewing Co. / The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Bronze: Oak-Aged Sour, Propolis Brewing, Port Townsend, WA

GABF-Awards18-06
Always great to see Tomme Arthur win another medal, especially for Duck Duck Gooze, which is such a great beer.

Category 31: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 102 Entries
Gold: Réserve Dorée de Pêche, Wooden Robot, Charlotte, NC
Silver: Sour Cherry Sour, Hermitage Brewing Co., San Jose, CA
Bronze: Zoned AG Golden Raspberry, Corralitos Brewing Co., Watsonville, CA

Category 32: Aged Beer – 53 Entries
Gold: Quadtum Leap, Revelry Brewing Co., Charleston, SC
Silver: Lock, Stock and Brandy Barrel, Maize Valley Craft Brewery, Hartville, OH
Bronze: Solzhenitsyn, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – Media, Media, PA

Category 33: Kellerbier or Zwickelbier – 67 Entries
Gold: Keller Pils, Summit Brewing Co., St. Paul, MN
Silver: STS Pils, Russian River Brewing Co. – Production, Santa Rosa, CA
Bronze: NashZwickel, Nashville Brewing Co., Nashville, TN

GABF-Awards18-08
Great to see Russian Rover win for their STS Pils, one of my favorite American pilsners.

Category 34: Smoke Beer – 50 Entries
Gold: St. Chuck’s Smoke, Rogue Ales Issaquah Brewhouse, Issaquah, WA
Silver: Pro-Pro Porter, Wormtown Brewery, Worcester, MA
Bronze: Raucher, Wolverine State Brewing Co., Ann Arbor, MI

Category 35: American-Style Pilsener – 91 Entries
Gold: Rocket 100, The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: NZ Pils, Wolverine State Brewing Co., Ann Arbor, MI
Bronze: Howdy Beer, The Post Brewing Co., Lafayette, CO

Category 36: International-Style Pilsener – 86 Entries
Gold: Wooden Teeth, Turtle Mountain Brewing Co., Rio Rancho, NM
Silver: Nano – OG Lager, Market Garden Brewery, Cleveland, OH
Bronze: Cerveza Delray, Brew Detroit, Detroit, MI

Category 37: Light Lager – 63 Entries
Gold: Altitude Banquet, Altitude Chophouse and Brewery, Laramie, WY
Silver: Awesome Beer Rice Lager, State Room Brewery, San Rafael, CA
Bronze: Super Awesome Lager, Austin Beerworks, Austin, TX

Category 38: American-Style Lager or American-Style Malt Liquor – 65 Entries
Gold: Lager, Appalachian Mountain Brewery – Boone, Boone, NC
Silver: American Lager, Castle Island Brewing Co., Norwood, MA
Bronze: Lumino, Unsung Brewing Co., Tustin, CA

Category 39: American-Style Cream Ale – 92 Entries
Gold: Gateway Cream Ale, Lockport Brewery, Bolivar, OH
Silver: Dayblazer Easygoing Ale, New Belgium Brewing Co. – Ft. Collins, Fort Collins, CO
Bronze: El Sully, 21st Amendment Brewery, San Leandro, CA

GABF-Awards18-09
Sully wins for El Sully!

Category 40: American-Style Amber Lager – 91 Entries
Gold: Pecos Amber Lager, Texas Beer Co., Taylor, TX
Silver: Märzen, Sudwerk Brewing Co., Davis, CA
Bronze: Oktoberfest, Lager Heads Brewing Co., Medina, OH

Category 41: German-Style Pilsener – 159 Entries
Gold: Netflix and Pils, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Silver: Pilsner, pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River, OR
Bronze: Pilsner, Ardent Craft Ales, Richmond, VA

Category 42: Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 84 Entries
Gold: Bohemian Pilsner, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant – Tysons Corner, McLean, VA
Silver: Pompey’s Pilsner, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT
Bronze: Bird Park, North Park Beer Co., San Diego, CA

Category 43: Munich-Style Helles – 99 Entries
Gold: Hell Yes, The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: Chuckanut Helles, Chuckanut Brewery – North Nut, Bellingham, WA
Bronze: House Lager, Jack’s Abby Brewing, Framingham, MA

GABF-Awards18-10
I confess I’m not sure what brewery these guys are from, but I love their outfits.

Category 44: Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest – 67 Entries
Gold: Grandpa Tractor, Barley Forge Brewing, Costa Mesa, CA
Silver: Freiheit Oktoberfest Wiesn, Wayfinder Beer, Portland, OR
Bronze: Figtoberfest, Figueroa Mountain Brewing – Westlake Village, Westlake Village, CA

Category 45: Vienna-Style Lager – 92 Entries
Gold: Oktoberfest, SKA Brewing, Durango, CO
Silver: 13.Five Ofest, Blue Mountain Barrel House and Organic Brewery, Arrington, VA
Bronze: Vienna Lager, Grains of Wrath Brewing, Camas, WA

Category 46: German-Style Maerzen – 129 Entries
Gold: Oktoberfest, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co., Fort Worth, TX
Silver: Oktoberfest, RAM Restaurant and Brewery – Lakewood, Lakewood, WA
Bronze: Oktoberfest, Oak Highlands Brewery, Dallas, TX

Category 47: Munich-Style Dunkel or European-Style Dark Lager – 52 Entries
Gold: Chuckanut Dunkel, Chuckanut – South Nut, Burlington, WA
Silver: Duck River Dunkel, Goat Island Brewing, Cullman, AL
Bronze: Babee Bock, Brew Kettle – Production Works, Strongsville, OH

GABF-Awards18-11
Great to See Will Kemper win again, he’s such a great lager brewer.

Category 48: Dark Lager – 62 Entries
Gold: Iron Horse Lager, Great American Restaurants – Sweetwater Tavern Centreville,
Centreville, VA
Silver: The Bennie, Granite City Food & Brewery, Olathe, KS
Bronze: Nighthawk, Enegren Brewing Co., Moorpark, CA

Category 49: Bock – 49 Entries
Gold: Guten Bock, Gilded Goat Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
Silver: New Kids on Maibock, Independent Brewing Co., Bel Air, MD
Bronze: Blind Tiger Bock, Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant, Topeka, KS

Category 50: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock – 31 Entries
Gold: Smooth Like Jazz, Revelry Brewing Co., Charleston, SC
Silver: Delaminator Doppelbock, Rip Current Brewery, San Marcos, CA
Bronze: St. Nigels’ Doppelbock, Front Range Brewing Co., Lafayette, CO

GABF-Awards18-12
Paul Sangster (on the right) from Rip Current Brewing picking up his award.

Category 51: Baltic-Style Porter – 33 Entries
Gold: Odin’s Sword, Big Island Brewhaus, Kamuela, HI
Silver: Death and the Maiden, Cambridge Brewing Co., Cambridge, MA
Bronze: Bangor Slate Baltic Porter, Two Rivers Brewing Co., Easton, PA

Category 52: Golden or Blonde Ale – 127 Entries
Gold: MadeWest Standard, MadeWest Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Silver: 1956 Golden Ale, Bootstrap Brewing Co., Niwot, CO
Bronze: Pistol Pete’s 1888 Ale, Bosque Brewing Co. – Bosque North, Bernalillo, NM

Category 53: German-Style Koelsch – 149 Entries
Gold: Colorado Kölsch, Steamworks Brewing Co., Durango, CO
Silver: Kascadia, 54°40’ Brewing Co., Washougal, WA
Bronze: Veedels Bräu Kölsch, Crooked Lane Brewing Co., Auburn, CA

Category 54: English-Style Summer Ale – 61 Entries
Gold: Liquid AC, Karl Strauss Brewing Co. – La Jolla, La Jolla, CA
Silver: Provider, Steel Toe Brewing, St. Louis Park, MN
Bronze: Zest A Peel, Triple C Brewing, Charlotte, NC

Category 55: Classic English-Style Pale Ale – 33 Entries
Gold: Pale Ale, Omission Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: MacTarnahan’s Amber Ale, Portland Brewing – Portland, OR
Bronze: Prickly Pear, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT

Category 56: English-Style India Pale Ale – 50 Entries
Gold: Castillo IPA, Alaro Craft Brewery, Sacramento, CA
Silver: Silverspot IPA, Pelican Brewing Co., Pacific City, OR
Bronze: Hoppy Poppy IPA, Figueroa Mountain Brewing, Buellton, CA

GABF-Awards18-13
Darron Welch (next to Charlie), from Pelican Brewing picking his millionth award.

Category 57: Australian-Style Pale Ale – 46 Entries
Gold: Sunshine Express, Butcherknife Brewing Co., Steamboat Springs, CO
Silver: Strata IPA, Worthy Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Bronze: Flavor Country, Austin Beerworks, Austin, TX

Category 58: International-Style Pale Ale – 23 Entries
Gold: Mai Tai P.A., Alvarado Street Brewery & Grill, Monterey, CA
Silver: Guayabera, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
Bronze: The Penske File, Faction Brewing Co., Alameda, CA

GABF-Awards18-14
A very restrained Rodger Davis, from Faction Brewing.

Category 59: American-Style Pale Ale – 170 Entries
Gold: B.Right On Pale Ale, Ocean Beach Brewery, San Diego, CA
Silver: Neighborhood, Ventura Coast Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Bronze: Charlatan, Maplewood Brewing Co., Chicago, IL

Category 60: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale – 132 Entries
Gold: Voodoo, Tin Roof Brewing Co., Baton Rouge, LA
Silver: Sippin on Dank 2.0, Kings Brewing Co., Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Bronze: Madame Psychosis, Fiction Beer Co., Denver, CO

Category 61: American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 129 Entries
Gold: Green Battles IPA, Pinthouse Pizza North, Austin, TX
Silver: Easy Runaway, Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop, WA
Bronze: Lucky Day, Central Coast Brewing Co. – Higuera St., San Luis Obispo, CA

Category 62: American-Style India Pale Ale – 311 Entries
Gold: Bine, Root Down Brewing Co., Phoenixville, PA
Silver: Not an IPA (P.S. it’s an IPA), Appalachian Mountain Brewery – Portsmouth, Portsmouth, NH
Bronze: West Coast IPA is Dead!, Green Cheek Beer Co., Orange, CA

Category 63: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale – 391 Entries
Gold: Le Jus, Alarmist Brewing, Chicago, IL
Silver: Fairy Nectar London Double Dry Hopped, Kros Strain Brewing Co., La Vista, NE
Bronze: Foiken Haze, Eris Brewery and Cider House, Chicago, IL

Category 64: Imperial India Pale Ale – 157 Entries
Gold: Nobility, Noble Ale Works, Anaheim, CA
Silver: Northern Lights, Moonraker Brewing Co. – Production Facility, Auburn, CA
Bronze: Unbridled Enthusiasm, Third Space Brewing, Milwaukee, WI

Category 65: Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double India Pale Ale – 150 Entries
Gold: New England Style Double IPA, Black Market Brewing Co., Temecula, CA
Silver: DDH Double IPA, Corridor Brewery & Provisions, Chicago, IL
Bronze: Contains No Juice, Alvarado Street Brewery, Salinas, CA

Category 66: American-Style Amber/Red Ale – 124 Entries
Gold: West Coast Swing Amber, The Mitten Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Silver: Sepia Amber, Hopping Gnome Brewing Co., Wichita, KS
Bronze: Avalon Amber Ale, Slack Tide Brewing Co., Cape May Court House, NJ

Category 67: Double Hoppy Red Ale – 56 Entries
Gold: Midwest Red IPA, Masthead Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
Silver: Roundhouse, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo, MI
Bronze: Bad Polaroid, Werk Force Brewing Co., Plainfield, IL

GABF-Awards18-15
Always great to see Larry Bell up on stage.

Category 68: Imperial Red Ale – 45 Entries
Gold: Happy Days, Claremont Craft Ales, Claremont, CA
Silver: Robot, Stereo Brewing Co., Placentia, CA
Bronze: Cinder Beast, Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver, OR

Category 69: English-Style Mild Ale – 55 Entries
Gold: Drift, First Magnitude Brewing Co., Gainesville, FL
Silver: Hold The Reins, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Bronze: Fools & Babies, Green Cheek Beer Co., Orange, CA

Category 70: Ordinary or Special Bitter – 41 Entries
Gold: Sawtooth Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, CO
Silver: Copperline Amber Ale, Carolina Brewery – Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, NC
Bronze: Saint Arnold Amber Ale, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 71: Extra Special Bitter – 72 Entries
Gold: Happy Amber, MadTree Brewing 2.0, Cincinnati, OH
Silver: ESB, Hillman Beer, Asheville, NC
Bronze: Bull Kelp ESB, San Juan Island Brewing Co., Friday Harbor, WA

GABF-Awards18-17
The Ohio Brewers Guild is very organized, and sends their Ohio Brewers up on stage with an Ohio Brewers Flag, but MadTree gets extra points for having their own flag. I’m starting to think every brewery should have their own flag.

Category 72: Scottish-Style Ale – 40 Entries
Gold: Taildragger Clan-Destine, Saddle Mountain Brewing Co., Goodyear, AZ
Silver: Saint Arnold Oktoberfest, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX
Bronze: It Takes a Tribe Red Ale, Goat Patch Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO

Category 73: Irish-Style Red Ale – 81 Entries
Gold: Scarlet > Fire, Tighthead Brewing Co., Mundelein, IL
Silver: TAPS Irish Red, TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Corona, Corona, CA
Bronze: DEFCON Red, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO

Category 74: English-Style Brown Ale – 56 Entries
Gold: Get Up Offa That Brown, Golden Road Brewing – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Silver: My Brown Eyed Girl, Thornapple Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Bronze: No. 3 Brown, The Freehouse, Minneapolis, MN

This is another brewery group that I couldn’t identify, but take a close look at their hats, which resemble MAGA hats. Another brewery had these hats, too, and they read “Make Beer Clear Again.”

Category 75: American-Style Brown Ale – 76 Entries
Gold: Davy Brown Ale, Figueroa Mountain Brewing, Buellton, CA
Silver: Groundswell Piloncillo Brown Ale, Groundswell Brewing Co., Santee, CA
Bronze: Wallops Island, Rocket Frog Brewing Co., Reston, VA

Category 76: American-Style Black Ale – 47 Entries
Gold: Alpha Force Double Tap, Uberbrew, Billings, MT
Silver: Black the Riipper, Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach, CA
Bronze: Midnight Moonlight, Fat Head’s Brewery, Middleburg Heights, OH

Category 77: Berliner-Style Weisse – 115 Entries
Gold: Baywindow, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Silver: Germophile, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM
Bronze: Nevada Weisse, IMBIB Custom Brews, Reno, NV

GABF-Awards18-19
Always great to hang out with Tonya Cornett from 10 Barrel.

Category 78: Gose – 112 Entries
Gold: Two of Tarts, Upland Brewing Co., Bloomington, IN
Silver: Salty by Nature, Root Down Brewing Co., Phoenixville, PA
Bronze: Brewer’s Day Off, D9 Brewing Co., Cornelius, NC

Category 79: German-Style Altbier – 38 Entries
Gold: Legendary Red, Golden City Brewery, Golden, CO
Silver: Little Red Cap, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Loveland, CO
Bronze: Alt 1848, Utepils Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN

Category 80: South German-Style Hefeweizen – 152 Entries
Gold: Civil Rest, Little Brother Brewing, Greensboro, NC
Silver: Hoofer’s Hef, Bankhead Brewing Co., Rowlett, TX
Bronze: Hefeweizen, Standard Deviant Brewing, San Francisco, CA

Category 81: German-Style Wheat Ale – 36 Entries
Gold: Bananenhängematte, FiftyFifty Brewing Co. – Production Facility, Truckee, CA
Silver: Alviso Mills Hefeweizen, Santa Clara Valley Brewing, San Jose, CA
Bronze: Doppel Blur, Circle Brewing Co., Austin, TX

GABF-Awards18-20
Steve Donohue picking up a medal for his newish brewery, Santa Clara Brewing.

Category 82: Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale – 56 Entries
Gold: Jean-Claude Van Blond, Wit’s End Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Singel, Hardywood West Creek, Richmond, VA
Bronze: Blonde Betty, Smuggler’s Brewpub, Telluride, CO

Category 83: Belgian-Style Witbier – 86 Entries
Gold: Biére Blanche, Pedal Haus Brewery, Tempe, AZ
Silver: Optimal Wit, Port City Brewing Co., Alexandria, VA
Bronze: Allagash White, Allagash Brewing Co., Portland, ME

Category 84: Classic Saison – 90 Entries
Gold: Saison, Bent Paddle Brewing Co., Duluth, MN
Silver: One Arm Farmhouse Ale, Hobbs Tavern & Brewing Co., West Ossipee, NH
Bronze: Hayshaker, Gunwhale Ales, Costa Mesa, CA

Category 85: Specialty Saison – 116 Entries
Gold: Apricot Saison, 105 West Brewing Co., Castle Rock, CO
Silver: Sunken City, Insight Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN
Bronze: Rustic Sunday, Birds Fly South Ale Project, Greenville, SC

Category 86: Belgian- and French-Style Ale – 39 Entries
Gold: 5 Branches Biere de Garde, Munkle Brewing Co., Charleston, SC
Silver: Biere de Garde, Blackberry Farm Brewery, Walland, TN
Bronze: Abby Blonde, Thirsty Monk Pub Brewery, Denver, CO

Category 87: Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale – 78 Entries
Gold: Funk Yeah, Beachwood Blendery, Long Beach, CA
Silver: Triad, IMBIB Custom Brews, Reno, NV
Bronze: I Am Only Memories, Orpheus Brewing, Atlanta, GA

GABF-Awards18-21
Julian’s on fire at his Beachwood Blendery.

Category 88: Belgian-Style Dubbel or Quadrupel – 57 Entries
Gold: BJ’s Quad, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Boulder, Boulder, CO
Silver: Kung Fu Smurf, Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak, MI
Bronze: Deduction, Taxman Brewing Co., Bargersville, IN

Category 89: Belgian-Style Tripel – 68 Entries
Gold: Tripel Carmel-ite, Flix Brewhouse – Carmel, Carmel, IN
Silver: Belgian Tripel, Village Idiot Brewing Co., Mount Holly, NJ
Bronze: Neighbor Girl, Paradigm Shift Brewing, Massillon, OH

Category 90: Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale – 65 Entries
Gold: Midwatch, Figurehead Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Silver: Qualified, Taxman Brewing Co., Bargersville, IN
Bronze: Sol Hominis (The Sun Of Man), Save the World Brewing Co., Marble Falls, TX

Category 91: Other Belgian-Style Ale – 41 Entries
Gold: Pour le Mineur, Corridor Brewery & Provisions, Chicago, IL
Silver: Call of the Void, Original Pattern Brewing Co., Oakland, CA
Bronze: Red Devil, Printer’s Ale Manufacturing Co., Carrollton, GA

Category 92: Brown Porter – 61 Entries
Gold: Maduro Brown Ale, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
Silver: Brown Claw, Kern River Brewing Co., Kernville, CA
Bronze: Knee-Knocker Porter, Crow Hop Brewing Co., Loveland, CO

Category 93: Robust Porter – 91 Entries
Gold: Lomporter, Lompoc Brewing – The 5th Quadrant, Portland, OR
Silver: Porter, Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Bronze: Ghost Rider Porter, Big Ugly Brewing Co., Chesapeake, VA

Category 94: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout – 54 Entries
Gold: Shooter McMunn’s, Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Ashburn, VA
Silver: It’s My Island, Pocock Brewing Co., Santa Clarita, CA
Bronze: Know Ego, Groundswell Brewing Co., Santee, CA

GABF-Awards18-23
I confess I don’t know the folks at Lost Rhino Brewing, but I have to give it up to them for bringing a member of Star Fleet up on stage with them, who I asume works with them part-time, when he’s not on a five-year mission.

Category 95: Export Stout – 52 Entries
Gold: Dissent, Steel Toe Brewing, St. Louis Park, MN
Silver: Malpais Stout, La Cumbre Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Shut Up & Adore Me, Morgan Territory Brewing, Tracy, CA

GABF-Awards18-22
Craig Cauwels quietly making great beer at Morgan Territory Brewing.

Category 96: American-Style Stout – 43 Entries
Gold: Hooligan Stout, Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop, WA
Silver: P2P, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Bronze: Black Cliffs, Boise Brewing, Boise, ID

Category 97: Sweet Stout or Cream Stout – 56 Entries
Gold: Moozie, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Udder Love, Beachwood Brewing, Huntington Beach, CA
Bronze: Melk Stout, Columbus Brewing Co., Columbus, OH

GABF-Awards18-24
See, I told you Beachwood’s on fire.

Category 98: Oatmeal Stout – 59 Entries
Gold: Shoshone Stout, Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co., Glenwood Springs, CO
Silver: Oats, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA
Bronze: Wall of Sound, Stereo Brewing Co., Placentia, CA

Category 99: Imperial Stout – 86 Entries
Gold: Kill the Lights, The Tap Brewery, Bloomington, IN
Silver: The Shroud, Bravery Brewing, Lancaster, CA
Bronze: Shimmergloom, Loowit Brewing Co., Vancouver, WA

Category 100: Scotch Ale – 53 Entries
Gold: Real Heavy, Real Ale Brewing Co., Blanco, TX
Silver: Skag, 6th and La Brea, Los Angeles, CA
Bronze: Kilt Switch, 903 Brewers, Sherman, TX

Category 101: Old Ale or Strong Ale – 37 Entries
Gold: Drunkard’s Cloak, Banded Oak Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Old Scrooge, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Bronze: Rail Gun Wee Heavy, BNS Brewing & Distilling Co., Santee, CA

Category 102: Barley Wine-Style Ale – 52 Entries
Gold: Chicago Overcoat, Midnight Pig Beer, Plainfield, IL
Silver: Barnacled Manatee, Walking Tree Brewery, Vero Beach, FL
Bronze: Bear Temper, Trustworthy Brewing Co., Burbank, CA

GABF-Awards18-27
And finally, the folks from Walking Tree Brewery brought their Florida flag with them.

2018 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition, 101 Entries

Gold: Deer Crossing, Little Harpeth Brewing Co., Nashville, TN
Brewmaster: Jesse Brown
AHA Member: Chris Allen

Silver: Gone for a Burton, Rock Bottom Brewery – Warrenville, Denver, CO
Brewmaster: Erik Pizer
AHA Member: Jim Todd

Bronze: La Bomba, Cheluna Brewing Co., Aurora, CO
Brewmaster: Jennifer Perez
AHA Member: Chris Cardillo

2018 Great American Beer Festival Collaboration Competition, 49 Entries

Gold: Transatlantique Kriek, New Belgium Brewing Co. – Ft. Collins, Fort Collins, CO
Oud Beersel, Beersel, Belgium

Silver: Pixie Dusted, Firestone Walker Barrelworks, Buellton, CA
Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA

Bronze: Mocha Hipster Bomb, Quarter Celtic Brewpub, Albuquerque, NM
Palmer Brewery and Cider House, Albuquerque, NM

The 2018 Great American Beer Festival Brewery & Brewer of the Year Awards

Very Small Brewing Company of the Year (<1,000 barrels produced in 2017)
Brink Brewing Co.; Cincinnati, OH
Brewmaster: Kelly Montgomery

GABF-Awards18-25
See what I mean about the Ohio Brewers Flag.

Small Brewing Company of the Year (1,000 – 14,999 barrels produced in 2017)
Lewis & Clark Brewing Co.; Helena, MT
Brewmaster: Lewis & Clark Brewing and Packaging Crew

Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year (Over 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2017 or multi-location breweries wishing to compete as a group)
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.; Truckee, CA
Brewmaster: FiftyFifty BrewCrew

FiftyFifty
Fantastic to see how happy Brian was picking up his award for Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year.

Large Breweries or Multiple Location Breweries of the Year (15,000 – 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2017)
pFriem Family Brewers; Hood River, OR
Brewmaster: pFriem Family Brewers

pFriem

Small Brewpub of the Year (<750 barrels produced in 2017)
Ocean Beach Brewery; San Diego, CA
Brewmaster: Jim Millea & Scott Watkins

Ocean-Beach

Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year (750 – 1,500 barrels produced in 2017)
Root Down Brewing Co.; Phoenixville, PA
Brewmaster: Root Down Brew Team

Large Brewpub of the Year (Over 1,500 barrels produced in 2017)
The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co.; Austin, TX
Brewmaster: Amos Swifty Kim

ABGB

Over A Barrel: The Next Sessions Looks At The Good In Wood

July 24, 2018 By Jay Brooks

For our 138th Session, our host will be Jack Perdue, who writes Deep Beer. For his topic, he’s chosen The Good in Wood, by which he means beer being stored in wood or otherwise flavored with it.
wood
Here’s his full explanation of the month’s topic:

Wood has been used for millennia to store, transport and flavor beer, wine and spirits. Today, the relationship between wood and beer has regained its popularity with brewers and drinkers as observed in the prevalence of bourbon-barrel-aged beer and sours. This topic is deep and wide and meandering, romantic and historic, personal and professional.
I will suggest a few themes to stir your imagination on “The Good in Wood” but of course you can choose your own path.
Historic uses of wood through a beer lens
Physical characteristics of wood and that relationship with beer
Professional and personal experiences such as wood-themed beer festivals or tours
A favorite wood-influenced beer style or experience, e.g. your first bourbon barrel-aged beer, a special Flanders red moment or why you don’t like a lambic
Other, let your imagination run as crazy as a wild ale

beer-barrel

To participate in the August Session, simply post a link to your session post by commenting at the original announcement on or before Friday, August 3.

Celebrator Beer News Ceases Print

April 3, 2018 By Jay Brooks

While staff was told earlier last month, Tom Dalldorf of the Celebrator Beer News, today made the official announcement that he was shutting down the print side of the business, suspending the printed version of the 30-year old brewspaper. As the former GM of the Celebrator, it was sad to see this news, but in today’s media climate where many breweries use guerilla marketing and social media over traditional journalism, it’s not terribly surprising. People have to support a robust media in order for it to thrive. The model of how people consume their beer news has undoubtedly changed in the last three decades, and there are less advertising dollars being spent, despite the growing number of breweries, on a greater number of media outlets. C’est la vie.

The Celebrator writers in attendance at the 30th Anniversary Party held at the end of SF Beer Week this February.

Here’s the press release from publisher Tom Dalldorf:

After 30 years of publication the Celebrator Beer News, the first publication to focus exclusively on craft beer, has suspended its print edition. Tom Dalldorf, editor and publisher, stated that the economics of a print magazine requires an advertising base that simply is no longer viable.
“The pervasive use of electronic media has rendered print media superfluous. The expense of design and layout and printing and distribution doesn’t work for the beer enthusiast the way it did just a few years ago,” said Dalldorf. “The craft beer world has grown tremendously in the last twenty years and beer enthusiasts, craving news and opinions on their favorite subject, are depending on websites and apps for news and reviews,” he said recently.
Consequently, Celebrator has re-launched its website on a WordPress platform that will allow it to be more timely in its coverage of the rapidly changing craft beer world. “Our new site allows us to get stories, news and information up instantly rather than waiting up to two months for the next print issue to drop,” said Dalldorf. Celebrator Beer News is now available 24/7 at celebrator.com. A mobile app is in the works as well, according to the publisher.

Hopefully, the Celebrator can make the transition to an online publication.

Tom and me at the 30th Anniversary Party.

And this was the final cover of the last Celebrator Beer News in print.

Top 50 Breweries For 2017

March 14, 2018 By Jay Brooks

The Brewers Association just announced the top 50 breweries and craft breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2017, which is listed below here. I should also mention that this represents “craft breweries” according to the BA’s membership definition, and not necessarily how most of us would define them, as there’s no universally agreed upon way to differentiate the two. For the tenth year, they’ve also released a list of the top 50 breweries, which includes all breweries. In the past I’ve posted the two lists separately, but have decided going forward to present them together since the two are getting increasingly intermingled. Here is this year’s craft brewery list:

Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies

Rank	Brewery Name	City	State
1	D. G. Yuengling & Son, Inc	Pottsville	PA
2	Boston Beer Co	Boston	MA
3	Sierra Nevada Brewing	Chico	CA
4	New Belgium Brewing	Fort Collins	CO
5	Duvel Moortgat	Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown	CA/MO/NY
6	Gambrinus	San Antonio/Berkeley/Portland	TX/CA/OR
7	Bell’s Brewery, Inc	Comstock	MI
8	Stone Brewing	Escondido	CA
9	CANarchy	Longmont/Tampa/Salt Lake City/ Comstock Park	CO/FL/UT/MI
10	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
11	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
12	Dogfish Head Craft Brewery	Milton	DE
13	Minhas Craft Brewery	Monroe	WI
14	Artisanal Brewing Ventures	Downingtown/Lakewood	PA/NY
15	SweetWater Brewing	Atlanta	GA
16	New Glarus Brewing	New Glarus	WI
17	Matt Brewing	Utica	NY
18	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
19	Alaskan Brewing	Juneau	AK
20	Great Lakes Brewing	Cleveland	OH
21	Abita Brewing	Abita Springs	LA
22	Odell Brewing	Fort Collins	CO
23	Stevens Point Brewery	Stevens Point	WI
24	August Schell Brewing	New Ulm	MN
25	Summit Brewing	Saint Paul	MN
26	21st Amendment Brewery	Bay Area	CA
27	Shipyard Brewing	Portland	ME
28	Flying Dog Brewery	Frederick	MD
29	Full Sail Brewing	Hood River	OR
30	Troëgs Brewing	Hershey	PA
31	Long Trail Brewing	Bridgewater Corners	VT
32	Rogue Ales	Newport	OR
33	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
34	Narragansett Brewing	Providence	RI
35	Gordon Biersch Brewing	San Jose	CA
36	Allagash Brewing	Portland	ME
37	Uinta Brewing	Salt Lake City	UT
38	Ninkasi Brewing	Eugene	OR
39	Surly Brewing	Minneapolis	MN
40	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL
41	Karl Strauss Brewing	San Diego	CA
42	Bear Republic Brewing	Cloverdale	CA
43	Green Flash Brewing	San Diego	CA
44	Left Hand Brewing	Longmont	CO
45	Three Floyds Brewing	Munster	IN
46	Saint Arnold Brewing	Houston	TX
47	Lost Coast Brewery	Eureka	CA
48	North Coast Brewing	Fort Bragg	CA
49	Wachusett Brewing	Westminster	MA
50	Avery Brewing	Boulder	CO

six-glasses

This list, by contrast, is the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2017. This includes all breweries, regardless of size or any other definitions or parameters.

Breweries in bold are considered to be “small and independent craft brewers” under the BA’s current definition. That there are so many footnotes (23 in total, or almost half of the list) explaining exceptions or reasons for the specific entry, seems illustrative of a growing problem with the definition of what is a craft brewery. I certainly understand the need for a trade group to have a clearly defined set of criteria for membership, but I think the current one is getting increasingly outdated again, and it’s only been a few years since the contentious debate that resulted in the current BA one. But it may be time to revisit that again. This is the same number of footnotes as last year, so this is a problem that is not resolving itself.

Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies

Rank	Brewery Name	City	State
Bold = small and independent craft brewery
1	Anheuser-Busch, Inc (a)	Saint Louis	MO
2	MillerCoors (b)	Chicago	IL
3	Constellation (c)	Chicago	IL
4	Heineken (d)	White Plains	NY
5	Pabst Brewing (e)	Los Angeles	CA
6	D. G. Yuengling & Son	Pottsville	PA
7	North Amer. Breweries (f)	Rochester	NY
8	Diageo (g)	Norwalk	CT
9	Boston Beer Co (h)	Boston	MA
10	Sierra Nevada Brewing	Chico	CA
11	New Belgium Brewing (i)	Fort Collins	CO
12	Craft Brew Alliance (j)	Portland	OR
13	Duvel Moortgat (k)	Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown	CA/MO/NY
14	Gambrinus (l)	San Antonio/Berkeley/Portland	TX/CA/OR
15	Founders Brewing (m)	Grand Rapids	MI
16	Bell’s Brewery, Inc (n)	Comstock	MI
17	Sapporo USA (o)	La Crosse	WI
18	Stone Brewing	Escondido	CA
19	CANarchy (p)	Longmont/Tampa/Salt Lake City/Comstock Park	CO/FL/UT/MI
20	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
21	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
22	Dogfish Head	Milton	DE
23	Minhas Craft Brewery (q)	Monroe	WI
24	Artisanal Brewing Ventures (r)	Downingtown/Lakewood	PA/NY
25	SweetWater Brewing	Atlanta	GA
26	New Glarus Brewing	New Glarus	WI
27	Matt Brewing (s)	Utica	NY
28	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
29	Alaskan Brewing	Juneau	AK
30	Great Lakes Brewing	Cleveland	OH
31	Abita Brewing	Abita Springs	LA
32	Odell Brewing	Fort Collins	CO
33	Stevens Point (t)	Stevens Point	WI
34	August Schell (u)	New Ulm	MN
35	Summit Brewing	Saint Paul	MN
36	21st Amendment	Bay Area	CA
37	Shipyard Brewing (v)	Portland	ME
38	Flying Dog Brewery	Frederick	MD
39	Full Sail Brewing	Hood River	OR
40	Troëgs Brewing	Hershey	PA
41	Long Trail Brewing (w)	Bridgewater Corners	VT
42	Rogue Ales	Newport	OR
43	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
44	Narragansett Brewing	Providence	RI
45	Gordon Biersch Brewing	San Jose	CA
46	Allagash Brewing Co	Portland	ME
47	Uinta Brewing	Salt Lake City	UT
48	Ninkasi Brewing	Eugene	OR
49	Surly Brewing	Minneapolis	MN
50	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL

six-glasses

2017 Top 50 Overall U.S.
Brewing Companies Notes

Footnotes from brand lists are illustrative, and may not be exhaustive – ownership stakes
reflect greater than 25% ownership:

(a) Anheuser-Busch, Inc includes 10 Barrel, Bass, Beck’s, Blue Point, Bud Light,
Budweiser, Breckenridge, Busch, Devils Backbone, Elysian, Four Peaks, Golden
Road, Goose Island, Karbach, King Cobra, Landshark, Michelob, Natural Rolling
Rock, Shock Top, Wicked Weed, Wild Series brands and Ziegenbock brands.
Does not include partially owned Coastal, Craft Brew Alliance, Fordham, Kona,
Old Dominion, Omission, Red Hook, and Widmer Brothers brands;
(b) MillerCoors includes A.C. Golden, Batch 19, Blue Moon, Colorado Native,
Coors, Hamms, Hop Valley, Icehouse, Keystone, Killian’s, Leinenkugel’s,
Mickey’s, Milwaukee’s Best, Miller, Olde English, Revolver, Saint Archer, Steel
Reserve, Tenth & Blake, and Terrapin brands;
(c) Constellation Brewing Co includes domestic brands Ballast Point, Funky Buddha,
and Tocayo Brands; it also includes imported brands Corona, Modelo, Pacifico,
and Victoria;
(d) Heineken Brewing Co includes domestic brand Lagunitas Brewing Co as well as
imported brands Dos Equis and Tecate;
(e) Pabst Brewing Co includes Ballantine, Lone Star, Pabst, Pearl, Primo, Rainier,
Schlitz and Small Town brands;
(f) North American Breweries includes Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime,
Mactarnahan’s, Magic Hat, Portland and Pyramid brands as well as import
volume;
(g) Diageo Brewing Co includes both domestically produced and imported Guinness
brands;
(h) Boston Beer Co includes Alchemy & Science and Sam Adams brands. Does not
include Twisted Tea or Angry Orchard brands;
(i) New Belgium Brewing Co includes Magnolia Brewing Brands (partial year);
(j) Craft Brew Alliance includes Kona, Omission, Red Hook and Widmer Brothers
brands;
(k) Duvel Moortgat includes Boulevard, Firestone Walker, and Ommegang brands;
(l) Gambrinus includes BridgePort, Shiner and Trumer brands;
(m)Founders ownership stake by Mahou San Miguel;
(n) Bell’s Brewery, Inc includes Bell’s and Upper Hand brands;
(o) Sapporo USA includes Anchor Brewing Co (partial year), Sapporo and Sleeman
brands as well as export volume;
(p) CANarchy includes Cigar City, Oskar Blues Brewing Co, Perrin and Utah
Brewers Cooperative brands;
(q) Minhas Craft Brewery includes Huber, Mountain Crest and Rhinelander brands as
well as export volume;
(r) Artisanal Brewing Ventures includes Victory and Southern Tier brands;
(s) Matt Brewing Co includes Flying Bison, Saranac and Utica Club brands;
(t) Stevens Point Brewery includes James Page and Point brands;
(u) August Schell Brewing Co includes Grain Belt and Schell’s brands;
(v) Shipyard Brewing Co includes Casco Bay, Sea Dog and Shipyard brands;
(w)Long Trail Brewing Co includes Long Trail, Otter Creek and The Shed brands;

BEER-generic

Here is this year’s press release. For a few years, the BA had helpfully annotated the list, saving me lots of time, since I’d been annotating the list for nearly a decade, but they abandoned that practice three years ago. And I’ve also given up on annotating, too. It used to be fun to see who was doing well and rising and who was slipping, but it’s as much about business dealings as hard work and brewing, so I give up.

And similar to the last couple of years, the BA created a map showing the relative location of each of the breweries that made the list.

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