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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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GABF Winners 2009

By

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On Saturday, the winners of the Great American Beer Festival were announced. A total of 234 medals were awarded in 78 categories (gold, silver and bronze). California breweries took home 39 of the 234 awards, or about 17% of the total. Only Colorado, with 44 medals, won more. Oregon won 22 and Washington 13, making them 3rd and 4th, respectively. My birth state of Pennsylvania came in 5th, with 12, with only the top five in double digits. The top winners by state were:

  1. Colorado — 44
  2. California — 39
  3. Oregon — 22
  4. Pennsylvania — 14*
  5. Washington — 13
  6. Michigan — 9
  7. TIE: New York, Virginia — 8
  8. TIE: Illinois, Maryland — 7
  9. Montana — 6
  10. Wisconsin — 5

* According to Jack Curtin, the 2 medals won by Iron Hill were actually brewed in Pennsylvania (though they were entered in Delaware because that’s where their corporate headquarters are located) so Pennsylvania should have 14 and be in 4th place instead of 5th. Because I don’t want to get into a debate about which A-B or Miller brewery their medal winners came from and how that might also alter the state medal counts, I’ll just let Jack have his way this time.

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The Great American Beer Festival by the numbers:

  • 457 breweries in the festival hall
  • 2,100 beers served at the festival
  • 49,000 attendees (includes brewers, volunteers and ticket holders)
  • 3,000 volunteers
  • 495 breweries in the competition
  • 3,308 beers judged in the competition
  • 78 categories judged + Pro-Am category
  • 132 judges from ten countries

gabf_gold gabf_silver gabf_bronze
And the winners are:

Category: 1 American-Style Cream Ale or Lager, 24 Entries
Gold: Milwaukee’s Best, Miller Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Silver: Hamm’s, Miller Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: Red Dog, Miller Brewing Co., Golden, CO

Category: 2 American-Style Wheat Beer, 19 Entries
Gold: County Seat Wheat, Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant, Topeka, KS
Silver: Shredders Wheat, Barley Brown’s Brew Pub, Baker City, OR
Bronze: Double Eagle Ale, Rockyard Brewing Co., Castle Rock, CO

Category: 3 American-Style Wheat Beer With Yeast, 43 Entries
Gold: Haywire Hefeweizen, Pyramid Breweries, Seattle, WA
Silver: Hefeweizen, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, OR
Bronze: UFO Hefeweizen, Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA

Category: 4 Fruit Beer or Field Beer, 104 Entries
Gold: Raspberry Creek, Breakwater Brewing Co., Oceanside, CA
Silver: Magnolia’s Peach, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery, Huntington Beach, CA
Bronze: Raspberry Tart, New Glarus Brewing Co, New Glarus, WI

Category: 5 Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beer, 85 Entries
Gold: Stillwater Rye, Montana Brewing Co., Billings, MT
Silver: Imperial Chocolate Stout, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
Bronze: Rude Elf’s Reserve, Fegley’s Allentown & Bethlehem Brew Works, Allentown, PA

Category: 6 Coffee Flavored Beer, 45 Entries
Gold: Dude! Where’s My Vespa?, Rock Bottom Brewery – Arlington, Arlington, VA
Silver: Overcast Espresso Stout, Oakshire Brewing, Eugene, OR
Bronze: Coffee Bender, Surly Brewing Co., Brooklyn Center, MN

Category: 7 Specialty Beer, 21 Entries
Gold: Chateau Jiahu, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE
Silver: Palo Santo Marron, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE
Bronze: Drunken Angel, Rock Bottom Brewery – Chicago, Chicago, IL

Category: 8, Rye Beer, 21 Entries
Gold: Crazy Jackass Ale, Great American Restaurants, Centreville, VA
Silver: Blue Point Brewing Co. RastafaRye, Blue Point Brewing Co., Patchogue, NY
Bronze: Hoss, Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, CO

Category: 9 Specialty Honey Beer, 36 Entries
Gold: Countdown Honey Brown, Thunder Canyon Brewery, Tucson, AZ
Silver: George’s Fault, Nodding Head Brewing Co., Philadelphia, PA
Bronze: Midas Touch, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE

Category: 10 Session Beer, 27 Entries
Gold: KinderPils, Triumph Brewing Co. of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Silver: Firestone Xtra Pale, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Bronze: Bam Biere, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI

Category: 11 Other Strong Beer, 44 Entries
Gold: Cardiff, Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co., Glenwood Springs, CO
Silver: Winter Wheatwine, Rubicon Brewing Co., Sacramento, CA
Bronze: FiftyFifty Imperial Stout, FiftyFifty Brewing Co., Truckee, CA

Category: 12 Experimental Beer, 32 Entries
Gold: TPS Report, Trinity Brewing Co, Colorado Springs, CO
Silver: Bloody Beer, Shorts Brewing Co., Bellaire, MI
Bronze: Brabant, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO

Category: 13 Out of Category – Tradationally Brewed Beer, 82 Entries
Gold: W ‘10, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, OR
Silver: Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
Bronze: S1NIST0R Black Ale, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR

Category: 14 Gluten Free Beer, 10 Entries
Gold: Celia Framboise, The Alchemist, Waterbury, VT
Silver: Redbridge, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Saint Louis, MO
Bronze: Celia IPA, The Alchemist, Waterbury, VT

Category: 15 American-Belgo-Style Ale, 51 Entries
Gold: Exit 4, Flying Fish Brewing Co., Cherry Hill, NJ
Silver: The Crow & The Sparrow, Rock Bottom Brewery – Chicago, IL
Bronze: Temperance, Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery, Boulder, CO

Category: 16 American-Style Sour Ale, 32 Entries
Gold: Rosso e Marrone, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co, Pleasantville, NY
Silver: Raspberry Torte, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Wilmington, DE
Bronze: Diamond Kings ‘09, Brugge Brasserie, Indianapolis, IN

Category: 17 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer, 33 Entries
Gold: Humidor Series IPA, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
Silver: Red Woody, Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL
Bronze: Red Brick Anniversary Ale 15, Red Brick-Atlanta Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA

Category: 18 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer, 110 Entries
Gold: Cereal Killer Barleywine, Arcadia Brewing Co., Battle Creek, MI
Silver: Barrel Aged Gonzo, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
Bronze: Duck-Rabbit Barrel Aged Baltic Porter, The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Inc., Farmville, NC

Category: 19 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer, 45 Entries
Gold: Bourbonic Plague, Cascade Brewery Co. LLC, Portland, OR
Silver: Vlad the Imp Aler, Cascade Brewery Co. LLC, Portland, OR
Bronze: Phruit Phunk, Nodding Head Brewing Co., Philadelphia, PA

Category: 20 Aged Beer, 32 Entries
Gold: Horn Dog Vintage 2007, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
Silver: St. Bob’s Imperial Stout, IL Vicino Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Winterfest 2008, Utah Brewers Co-op, Salt Lake City, UT

Category: 21 Kellerbier/Zwickelbier, 27 Entries
Gold: Hell In Keller, Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que, Austin, TX
Silver: Natural Born Keller, Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co., Roseland, VA
Bronze: Red Rock Organic Zwickel Bier, Red Rock Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT

Category: 22 Smoked Beer, 43 Entries
Gold: Smokejumper, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, CO
Silver: Up In Smoke, Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon, North Olmsted, OH
Bronze: Diesel Imperial Smoked Porter, 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA

Category: 23 International-Style Pilsener, 13 Entries
Gold: Gold Leaf Lager, Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co., Roseland, VA
Silver: OE800, Miller Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: Gold Mountain Pilsner, Silver City Brewery, Silverdale, WA

Category: 24 German-Style Pilsener, 48 Entries
Gold: 106 Pilsner, Rock Bottom Brewery – Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Pilsner, Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA
Bronze: Troegs Sunshine Pils, Troegs Brewing Co., Harrisburg, PA

Category: 25 Bohemian Style Pilsener, 39 Entries
Gold: Vermont Lager, Otter Creek Brewing/Wolaver’s Organic Ales, Middlebury, VT
Silver: Gordon Biersch Czech Pilsner, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Broomfield, CO
Bronze: Bell’s Lager Beer, Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Galesburg, MI

Category: 26 Munich Style Helles, 31 Entries
Gold: Saint Arnold Summer Pils, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX
Silver: Where the Helles Bill?, The SandLot, Denver, CO
Bronze: Gordon Biersch , Golden Export, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Broomfield, CO

Category: 27 Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest, 20 Entries
Gold: Move Back, The SandLot, Denver, CO
Silver: Greenside Up, The SandLot, Denver, CO
Bronze: Capital Bavarian Lager, Capital Brewery Co., Inc., Middleton, WI

Category: 28 American Style Light Lager, 25 Entries
Gold: Budweiser Select, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Saint Louis, MO
Silver: Keystone Light, Coors Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: Michelob Ultra, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Saint Louis, MO

Category: 29 American-Style Lager or Premium Lager, 34 Entries
Gold: Coors Banquet, Coors Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Silver: Miller High Life, Miller Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: Totally Naked, New Glarus Brewing Co, New Glarus, WI

Category: 30 American Style Specialty Lager, 23 Entries
Gold: Keystone Ice, Coors Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Silver: Pre-Pro, Coors Brewing Co., Gol, Golden, CO
Bronze: Steel Reserve, Miller Brewing Co., Golden, CO

Category: 31 Vienna Style Lager, 25 Entries
Gold: Vienna Lager, Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Vienna Lager, Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co., Roseland, VA
Bronze: Clipper City Marzhon Vienna Lager, Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD

Category: 32 German Style Märzen, 45 Entries
Gold: Dogtoberfest, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
Silver: Reines Marzen, Dry Dock Brewing Co., Aurora, CO
Bronze: Rocktoberfest, Rock Bottom Brewery – Long Beach, Long Beach, CA

Category: 33 American Style Amber Lager, 45 Entries
Gold: Durango Colorfest, Durango Brewing Co., Durango, CO
Silver: Killian’s Red, Coors Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: Michelob Marzen, Michelob Brewing Co., Saint Louis, MO

Category: 34 European Style Dunkel, 21 Entries
Gold: Dunkel, Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Gordon Biersch Dunkles, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Broomfield, CO
Bronze: Dunkel, AC Golden Brewing Co., Golden, CO

Category: 35 American-Style Dark Lager, 15 Entries
Gold: Session Black Premium Lager, Full Sail Brewing at Riverplace, Portland, OR
Silver: Roadrunner Red Lager, Thunder Canyon Brewery, Tucson, AZ
Bronze: Saranac Black Forest, Saranac/F.X. Matt Brewing Co., Utica, NY

Category: 36 German Style Schwarzbier, 34 Entries
Gold: Schwarzbier, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Wilmington, DE
Silver: Schwarzbier, Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA
Bronze: Dark Helmet, Titletown Brewing Co., Green Bay, WI

Category: 37 Bock, 40 Entries
Gold: Troegenator, Troegs Brewing Co., Harrisburg, PA
Silver: May Bock, Backcountry Brewery, Frisco, CO
Bronze: Fornicator, Piece Brewery, Chicago, IL

Category: 38 German Style Doppelbock or Eisbock, 21 Entries
Gold: The Kaiser, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Silver: Samuel Adams Double Bock, Boston Beer Co., Boston, MA
Bronze: Carbonator, Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co., Glenwood Springs, CO

Category: 39 Baltic-Style Porter, 16 Entries
Gold: Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter, The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Inc., Farmville, NC
Silver: Danzig, Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co., Roseland, VA
Bronze: Veles Baltic Porter, FireHouse Grill & Brewery, Sunnyvale, CA

Category: 40 Golden or Blonde Ale, 43 Entries
Gold: Golden Spike, Tustin Brewing Co., Tustin, CA
Silver: Kiwanda Cream Ale, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR
Bronze: Red Rock Blonde Ale, Red Rock Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT

Category: 41 German Style Kölsch, 43 Entries
Gold: Kolsch, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
Silver: Clearwater Kolsch, Ram Restaurant & Brewery (2), Tacoma, WA
Bronze: Stoudts Kolsch, Stoudt Brewing Co., Adamstown, PA

Category: 42 English-Style Summer Ale, 33 Entries
Gold: Light Rock Ale, RJ Rockers Brewing Co., Spartanburg, SC
Silver: Surfer’s Summer Ale, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR
Bronze: True Blonde Ale, Ska Brewing Co., Durango, CO

Category: 43 Classic English Style Pale Ale, 33 Entries
Gold: Mactarnahan’s Amber, Pyramid Breweries, Seattle, WA
Silver: Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
Bronze: Hopfish, Flying Fish Brewing Co., Cherry Hill, NJ

Category: 44 English-Style India Pale Ale, 40 Entries
Gold: Beech Street Bitter, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Silver: IPA, Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL
Bronze: Brewer’s Alley India Pale Ale, Brewer’s Alley Restaurant and Brewery, Frederick, MD

Category: 45 American Style Pale Ale, 108 Entries
Gold: Sweetgrass IPA, Grand Teton Brewing Co., Victor, ID
Silver: 44 Pale Ale, Colorado Brewing Co./Draft House, Boulder, CO
Bronze: Tumble Off Pale Ale, Barley Brown’s Brew Pub, Baker City, OR

Category: 46 American-Style Strong Pale Ale, 70 Entries
Gold: Racer 5 IPA, Bear Republic Factory Five, Cloverdale, CA
Silver: Hopshot IPA, Beaver St. Brewery, Flagstaff, AZ
Bronze: IPA Nectar, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA

Category: 47 American-Style India Pale Ale, 134 Entries
Gold: Union Jack, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Silver: Sculpin IPA, Ballast Point Brewing Co, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Blind Pig IPA, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA

Category: 48 Imperial India Pale Ale, 77 Entries
Gold: Organic Ace of Spades Imperial IPA, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland, OR
Silver: Denogginizer, Drake’s Brewing Co., San Leandro, CA
Bronze: Hip Hop Double IPA, Hollister Brewing Co., Goleta, CA

Category: 49 American Style Amber/Red Ale, 78 Entries
Gold: Organic Rise Up Red, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland, OR
Silver: Red Rock, Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse, Berkeley, CA
Bronze: Hop Head Red, Green Flash Brewing Co., Vista, CA

Category: 50 Imperial Red Ale, 36 Entries
Gold: Shark Attack, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA
Silver: 547 Haight – The Toronado San Francisco’s 20th Anniversary Imperial Red Ale, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Bronze: Organic Deranger Imperial Red, Laurelwood Brewing Co., Portland, OR

Category: 51 English Style Mild Ale, 17 Entries
Gold: Sara’s Ruby Mild, Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery, San Francisco, CA
Silver: AK Session, Snake River Brewing, Jackson, WY
Bronze: Coyote Moon, Snipes Mountain Brewing Inc., Sunnyside, WA

Category: 52 Ordinary or Special Bitter, 45 Entries
Gold: Big Rapid Red, Beaver St. Brewery, Flagstaff, AZ
Silver: Cutthroat Pale Ale, Uinta Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Numbers Ale, Red Brick-Atlanta Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA

Category: 53 Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter, 47 Entries
Gold: ESB, Redhook Ales – Woodinville, Woodinville, WA
Silver: Motorboat ESB, SweetWater Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA
Bronze: Colorado Boy IPA, Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery, Ridgway, CO

Category: 54 Scottish Style Ale, 29 Entries
Gold: Railbender Ale, Erie Brewing Co, Erie, PA
Silver: Kilt Lifter, Four Peaks Brewing Co., Tempe, AZ
Bronze: Cold Smoke Scotch Ale, Kettlehouse Brewing Co., Missoula, MT

Category: 55 Irish Style Red Ale, 32 Entries
Gold: Ridgetop Red, Silver City Brewery, Silverdale, WA
Silver: Colorado Boy Irish, Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery, Ridgway, CO
Bronze: Saranac Irish Red Ale, Saranac/F.X. Matt Brewing Co., Utica, NY

Category: 56 English Style Brown Ale, 41 Entries
Gold: Longboard Brown, Rock Bottom Brewery – La Jolla, CA
Silver: Buster Nut Brown, Ska Brewing Co., Durango, CO
Bronze: Good Grief Brown, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Category: 57 American Style Brown Ale, 43 Entries
Gold: Dirty Helen Brown Ale, Barley Island Brewing Co., Noblesville, IN
Silver: Cheyenne Cañon Ale, Bristol Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO
Bronze: Great American Brown, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA

Category: 58 German Style Altbier, 35 Entries
Gold: Bismarck Altbier, Dry Dock Brewing Co., Aurora, CO
Silver: Boca Alt, Brewzzi West Palm, West Palm Beach, FL
Bronze: Gordon Biersch Alt Bier, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Broomfield, CO

Category: 59 German-Style Sour Ale, 13 Entries
Gold: Berliner Weisse, Southampton Publick House, Southampton, NY
Silver: NBB Love, New Belgium Brewing Co., Inc., Fort Collins, CO
Bronze: Bad Kitty, Brugge Brasserie, Indianapolis, IN

Category: 60 South German Style Hefeweizen, 66 Entries
Gold: Top Heavy Hefeweizen, Piece Brewery, Chicago, IL
Silver: U-Boat Hefeweizen, Dry Dock Brewing Co., Aurora, CO
Bronze: Wiezen, Redhook Ales – Portsmouth, Portsmouth, NH

Category: 61 German-Style Wheat Ale, 38 Entries
Gold: Hefeweizen, Triumph Brewing Co. of New Hope, New Hope, PA
Silver: Weizenbock, The Covey Restaurant & Brewery, Fort Worth, TX
Bronze: Upslope Dunkel Weizen, Upslope Brewing Co., Boulder, CO

Category: 62 Belgian-Style Witbier, 53 Entries
Gold: ZON, Boulevard Brewing Co, Kansas City, MO
Silver: Belgian White, Big Dog’s Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV
Bronze: Wits End, Great American Restaurants, Centreville, VA

Category: 63 French- and Belgian Style Saison, 56 Entries
Gold: Saison Vautour, McKenzie Brew House, Glen Mills, PA
Silver: Belgian Summer Ale, Great Adirondack Brewing Co., Lake Placid, NY
Bronze: Saison Du Bastone, Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak, MI

Category: 64 Belgian and French-Style Ale, 41 Entries
Gold: Carnevale, The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Silver: Demolition, Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL
Bronze: Collaborative Evil-Sacramento, Sacramento Brewing Co., Sacramento, CA

Category: 65 Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale, 29 Entries
Gold: Duck Duck Gooze, The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Silver: Red Rock, Big Rock Chop House & Brewery, Birmingham, MI
Bronze: Supplication, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA

Category: 66 Belgian-Style Abbey Ale, 58 Entries
Gold: Signature Dubbel, Choc Beer Co., Krebs, OK
Silver: Tripel, Allagash Brewing Co., Portland, ME
Bronze: Deschutes Brewery Quad, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR

Category: 67 Belgian Style Strong Specialty Ale, 70 Entries
Gold: Revelations, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Silver: “100”, The Covey Restaurant & Brewery, Fort Worth, TX
Bronze: Father Damien Abbey Ale, Maui Brewing Co., Lahaina, HI

Category: 68 Brown Porter, 38 Entries
Gold: St. Charles Porter, Blackstone Brewing Co., Nashville, TN
Silver: Lazy Jake Porter, Long Valley Pub and Brewery, Long Valley, NJ
Bronze: Black Butte Porter, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR

Category: 69 Robust Porter, 57 Entries
Gold: Pt. Reyes Porter, Marin Brewing Co., Larkspur, CA
Silver: Mocha Porter, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
Bronze: Pirate’s Porter, Sullivan’s Black Forest Brew Haus & Grill, Frankenmuth, MI

Category: 70 Classic Irish Style Dry Stout, 19 Entries
Gold: Dark Starr Stout, Starr Hill Brewery, Crozet, VA
Silver: Three Steve Stout, Cambridge House Brew Pub, Torrington, CT
Bronze: Pub Dog Black Dog Stout, DOG Brewing Co., Westminster, MD

Category: 71 Foreign Style Stout, 20 Entries
Gold: Space Stout, Laurelwood Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: San Quentin’s Breakout Stout, Marin Brewing Co., Larkspur, CA
Bronze: Whiteface Black Diamond Stout, Great Adirondack Brewing Co., Lake Placid, NY

Category: 72 American-Style Stout, 22 Entries
Gold: Liberty Stout, Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Co., Hays, KS
Silver: Troegs Dead Reckoning, Troegs Brewing Co., Harrisburg, PA
Bronze: Stonefly Oatmeal Stout, Third Street Aleworks, Santa Rosa, CA

Category: 73 Sweet Stout, 27 Entries
Gold: Cow Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Silver: Cream Stout, Redwood Brewing Co., Flint, MI
Bronze: Steel Toe Stout, Ska Brewing Co., Durango, CO

Category: 74 Oatmeal Stout, 31 Entries
Gold: Ernest’s Silky Smoove, Pizza Port San Clemente, San Clemente, CA
Silver: Oatmeal Stout, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, Antioch, CA
Bronze: Sleeping Dog Stout, Chama River Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM

Category: 75 Imperial Stout, 56 Entries
Gold: Gonzo Imperial Porter, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
Silver: Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Bronze: Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout, Foothills Brewing, Winston-Salem, NC

Category: 76 Scotch Ale, 37 Entries
Gold: Reed’s Wee Heavy, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Silver: BagPiper’s Scotch Ale, Fegley’s Allentown & Bethlehem Brew Works, Allentown, PA
Bronze: MacPelican’s Wee Heavy Ale, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR

Category: 77 Old Ale or Strong Ale, 29 Entries
Gold: Old Scrooge ‘98, Silver City Brewery, Silverdale, WA
Silver: Outback X, Bend Brewing Co, Bend, OR
Bronze: 4th Dementia Old Ale, Kuhnhenn Brewing Co., Warren, MI

Category: 78 Barley Wine Style Ale, 54 Entries
Gold: Old Inventory Barley Wine, Valley Brewing Co., Stockton, CA
Silver: Treblehook, Redhook Ales – Woodinville, Woodinville, WA
Bronze: Old Ruffian Barley Wine, Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, CO


 

Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year: Coors Brewing Company, Golden, CO; Dr. David Ryder

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year: Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD; Robert Malone

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year: Dry Dock Brewing Company, Aurora, CO; Dry Dock Brewing Team

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year: Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA; Pizza Port Brew Guys

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year: Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA; Will Kemper


 

2009 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition

Gold: Herbal Joe’s Columbarillo IPA, Chama River Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Brewmaster: Jeff Erway, AHA Member: Ben Miller

Silver: Alright Already Amber, O’Fallon Brewery, O’Fallon, MO
Brewmaster: Brian Owens, AHA Member: Jim Yeager

Bronze: Time of the Season, Upslope Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Brewmaster: Daniel Pages, AHA Member: Brian Patterson


 

Below is a slideshow of the award ceremony at GABF. After clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, you can also click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen.

I shot all of the winners, but there are several that were not focused or for other reasons didn’t turn out well. Also, you may notice the clueless photographer and/or his camera in the bottom of many of the photos. It was very difficult to shoot around him and he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that there were a dozen or more people behind him also trying to to photograph the winners. The people in the photos haven’t yet been identified yet, but I wanted to get them up as soon as possible. It will take me a bit longer to add that detail, because the winners don’t get to the stage in the same order that their names are called, making it tougher to label them.

Brewers, if you want to use any of the photos, feel free to click on the link in the upper left hand corner marked “Back to your GABF Awards 2009 set” on Flickr (or one of these links). From there, click on the photo you want. Then click on “All sizes” followed by “Original.” When the original is displayed, there will be a link called “Download original size.” Click on that to download the highest resolution of the photo. If you use it in a place where it makes sense to attribute it and link back to the Brookston Beer Bulletin, that would be appreciated, but it’s not strictly necessary. Enjoy.

2009 Longshot Winners

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longshot
This year’s Longshot American Homebrew Contest winners were announced this morning in Denver at a brunch hosted by the Boston Beer Co. during GABF week. Here are the winners:

  1. Michael Robinson — Old Ale
  2. Ben Miller — Barleywine
  3. Jeremy White (Sam Adams employee winner) — Saison

One More For the Cameras
The Winners Pose with Jim Koch

Below is a short slideshow of the Longshot Winners reception. If you click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, you can see the photos in glorious full screen.

Below is a video of Jim Koch announcing the winners of the Longshot competition.

Longshot Winners To Be Announced Today

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longshot
I posted about the Longshot judging back in June of this year, when I flew to Boston to help choose the winners in this year’s Longshot American Homebrew Contest. Of the 1300 entries this year, four advanced to the finals, and seven of us had the job of picking two. You can read more of the story at my post at Bottoms Up, but I thought I’d post more of the photos in another gallery, which is below.

After the finals are announced later this morning, I’ll post the winners here as soon as I can.

P1150135
The seven of us, to break any ties, afterwards in the back garden picnic area. From left: Jason Alstrom (from Beer Advocate), Tony Forder (from Ale Street News), Bob Townsend (a food & drinks columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Jim Koch (founder of the Boston Beer Co.), yours truly (on assignment for Celebrator Beer News), Julie Johnson (from All About Beer magazine), and Todd Alstrom (also from Beer Advocate).

Below is a short slideshow of my trip to Boston and the Longshot judging. If you click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, you can see the photos in glorious full screen.

Bear Republic GABF Preview Tasting

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bear-republic
Last Sunday, Bear Republic Brewing hosted a very fun event at their brewpub in Healdsburg. Between the brewpub and their production brewery in Colverdale (where they brew their package beer) they entered 22 beers in the Great American Beer Festival. At the event, dubbed the 2009 Bear Republic Cellar Party, they served all 22. They gave everyone attending a booklet with each beer along with it’s description, style parameters for GABF and a judging sheet like the one we use for the festival. As brewmaster Rich Norgrove explained to the people there, he wanted to afford an opportunity for those who weren’t able to attend GABF to sample all the beers they sent out to be judged. It was fun idea and hopefully more breweries will begin to give their locals a peek into the way GABF works.

Below is a short slideshow of the Bear Republic Cellar Party. If you click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, you can see the photos in glorious full screen.

GABF 2009 Begins

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gabf_logo
The Great American Beer Festival begins today. I’ve been here in Denver since Tuesday and spent all day yesterday judging. Today will be more of the same, but at 5:30 this afternoon, the first public session begins. Then there are all the side events. To say this is a busy week for me is to engage in gross understatement. In an effort to keep these pages from being blank the entire week, I’ll be posting photo galleries from previous events that I haven’t had a chance to post since I moved the Bulletin to its new home a few months ago (and yes, links will be coming back at some point, too).

This year, a little over 3,300 beers were entered in the competition (a 16% increase over last year) and there a record number of judges, too (129), to keep pace with the growing number of beers.

Below are photos from last year’s Great American Beer Festival.

Beer In Art #44: Donald Curran’s Having A Pint

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art-beer
Today’s artist is Donald Curran, who lives in St. Louis. He spent most of his career as an illustrator, including “designing and illustrating high end collectible steins for Anheuser-Busch.” After turning his attention to fine art, he’s been creating paintings of a wide range of subjects, including this one, entitled Having a Pint.

Curran_having-a-pint

This one was painted in 2007 and Curran, like all his works, describes it simply. “This is a painting I did of two gentlemen having a pint in a pub in Ennis, County Clare.” Given he worked for A-B, it’s probably not too surprising that he’s done a number of paintings of life in pubs. Here are a few of them below.

Curran_foggy-dew
Dublin Pub. “This is a painting I did of a man waiting for the beer delivery truck in front of a pub in Dublin, Ireland.”

Curran_sharing-a-beer
Sharing a Beer. “This is a painting in a series of three I did of a little dog watching a man drink a beer in a pub in Ireland. The dog finally gets it’s wish.”

From the biography on his website:

After graduating from high school, he studied at the Kansas City Art Institute. In 1975 Donald began a career as a successful illustrator. As an illustrator he is best known for designing and illustrating high end collectable steins for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. After twenty years of working for hundreds of major national and international companies, he decided to devote himself to his first love of fine art painting.

Donald now creates paintings of all the things he loves. He claims finding material to paint is as easy as keeping your eyes open. His travels around the world provide him the material that motivate him to paint. His home in Missouri will always be a major influence on his work. The change of seasons and beauty of the mid-west continue to keep him residing there.

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A Dublin Pub. “This is a painting I did of the famous “CONFESSION BOX” pub in Dublin.”

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Galway Pub Music. “This is a painting I did of a group of people singing and playing music at the Tig Coili Pub in Galway.”

Donald’s work has been exhibited in numerous museums, galleries and exhibitions. His paintings can be found in collections throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. He was commissioned to do three paintings for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Outside the Guinness Brewery. “This is a painting I did of a man with his horse and wagon standing outside the Guinness Brewery in Dublin.”

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Party at the Pub. “This is a painting I did of the inside of a pub in the city of Cork. It looked like everyone was having a grand time!”

You can also see additional pieces by Curran at Mystic Sea, the Museum of America and the Sea, Artnet, the gallery at his website, and his blog.

Time and Money and Beer

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Forbes had an interesting article Friday entitled Time Vs. Money: Which Rules Buying Decisions?. The article is based on a recent academic paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research by Cassie Mogilner, a professor of marketing at Wharton, and Jennifer Aaker, a professor of marketing at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. That paper, entitled The Time vs. Money Effect: Shifting Product Attitudes and Decisions through Personal Connection [pdf], examines people’s associations with both time and money and how they relate to decisions about what products to buy. It’s a fairly common element in advertising. According to the study, “a content analysis of ads in four magazines targeting a wide range of consumers (Money, New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, and Rolling Stone) revealed that, out of 300 advertisements, nearly half of the ads (48%) integrated the concepts of time and/or money into their messages.”

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Irrespective of whether feelings of personal connection stem from experiences gained using the product or from the mere possession of the product, we hypothesize that increasing one’s feelings that the product is “me” will lead to more favorable product attitudes and increased choice. Indeed, decades of research in psychology have given credence to the assumption that individuals are motivated to (and do) view themselves favorably. Consequently, people tend to have positive automatic associations with respect to themselves—which can influence their feelings about almost anything that is associated with them. For example, people like the letters that appear in their own names more than those that do not, and they are nicer to strangers who share their birthday than they are to other strangers.

One example the authors use is about beer (which is how I came to notice it). From the Forbes article:

“One thing that was surprising,” [Mogilner] says, “was to see how consumers’ attitudes and behaviors toward products and brands can be shifted by something as subtle and as pervasive as mere mentions of time or money. “The concept of time, for example, evokes a personal connection with a product in terms of the experience the consumer gains while using it, she says. To illustrate her point, [she] cites a well-known phrase in beer marketing—”It’s Miller Time.” The ads are still remembered by many consumers from the 1980s because consumers associated the beer with the routine, end-of-day transition from work to leisure.

As for the different emotions that money and social status-related campaigns can conjure, Mogilner points to advertisements for Stella Artois, a premium beer from Belgium. One of the product’s ads shows a man struggling to earn money—whether by chasing pigs, hauling sticks or herding goats—so he can buy his grandmother a pair of beautiful, expensive red shoes. But, alas, just as he’s about to present her with the gift, he spies a pint of Stella and makes a shoes-for-beer trade with the waitress. The commercial is funny, but it also captures the company’s “Perfection has its price” tagline, Mogilner says.

Both Miller and Stella are trying to sell beer. But using the concept of either time or money invites consumers to connect with a product—in this case, beer—in different ways. Of the two, the researchers found that a “Miller Time” connection typically leads to more favorable consumer attitudes and purchasing decisions because people tend to identify more closely with products they have experienced. “If you can dial up one’s thinking about time spent experiencing the product relative to thinking about the money spent to own the product, then you tend to get … beneficial effects,” Mogilner says.

But the “Perfection has its price” crowd is also important, Mogilner adds, even though there are fewer examples of consumers connecting to a product primarily because of its acquisition price. “There are cases where thinking about money can actually be a good thing for particular types of consumers, and particular types of products.”

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This is not the first time the psychology surrounding time and money has been studied. Not surprisingly, it adds to the chorus that time beats money in the rochambeau of life. As the article explains, “[r]esearchers have found that because time is less fungible—or less easily replaced—than money, losing time tends to be a more painful event for people, particularly when they think about how they are not able to make up for it. Another difference is that people feel less accountable for how they spend their time because it can be more difficult to measure than monetary outlays. These two characteristics—fungibility and ambiguity—are important differentiators in how consumers think about time and money.”

From prior research, they posit that it “seems highly likely that people will also like products more that are more closely connected to the self than products that are not. Evidence from consumer research offers support for this prediction, showing that consumers report more favorable attitudes toward products that reflect their personal identities.” But then they take their hypothesis in a different direction for conventional wisdom, arguing ” that when these feelings of personal connection stem from experiences gained using the product, activating time (vs. money) should lead to more favorable product attitudes and decisions. In contrast, when feelings of personal connection stem more from product possession,” this does not occur, or least not as strongly.

To me, that’s the important revelation in this new study; that a third consideration is equally important: “the extent to which each concept is linked to consumers’ personal experiences, identity and emotions.” To advertisers, they specifically “propose that activating the construct of time while consumers evaluate a product will lead them to focus on their experiences using the product, which generally will heighten their personal connection to that product—their feeling that the product reflects the self.” So between time and money, the clear winner according to the results of their work is time. “By simply directing people’s attention to time, rather than money, you can actually make people make happier decisions.” But the true insight, I think, is linking that to the experience.

Many of us who write about beer, myself included, have waxed philosophically, even poetically, about how drinking beer is a community affair, that it’s best as a shared experience. Indeed, countless ads for beer are set in social situations and in fact I can’t think of one that features solitary drinking — not counting George Thorogood. Although I often drink alone for professional reasons, in most instances it’s considered a societal taboo, carrying very negative associations. While I don’t think it’s necessarily indicative of “problem” drinking or anything so sinister, it’s certainly not desirable.

So while I think their study is applicable universally, it seems more relatable to beer than many other products, because I think drinking beer is such an experiential beverage. I imagine I’m not alone in having all my best drinking memories ones with friends. It’s probably not a stretch to say that’s universal, too. So the idea that time and the emotional experience of spending it with friends seems almost obvious, but it’s still interesting that it’s borne out by this, and other, studies. For me personally, it may not be Miller Time, but it is “beer time.” Who wants to join me?

If you have the time (yes, pun intended) and inclination, the five studies they conducted (and the whole paper) is worth reading. It’s a little dry and steeped in academic jargon, but interesting nonetheless. (It’s also only 15 pages, and three of those are references.)

Russian River Beer Dinner

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Last night the third-to-last beer dinner was held by Bruce Paton, the Beer Chef, at the Cathedral Hill Hotel. The dinner featured the beers of Russian River Brewing. We also had a surprise guest, Jeff Lebesch, founder and original brewer from New Belgium Brewing, who along with his girlfriend and other friends, had been sailing the San Francisco Bay to celebrate Jeff’s birthday. It was a great beer dinner, and now there are only two left: Firestone Walker and Allagash later this year.

Natalie, Bruce & Vinnie
Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo presented Bruce with a special signed bottle of Temptation.

Our Table
Our table, clockwise from bottom left: Jeff Lebesch, New Belgium founder, his girlfriend Zia, an early employee, Peter Bouckaert, New Belgium’s head brewer, Dave Keene and Jen Smith, and Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo.

Below is a short slideshow of the Russian River beer dinner. If you click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, you can see the photos in glorious full screen.

Beer In Art #43: Petrus Staverenus’ Man Brandishing A Beer Glass

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Today’s artist is Dutch, and all I know is that he was active from around 1634 to 1654. His name was Petrus Staverenus and the painting below is called Man Brandishing A Beer Glass, although it’s sometimes also titled A Man in a Landscape, Raising a Beer Glass.

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I know Staverenus is considered to be an “Old Master,” but that pencil mustache — though undoubtedly common four centuries ago — seems almost comical now. He looks like a villain in a melodrama. A bit too “Snidely Whiplash.” Along with that goofy hat and the smirk on his face, he certainly seems untrustworthy to me; the 17th century equivalent of a used car salesmen.

The auction house, Christie’s, listing another piece by him, doesn’t know much more, either. “Little is known about the artist. He is recorded in The Hague in 1634-54.” You can also see another work at ArtFact.

Chess & Beer Don’t Mix

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While many sports and games are invigorated by adding a few tasty beers, such as poker or ping pong, not all of them are so enhanced. Take chess, for example. It seems self-evident that clouding one’s mind with alcohol would take the the much-needed edge off your game. But I guess it’s not as obvious I might have supposed.

Reuters is reporting that French Grandmaster Vladislav Tkachiev, the 58th highest ranked player in the world, showed up drunk earlier today to play a match at an international chess tournament in Kolkata, India. According to Reuters, eleven moves into the game, “he could hardly sit in his chair and soon fell asleep, resting his head on the table.”

India’s Praveen Kumar was awarded the win on technical grounds, as Tkachiev was “unable to complete his moves within the stipulated time of an hour and 30 minutes.” I guess it’s hard to play chess when you’re passed out asleep. Although reprimanded for his, uh, performance, he will be allowed to complete the tournament.

When I was in high school, our chess team actually lobbied successfully to have their game declared a sport, with an eye toward having cheerleaders at the matches. The chess cheerleaders never materialized, but it occurs to me that they might have done wonders to keep Tkachiev awake through his match. Out of curiosity, do spectators at high level chess tournaments drink beer while watching the chess matches?