Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Master Brewers’ Banquet 1915

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Yesterday I shared what I thought was an interesting story and photos of the Master Brewers’ Convention, from 1915, which began on September 30. It was held in San Francisco, California. On the second day of the two-day convention, October 1, 1915, they also held a formal banquet for all of the attendees and guests. It was held at German House, in the same space where the convention took place. Notice that a lot of the men there are wearing the same distinctive hat. Was there an MBAA hat that members wore?

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Master Brewers’ Convention 1915

By

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This is an interesting little tidbit I found looking through an old copy of “The Western Brewer: and Journal of the Barly, Malt and Hop Trades” from October 1915. In it, there’s a report on the Master Brewers’ Convention which took place the previous month in San Francisco, California. In addition to the story, there’s a really cool panoramic photo. Here’s the story:

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This photo of all the attendees, including delegates and guests, of the Master Brewers’ Convention was taken on September 30, 1915. It was shot on the steps in front of German House, in San Francisco, where the convention took place. The photo was printed on two separate pages, with the left side above here, and the right side below.

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I’m not sure if this list exactly matches who’s in the photographs, but this is a list of who registered to attend the convention:

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And this photograph is inside German House of the meeting of the Master Brewers. Notice how there’s a beer in front of almost every person there.

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GABF Winners 2018

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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

Print

Medals Won by State:

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Celebrator Beer News Ceases Print

By

celebrator-long
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.

IMG_2071
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.

IMG_2098
Tom and me at the 30th Anniversary Party.

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

CBN_1802_Cover

Top 50 Breweries For 2017

By

ba
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.

Top50_2017

Top 50 Craft Breweries For 2016

By

ba
The Brewers Association just announced the top 50 craft breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2016, 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 ninth year, they’ve also released a list of the top 50 breweries, which includes all breweries. Here is this year’s craft brewery list:

Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies

Rank Brewing Company 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 Gambrinus San Antonio TX
6 Duvel Moortgat Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown CA/MO/NY
7 Bell’s Brewery, Inc Comstock MI
8 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR
9 Stone Brewing Escondido CA
10 Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Longmont CO
11 Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
12 Minhas Craft Brewery Monroe WI
13 Artisanal Brewing Ventures Downington/Lakewood PA/NY
14 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
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 Abita Brewing Abita Springs LA
21 Great Lakes Brewing Cleveland OH
22 Anchor Brewing San Francisco CA
23 Stevens Point Brewery Stevens Point WI
24 August Schell Brewing New Ulm MN
24 Long Trail Brewing Bridgewater Corners VT
26 Summit Brewing Saint Paul MN
27 Odell Brewing Fort Collins CO
28 Shipyard Brewing Portland ME
29 Full Sail Brewing Hood River OR
30 Rogue Ales Newport OR
31 21st Amendment Brewery Bay Area CA
32 Flying Dog Brewery Frederick MD
33 Ninkasi Brewing Eugene OR
34 Gordon Biersch Brewing San Jose CA
35 Allagash Brewing Portland ME
36 Narragansett Brewing Providence RI
37 Green Flash Brewing Co San Diego CA
38 Tröegs Brewing Hershey PA
39 Uinta Brewing Salt Lake City UT
40 Bear Republic Brewing Cloverdale CA
41 Karl Strauss Brewing San Diego CA
42 Surly Brewing Minneapolis MN
43 Sixpoint Brewery Brooklyn NY
44 Left Hand Brewing Longmont CO
45 Lost Coast Brewery Eureka CA
46 Revolution Brewing Chicago IL
47 North Coast Brewing Fort Bragg CA
48 Avery Brewing Boulder CO
49 Real Ale Brewing Blanco TX
50 BJ’s Brewery Huntington Beach CA

Here is this year’s press release. The last couple of years, the BA has helpfully annotated the list, saving me lots of time, since I’ve been annotating the list for the last nine years, but they’ve abandoned that practice for a second year. So for the ninth consecutive year, I’ll also posted an annotated list, showing the changes in each brewery’s rank from year to year, but it will take me some time to put together so I’ll have that again later tonight or tomorrow.

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

Top_50_Craft_Breweries_2016

Top 50 Breweries For 2016

By

ba
The Brewers Association has also just announced the top 50 breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2016, which this year they’re calling the “Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies.” This includes all breweries, regardless of size or any other definitions or parameters. Here is the new list:

Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies

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.

six-glasses

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

six-glasses

2016 Top 50 Overall U.S.
Brewing Companies Notes

Details 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 (partial year), Elysian, Four Peaks,
Golden Road, Goose Island, Karbach (partial year), King Cobra, Landshark, Michelob,
Natural Rolling Rock, Shock Top, 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 (partial year), Icehouse, Keystone, Killian’s, Leinenkugel’s,
Mickey’s, Milwaukee’s Best, Miller, Olde English, Revolver (partial year), Saint Archer,
Steel Reserve, Tenth & Blake, and Terrapin (partial year) brands;
(c) Pabst Brewing Co includes Ballantine, Lone Star, Pabst, Pearl, Primo, Rainier, Schlitz
and Small Town brands;
(d) North American Breweries includes Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime, Mactarnahan’s,
Magic Hat, Portland and Pyramid brands as well as import volume;
(e) Boston Beer Co includes Alchemy & Science and Sam Adams brands. Does not include
Twisted Tea or Angry Orchard brands;
(f) Lagunitas Brewing Co ownership stake by Heineken;
(g) Craft Brew Alliance includes Kona, Omission, Red Hook and Widmer Brothers brands;
(h) Gambrinus includes BridgePort, Shiner and Trumer brands;
(i) Duvel Moortgat USA includes Boulevard, Firestone Walker, and Ommegang brands;
(j) Ballast Point Brewing Co owned by Constellation brands;
(k) Bell’s Brewery, Inc includes Bell’s and Upper Hand brands;
(l) Founders ownership stake by Mahou San Miguel;
(m) Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co includes Cigar City, Perrin and Utah Brewers
Cooperative brands;
(n) Sapporo USA includes Sapporo and Sleeman brands as well as export volume;
(o) Minhas Craft Brewery includes Huber, Mountain Crest and Rhinelander brands as well as
export volume;
(p) Artisanal Brewing Ventures includes Victory and Southern Tier brands;
(q) Matt Brewing Co includes Flying Bison, Saranac and Utica Club brands;
(r) Stevens Point Brewery includes James Page and Point brands;
(s) August Schell Brewing Co includes Grain Belt and Schell’s brands;
(t) Long Trail Brewing Co includes Long Trail, Otter Creek, The Shed and Wolaver’s
brands;
(u) Shipyard Brewing Co includes Casco Bay, Sea Dog and Shipyard brands;
(v) Green Flash Brewing Co includes Alpine and Green Flash brands;
(w)Pittsburgh Brewing Co includes Iron City and Old German brands

BEER-generic

Here is this year’s press release.

The Price Of A Beer: 1952-2016

By

beer-money
I saw a slideshow recently on a genealogy website that took data from the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and showed the price of a pint beginning in 1952 through last year, along with what that price would be in today’s money, in other words adjusted for inflation. I took it from a slideshow and turned into a table so you could more easily see the changes over time. Perhaps most surprising is that the average price of a beer is one-third less now than it was 64 years ago.

1-drink-bill

According to the data, the adjusted price for a pint peaked in the mid-1950s, 1956-57 to be specific. After that, the price has been coming down slowly but surely (with a few blips here and there) ever since. Part of that is undoubtedly efficiencies in both brewing and distribution. The on-and-off price wars that the big brewers engaged in over the last few decades must certainly have played a roll, as it kept prices artificially low across the board. At any rate, it’s interesting to see the prices all laid out like this over six decades. I’m sure others will see a lot more in the data, too.

wooden-nickel

Year
Price of Beer
Adjusted for Inflation
1952
$0.65
$5.93
1953
$0.65
$5.80
1954
$0.67
$5.93
1955
$0.67
$5.91
1956
$0.68
$6.01
1957
$0.69
$6.01
1958
$0.69
$5.82
1959
$0.70
$5.74
1960
$0.71
$5.77
1961
$0.71
$5.68
1962
$0.71
$5.62
1963
$0.72
$5.64
1964
$0.73
$5.64
1965
$0.74
$5.65
1966
$0.75
$5.63
1967
$0.76
$5.54
1968
$0.79
$5.61
1969
$0.82
$5.58
1970
$0.86
$5.58
1971
$0.89
$5.43
1972
$0.91
$5.32
1973
$0.94
$5.32
1974
$1.01
$5.38
1975
$1.09
$5.23
1976
$1.12
$4.93
1977
$1.15
$4.78
1978
$1.22
$4.76
1979
$1.32
$4.79
1980
$1.42
$4.63
1981
$1.52
$4.37
1982
$1.59
$4.14
1983
$1.65
$4.05
1984
$1.70
$4.04
1985
$1.75
$3.99
1986
$1.83
$4.03
1987
$1.88
$4.06
1988
$1.95
$4.06
1989
$2.03
$4.06
1990
$2.13
$4.07
1991
$2.35
$4.26
1992
$2.43
$4.22
1993
$2.47
$4.17
1994
$2.50
$4.10
1995
$2.54
$4.06
1996
$2.61
$4.05
1997
$2.68
$4.04
1998
$2.73
$4.08
1999
$2.80
$4.07
2000
$2.88
$4.09
2001
$2.95
$4.06
2002
$3.02
$4.04
2003
$3.08
$4.05
2004
$3.17
$4.08
2005
$3.23
$4.05
2006
$3.31
$4.01
2007
$3.41
$4.00
2008
$3.53
$4.03
2009
$3.64
$4.00
2010
$3.68
$4.06
2011
$3.73
$4.05
2012
$3.88
$4.00
2013
$3.87
$3.99
2014
$3.91
$3.97
2015
$3.95
$3.95
2016
$3.99
$3.99

nickel-beer

United States vs. Fifty Cases Of Bottled Beer

By

scales
While researching Joseph Fallert, whose birthday was earlier today, I came across an interesting lawsuit they were involved in brought by the Department of Agriculture in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which was in Brooklyn. It seems the Joseph Fallert Brewery mislabeled fifty cases of beer they brewed and shipped them to Cuba. Apparently the beer was labeled “St. Louis” and “Bohemian Brewery’s Bottling” with the beer itself called “Brilliant BOHEMIAN Beer,” none of which was true.

Anyway, below is a report of the adjudication of the case interspersed with beer labels of breweries making Bohemian-Style Beer.

US-v-50-Cases-6

I’m not sure what “Bohemian Beer” was specifically as defined in the early 1900s. There were quite a few beers that called their beer Bohemian, or “Bohemian Style” or “Bohemian Type” beer from that time period up through the 1950s and 60s. But the U.S. Attorney, after an investigation by the Department of Agriculture, alleged the beer brewed by Fallert was not Bohemian.

Bohemian-Beer-Labels-Pabst-Brewing-Co

US-v-50-Cases-1

Bohemian-Lager-Style-Beer-Labels-Union-Brewing-Co

US-v-50-Cases-2

There even was Bohemian Beer brewed in St. Louis by the American Brewing Co.

abc-bohemian

US-v-50-Cases-3

Bohemian--Beer-Labels-AB-Company

US-v-50-Cases-4

Bohemian-Export-Beer-Labels-Fresno-Brewing-Co--Grace-Bros

US-v-50-Cases-5

Real-Bohemian-Style-Lager-Beer-Labels-Best-Brewing-Company

If you read through the case, taken from a “Report of Committee and Hearings Held Before the Senate Committee on Manufactures Relative to Foods Held in Cold Storage,” you may have noticed that judgment was rendered without the Joseph Fallert Brewery having brought a defense or even appearing in court. I guess they figured there really was no legitimate defense they could bring and it appears that only the beer was lost, confiscated and sold at auction, and they weren’t fined or in any other way punished as far as I can tell.

Bohemian-Style-Beer-Labels-Enterprise-Brewing-Co

The Beer Tourism Index

By

travel
Undoubtedly beer tourism is growing phenomenon, and has been for some time. Fifteen years ago, when I was GM of the Celebrator Beer News, the “Hopspots” sections were the most popular in the brewspaper, as many readers reported that they always kept one in their car when they travelled to help them find a beer spot (remember that was before smartphones and GPS were ubiquitous). I know for at least thirty years I’ve been including beer destinations any time I travel, even before I did so as part of my profession. Having that information at your fingertips through apps, websites and GPS has only helped to increase beer travel, I think, and at least part of the success of beer weeks has to do with the goal of bringing tourism to specific geographic areas; essentially making the week the destination rather than a side trip. So it’s interesting to see that a popular travel website, Travelocity, is not only recognizing how beer people travel, but has created a Beer Tourism Index to rank the Top Beer Destinations, dividing them by large and small metro areas (though I’m surprised they consider Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Lancaster PA and a few others as “large”). Also somewhat curious is the total absence of the San Francisco Bay Area, or even San Francisco or Oakland/East Bay in the listings. What’s especially odd about that is that San Francisco is one of the top tourist destination cities (it’s number two according to EscapeHere and #5 according to TripAdvisor and #3 via Business Insider). At any rate, according to their press release.

By examining the location of all breweries in the U.S. and looking at other factors important to a successful “beercation,” including the availability of rideshare services, accessibility via air, and the average cost of lodging, this index identified the best large and small metro areas to sample some of the nation’s best craft beers.

Here’s the full list below:

Travelocity-BeerDestinations

And here’s the criteria used to arrive at this list:

*To find the top metropolitan areas for beer tourism, Travelocity scored the over 300 US MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) on four factors:

  • Breweries per 1 million residents: Working with the Brewers Association (an organization representing the majority of independent brewers in the US), every MSA was scored by the number of breweries and brewpubs per 1 million residents
  • Rideshare availability: To get a full sampling of a region’s beer culture, a beer tourist may need to visit multiple breweries across the area. Rideshare services like Uber or Lyft are invaluable for this, so each MSA was scored on availability of both, either, or neither of these services.
  • Nonstop air destinations: If the MSA has an airport with scheduled air service – from how many destinations is nonstop service available?
  • Lodging score: Each MSA was scored on the price of an average room night for the 2015 calendar year. The lower the price, the higher the score for the MSA.

The Brewers Association also released a joint press release, adding:

Beer tourism is a big deal. We estimate that in 2014, more than 10 million people toured small and independent craft breweries. That’s a lot of brewery tours. Just search “beercations” and you’ll get a plethora of results on where to tour local breweries.

More than 7 percent of craft sales (by volume) now happen at the source—the brewery. Craft brewers are now a main attraction for travelers. For example, in 2015, the Brewers Association’s three-day Great American Beer Festival generated the equivalent of 2 percent of Denver’s GDP, accounting for $28.6 million. Beer tourism is so strong that travel website Travelocity just published a beer tourism index.

In a Travelocity survey of 1,003 people, more than three-quarters said they would like to go on a trip where they visited craft breweries and sampled local beer. With numerous beer trails flourishing across the U.S. and beer events including festivals and special beer releases racking up millions upon millions of tourism trips and dollars, the modern beercation is a boon to beer.

The Brewers Association commissioned a Nielsen Omnibus panel in June 2016 that asked, “How many, if any, craft breweries have you visited at their site in the past 12 months while traveling?” The answer: on average 2.1 breweries. Impressive.

ba-beercations