Another Great American Beer Festival (GABF) has wrapped and the judging results are officially in the books.
You may have seen me with live updates throughout the ceremony this past Saturday bringing you the winners from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as they were called to the stage. For the record, here's a link to the final list of those winners.
It was a fast and frantic pace trying to keep up for almost three hours, plus some quick social media commentary that I added along the way. Below are some other quick scribble notes that I made along the way during the awards ceremony on Saturday that I found interesting.
In no particular order...
- Leading up to GABF, Peggy Zwerver from Earth Bread + Brewery mentioned to me that it was the first ever GABF entry for husband/brewer/business partner Tom Baker -- including his days at Heavyweight Brewing Company in Ocean, NJ. He took gold for the storied and excellent Perkuno's Hammer in the Baltic-style Porter category of 42 entries. The beer dates back to his days at the lauded Heavyweight.
- In my preview posting for GABF last week, I noted (not all that boldly, admittedly) that there'd be someone from the "...new brewers...continue to fill in the landscape..." to go home with a medal. In Pennsylvania, Four Seasons surely fit that description as they held off 54 other entries and grabbed a silver medal for its Darkside of the Pint in the Oatmeal Stout category. I covered it in my forthcoming book and described it with "...A well-made oatmeal stout is not a common enough occurrence. This one makes the cut..."
- Also, I mentioned that it would be a complete shock if a perennial winner like "...Iron Hill's Russian Imperial Stout or ones from Tröegs such as Sunshine Pils or Troegenator..." didn't make the grade. The Troegenator saved me as it snagged yet another gold in the bock category to add to its impressive resume.
- I also covered Kane Brewing Company from Ocean, NJ in my book and featured A Night To End All Dawns. I referred to it as "...rich aromas and flavors of bourbon, chocolate, raisins, vanilla, and coffee. An experience worth sharing with others." and the judges seemed to agree, bestowing a gold medal upon it in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout category with 109 total entries.
- Each year, particularly since they began canning it for distribution, I've sung the praises of Sly Fox's Grisette. I couldn't be more happy for them, and a bit validated as well, as they scored a gold medal for it in the Belgian- and French-Style Ale category.
- I've drunk Devils Backbone for quite a few years now and their continued strong showing insists that I pay them a visit in 2015.
- I appreciate how "old reliables" can continue to fare well in competitions. In 2014, see Boulevard Zon, Heavy Seas Gold, Left Hand Milk Stout, Ommegang Witte, Shiner Bock, and Victory Golden Monkey as a handful of examples.
- Two of the most polarizing beers, and two that I truly really enjoy — DuClaw Sweet Baby Jesus! (bronze-Chocolate Beer, 44 entries) and High Water Campfire Stout (gold-Specialty Beer, 47 entries) — took home justified medals as deftly-balanced beers showcasing "unusual" flavors.
- Speaking of old reliables, Alaskan Smoked Porter continues its world dominance with another bronze added to its medal wall.
- A favorite of mine from coast-to-coast, the under-recognized Telegraph Reserve Wheat may not be so under-recognized for much longer. It was awarded a well-deserved gold medal in German-style Sour Ales, a rapidly growing category this year with 80 entries. Picked up a case from The Beer Yard last month. Drinks well now; ages quite nicely too. Send more, please.
- Bronze and Silver may have played out as expected in the Imperial IPA category with Russian River Pliny The Elder and Port Brewing Hop 15, respectively, wearing those medals. However, catching many by surprise was the Columbus Brewing Company's Creeper which, well, crept up and took a gold medal back to Columbus, Ohio over those two beers and 132 others.
- Not content to be a surprise in the Imperial IPA category, Columbus also took a bronze for American-style IPA behind Half Acre's Heyoka in Illinois, and Breakside IPA from Oregon.
- Of the 21 states with at least one medal winner in a German/Eastern European-based style, only five states were in the northeast, long thought to be the province of solidly-made beers in these categories.
- Exemplifying this condition, take the German-style Pilsener category. This year, Tröegs Sunshine Pils (2013 bronze, 2012 and 2011 silver, 2009 bronze) took a back seat to defending gold medal winner Pivo Pils from Firestone Walker, silver medal winner Russian River STS Pils, and bronze medal winner from Wiseacre Tiny Bomb from Memphis, Tennessee. Mention FW and RR and my hunch is hop bombs and barrel-aging will be mentioned long before Pilsners.
- Likewise, the Vienna-style Lager category, typically listing east-coast states such as Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia amongst the best, this year showed Figueroa Mountain from California and Platt Park from Colorado atop of the judging results of 48 entries.
- And no one below, say North Carolina, really gets into making big stouts, really good big stouts, right? Well, in 2014 a Denton, Texas brewery (Armadillo Ale Works, just north of Dallas) took gold in Imperial Stout for its Quakertown beer and Pinthouse Pizza Craft Brewpub took bronze in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout category for its Jaguar Shark all the way down in Austin, Texas. Now that's weird!
- On one last note, how about some of the favorite beer names in the competition? Dogfish Head Choc Lobster or Columbus Creeper or Old Town I'd Like to Buy the World a Kolsch or Lion Bridge Workman's Compensation (in English-style Mild category) or MobCraft Batshit Crazy (in Coffee Stout category) or Bottle Logic Lagerithm for the mathematician in some of us.
I'm sure I could dig up some more interesting relationships/observations of interest, but I'll leave it to the Brewers Association, which continues each year to impress with its own level of analytics. Check out their page for more statistical breakdown.
Until next year, get out there and enjoy an ever widening world of great beer. Cheers!
Showing posts with label 2014 GABF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2014 GABF. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
Saturday, October 04, 2014
List of 2014 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) winners in DE / MD / NJ / PA
Depending upon when you read this, the title might be a bit of a gotchya. If you're reading this before dinnertime on Saturday, Oct. 4, the list may not be complete. (Though, it may also depend upon when you consider dinnertime.)
Nonetheless, as the annual awards are doled out at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver today, I will keep as real-time as possible updated list of winners from what my upcoming book (pre-order plug) will cover: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
The festival and concurrent judging is bigger than ever. And, with an industry sporting more brewers with more beers than ever, the competition has never been greater. During the three-day festival, the organizers at Brewers Association estimate roughly 49,000 attendees will cross the convention center floor to visit nearly 800 breweries and their 3,500+ beers. 5,507 beers from every state are being judged by around 222 judges who are tasked to award medals in 90 categories. Good luck to all and enjoy the post parties.
Delaware
Silver
Indigenous/Regional Beer — Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, Choc Lobster, Rehoboth Beach
Pumpkin Beer — Dominion Brewing Company, Spiced Harvest, Dover
Maryland
Gold
Smoke Beer — Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Rauchbier, Annapolis
Silver
American-Belgo-Style Ale — Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Belgian IPA, Rockville
German-style Sour Ale — Union Craft Brewing Company, Old Pro Gose, Baltimore
Bronze
Chocolate Beer — DuClaw Brewing Company, Sweet Baby Jesus!, Rosedale
Golden or Blonde Ale — Heavy Seas Beer, Gold, Halethorpe
New Jersey
Gold
Classic English-Style Pale Ale — Flying Fish Brewing Company, HopFish, Somerdale
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout — Kane Brewing Company, A Night To End All Dawns, Ocean
Silver
Extra Special Bitter — Flying Fish Brewing Company, RedFish, Somerdale
Belgian-style Tripel — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Bedotter, Maple Shade
Pennsylvania
Gold
Baltic-style Porter — Earth Bread + Brewery, Perkuno's Hammer, Philadelphia
Old Ale or Strong Ale — Fegley's Brew Works, Artic Alchemy, Allentown
Belgian- and French-style Ale — Sly Fox Brewing Company, Grisette, Pottstown
Bock — Tröegs Brewing Company, Troegenator, Hershey
Belgian-style Tripel — Victory Brewing Company, Golden Monkey, Downingtown
Silver
Oatmeal Stout — Four Seasons Brewing Company, Dark Side Of The Pint, Latrobe
Rye Beer — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Rye Of The Tiger, Media
Bronze
Belgian- and French-style Ale — Barren Hill Tavern & Brewery, Barren Hill Biere de Extra, Lafayette Hill
German-style Sour Ale — Fegley's Brew Works, Berliner Weiss, Allentown
English-Style India Pale Ale — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Burton IPA, Media
Bock — Triumph Brewing Company, Winterbock, New Hope
Historical Beer — Yards Brewing Company, Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce, Philadelphia
Nonetheless, as the annual awards are doled out at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver today, I will keep as real-time as possible updated list of winners from what my upcoming book (pre-order plug) will cover: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
The festival and concurrent judging is bigger than ever. And, with an industry sporting more brewers with more beers than ever, the competition has never been greater. During the three-day festival, the organizers at Brewers Association estimate roughly 49,000 attendees will cross the convention center floor to visit nearly 800 breweries and their 3,500+ beers. 5,507 beers from every state are being judged by around 222 judges who are tasked to award medals in 90 categories. Good luck to all and enjoy the post parties.
Delaware
Silver
Indigenous/Regional Beer — Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, Choc Lobster, Rehoboth Beach
Pumpkin Beer — Dominion Brewing Company, Spiced Harvest, Dover
Maryland
Gold
Smoke Beer — Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Rauchbier, Annapolis
Silver
American-Belgo-Style Ale — Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Belgian IPA, Rockville
German-style Sour Ale — Union Craft Brewing Company, Old Pro Gose, Baltimore
Bronze
Chocolate Beer — DuClaw Brewing Company, Sweet Baby Jesus!, Rosedale
Golden or Blonde Ale — Heavy Seas Beer, Gold, Halethorpe
New Jersey
Gold
Classic English-Style Pale Ale — Flying Fish Brewing Company, HopFish, Somerdale
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout — Kane Brewing Company, A Night To End All Dawns, Ocean
Silver
Extra Special Bitter — Flying Fish Brewing Company, RedFish, Somerdale
Belgian-style Tripel — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Bedotter, Maple Shade
Pennsylvania
Gold
Baltic-style Porter — Earth Bread + Brewery, Perkuno's Hammer, Philadelphia
Old Ale or Strong Ale — Fegley's Brew Works, Artic Alchemy, Allentown
Belgian- and French-style Ale — Sly Fox Brewing Company, Grisette, Pottstown
Bock — Tröegs Brewing Company, Troegenator, Hershey
Belgian-style Tripel — Victory Brewing Company, Golden Monkey, Downingtown
Silver
Oatmeal Stout — Four Seasons Brewing Company, Dark Side Of The Pint, Latrobe
Rye Beer — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Rye Of The Tiger, Media
Bronze
Belgian- and French-style Ale — Barren Hill Tavern & Brewery, Barren Hill Biere de Extra, Lafayette Hill
German-style Sour Ale — Fegley's Brew Works, Berliner Weiss, Allentown
English-Style India Pale Ale — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Burton IPA, Media
Bock — Triumph Brewing Company, Winterbock, New Hope
Historical Beer — Yards Brewing Company, Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce, Philadelphia
Monday, September 29, 2014
The Philadelphia region goes to Denver for the 2014 Great American Beer Festival
I suppose I'm stretching the "Philadelphia region" just a bit farther than you might expect. To accommodate my purposes here, let's go (roughly) with eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and all of Delaware.
The annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver is upon us once again, scheduled this week from October 2-October 4. GABF means different things to different people, from attendees and volunteers to judges, vendors, and brewers. Some see it as work while others see it as a sort of vacation. Some write it off without much value and others bask in the glow of the world's largest beer festival-slash-judging event. There's no debating, however, the enormity of it and the spectacular effort that the Brewers Association undertakes in order to showcase our favorite beverage.
As for brewers submitting beers to be judged at the mammoth specatacle of great beer, the approach can vary quite a bit as well. Some brewers pride themselves on grabbing production beers off the line, submitting them, and letting the chips fall where they may. Others brew special batches or recipes and submit themselves to plenty of pre-screening agita prior to submitting their candidates.
No matter the approach, award-winning brewers return home with plenty of pride. Being validated on a platform the size of GABF with medals bestowed from top-tier judges with a well-regarded judging process is an honor that most enjoy showing off to their customers back home.
Across the eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware brewing landscape, below is a quick rundown from those I heard back from regarding their participation in the 2014 GABF. But first, a quick recap of recent awards won from local brewers at the 2013 GABF, 2014 World Beer Cup, and 2014 Summer Beer Tasting Championship.
Who will surprise us this year? The first surprise would be if a perennial winner from Iron Hill like Russian Imperial Stout or ones from Tröegs such as Sunshine Pils or Troegenator did not return with another medal for its walls. Or if something in the lager realm from the likes of Iron Hill, Neshaminy Creek, Sly Fox, Stoudts, Tröegs, or Victory does not represent the eastern European brewing roots of the region as it typically does. And as new brewers continue to fill in the landscape, there's greater chance than ever to see other newcomers to join the young Barren Hills, Mispillions, and Neshaminy Creeks of the world in the GABF winner ranks.
Great American Beer Festival 2013
Gold - Neshaminy Creek Churchville Lager (Vienna-Style Lager), Stewart's Stumblin' Monk (Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale), Tröegs Troegenator (Bock)
Silver - Dogfish Head Midas Touch (Specialty Honey Beer), Flying Fish OktoberFish (American-Style Amber Lager), Iron Hill Russian Imperial Stout (Imperial Stout), McKenzie Brew House Dark and Stormy (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer), Rock Bottom KOP The Hammer (Baltic-Style Porter), Sly Fox Grisette (Belgian- and French-Style Ale), Yards Brawler (English-Style Mild Ale)
Bronze - Sly Fox Oktoberfest (Vienna-Style Lager), Tröegs Sunshine Pils (German-Style Pilsener), Yards Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce (Indigenous Beer)
World Beer Cup 2014
Small Brewpub of the Year - Iron Hill
Gold - Dominion Candi Belgian Tripel (Belgian-Style Tripel), Iron Hill-Chestnut Hill The Golden Child (American-Style Brett Beer), Iron Hill-Media Russian Imperial Stout (British-Style Imperial Stout), Iron Hill-Media 2009 Russian Imperial Stout (Aged Beer)
Silver - Al's of Hampden/Pizza Boy Hoptart (Experimental Beer), Mispillion River Brewing Beach Bum Joe (American-Belgo-Style Ale)
Bronze - Barren Hill Barren Hill Biere De Extra (Belgian- and French-Style Ale), Flying Fish HopFish (Classic English-Style Pale Ale), Iron Hill-Maple Shade Honey Tripper (Specialty Honey Beer), Iron Hill-Phoenixville Bock (Traditional German-Style Bock), Stoudts Pils (German-Style Pilsener)
US Beer Tasting Championship 2014
"Grand Champion" - Victory Prima Pils (Pilsner) and Weyerbacher Double Simcoe (Imperial IPA/Red Ale)
Even though all but two of the responding breweries supplied me with the list of beers that they submitted to be judged, I chose to withhold the beer list for a couple of reasons, most significantly for the appearance of propagating what has become sometimes known (somewhat unfairly) as a "loser's list".
Of the nearly fifty breweries that I "surveyed", here is a list whose beers you can expect to see in Denver potentially coming home with some new bling.
Delaware
Yes
- 3rd Wave
- Dogfish Head
- Iron Hill
- Stewart's
No
- 16 Mile
southern NJ
Yes
- Flying Fish
- Triumph (Princeton)
No
- Cape May
- Rinn Duin
- River Horse
- Tuckahoe
- Village Idiot
eastern PA
Yes
- Barren Hill
- Earth Bread + Brewery
- Forest & Main
- Free Will
- Nodding Head
- Rock Bottom (King of Prussia)
- Roy Pitz
- ShawneeCraft
- Sly Fox
- St. Boniface
- Stoudts
- Susquehanna Brewing
- Triumph (New Hope)
- Tröegs
- Victory
- Weyerbacher
- Yards
No
- Barley Creek
- McKenzie Brew House
- Philadelphia Brewing
- Tired Hands
- Yuengling
The annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver is upon us once again, scheduled this week from October 2-October 4. GABF means different things to different people, from attendees and volunteers to judges, vendors, and brewers. Some see it as work while others see it as a sort of vacation. Some write it off without much value and others bask in the glow of the world's largest beer festival-slash-judging event. There's no debating, however, the enormity of it and the spectacular effort that the Brewers Association undertakes in order to showcase our favorite beverage.
As for brewers submitting beers to be judged at the mammoth specatacle of great beer, the approach can vary quite a bit as well. Some brewers pride themselves on grabbing production beers off the line, submitting them, and letting the chips fall where they may. Others brew special batches or recipes and submit themselves to plenty of pre-screening agita prior to submitting their candidates.
No matter the approach, award-winning brewers return home with plenty of pride. Being validated on a platform the size of GABF with medals bestowed from top-tier judges with a well-regarded judging process is an honor that most enjoy showing off to their customers back home.
Across the eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware brewing landscape, below is a quick rundown from those I heard back from regarding their participation in the 2014 GABF. But first, a quick recap of recent awards won from local brewers at the 2013 GABF, 2014 World Beer Cup, and 2014 Summer Beer Tasting Championship.
Who will surprise us this year? The first surprise would be if a perennial winner from Iron Hill like Russian Imperial Stout or ones from Tröegs such as Sunshine Pils or Troegenator did not return with another medal for its walls. Or if something in the lager realm from the likes of Iron Hill, Neshaminy Creek, Sly Fox, Stoudts, Tröegs, or Victory does not represent the eastern European brewing roots of the region as it typically does. And as new brewers continue to fill in the landscape, there's greater chance than ever to see other newcomers to join the young Barren Hills, Mispillions, and Neshaminy Creeks of the world in the GABF winner ranks.
Great American Beer Festival 2013
Gold - Neshaminy Creek Churchville Lager (Vienna-Style Lager), Stewart's Stumblin' Monk (Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale), Tröegs Troegenator (Bock)
Silver - Dogfish Head Midas Touch (Specialty Honey Beer), Flying Fish OktoberFish (American-Style Amber Lager), Iron Hill Russian Imperial Stout (Imperial Stout), McKenzie Brew House Dark and Stormy (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer), Rock Bottom KOP The Hammer (Baltic-Style Porter), Sly Fox Grisette (Belgian- and French-Style Ale), Yards Brawler (English-Style Mild Ale)
Bronze - Sly Fox Oktoberfest (Vienna-Style Lager), Tröegs Sunshine Pils (German-Style Pilsener), Yards Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce (Indigenous Beer)
World Beer Cup 2014
Small Brewpub of the Year - Iron Hill
Gold - Dominion Candi Belgian Tripel (Belgian-Style Tripel), Iron Hill-Chestnut Hill The Golden Child (American-Style Brett Beer), Iron Hill-Media Russian Imperial Stout (British-Style Imperial Stout), Iron Hill-Media 2009 Russian Imperial Stout (Aged Beer)
Silver - Al's of Hampden/Pizza Boy Hoptart (Experimental Beer), Mispillion River Brewing Beach Bum Joe (American-Belgo-Style Ale)
Bronze - Barren Hill Barren Hill Biere De Extra (Belgian- and French-Style Ale), Flying Fish HopFish (Classic English-Style Pale Ale), Iron Hill-Maple Shade Honey Tripper (Specialty Honey Beer), Iron Hill-Phoenixville Bock (Traditional German-Style Bock), Stoudts Pils (German-Style Pilsener)
US Beer Tasting Championship 2014
"Grand Champion" - Victory Prima Pils (Pilsner) and Weyerbacher Double Simcoe (Imperial IPA/Red Ale)
Even though all but two of the responding breweries supplied me with the list of beers that they submitted to be judged, I chose to withhold the beer list for a couple of reasons, most significantly for the appearance of propagating what has become sometimes known (somewhat unfairly) as a "loser's list".
Of the nearly fifty breweries that I "surveyed", here is a list whose beers you can expect to see in Denver potentially coming home with some new bling.
Delaware
Yes
- 3rd Wave
- Dogfish Head
- Iron Hill
- Stewart's
No
- 16 Mile
southern NJ
Yes
- Flying Fish
- Triumph (Princeton)
No
- Cape May
- Rinn Duin
- River Horse
- Tuckahoe
- Village Idiot
eastern PA
Yes
- Barren Hill
- Earth Bread + Brewery
- Forest & Main
- Free Will
- Nodding Head
- Rock Bottom (King of Prussia)
- Roy Pitz
- ShawneeCraft
- Sly Fox
- St. Boniface
- Stoudts
- Susquehanna Brewing
- Triumph (New Hope)
- Tröegs
- Victory
- Weyerbacher
- Yards
No
- Barley Creek
- McKenzie Brew House
- Philadelphia Brewing
- Tired Hands
- Yuengling
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