Colorado brewers celebrated the most effective in locally-made beer over the weekend after medals have been handed out on the inaugural Colorado Brewers Cup.
Greater than 130 breweries from throughout the state entered 650 totally different beers into the competitors in hopes of inserting in one in all 26 judging classes. The homegrown competitors, hosted by the Colorado Brewers Guild, additionally honored two firms – one small, one mid-size – as “breweries of the yr” primarily based on their medal tallies.
The awards have been introduced Friday night on the conclusion of the Colorado Brewers Summit in Aurora.
Denver’s River North Brewery was awarded the Mid-size Brewery of the 12 months title with a complete of 4 medals, three of them gold, whereas Carver Brewing Co. in Durango was named the Small Brewery of the 12 months award with three complete medals. (The brink delineating the 2 awards was an annual manufacturing of 600 barrels of beer.)
River North garnered gold medals for its River North White witbier within the French and Belgian ales class; its Nightmare Gasoline barrel-aged espresso stout within the espresso, chocolate and dessert beers class; and its Mr. Sandman barrel-aged stout within the sturdy traditional UK and North American ales class. It additionally nabbed bronze within the latter class for its Whats up Darkness imperial porter.
Carver Brewing Co., which is Colorado’s second-oldest brewpub, earned two silvers and a bronze. Its beers Lightner Creek Lager and Outdated Oak Amber Ale positioned second within the pale malty European lagers and malty North American beers classes, respectively. Its Colorado Path Nut Brown Ale earned bronze amongst traditional UK amber and brown ales.
Technically, Westbound & Down Brewing Co. collected essentially the most medals (six) of any brewery within the competitors. However as a result of these have been awarded to its Lafayette and Idaho Springs manufacturing amenities individually, neither garnered sufficient accolades for the Brewery of the 12 months title, in line with guild spokesperson Carrie Knose Wilson.
Probably the most buzzworthy classes when it comes to the variety of entries have been normal American-style IPAs and normal hazy pale ales and IPAs – unsurprising given native drinkers’ thirst for hoppy beers.
Amalgam Brewing in Denver makes the most effective normal IPA in Colorado, per the awards. Its Fashionable West India pale ale landed gold whereas Westbound & Down Brewing Co. in Lafayette snagged each silver and bronze for its Westbound Choose and Westbound IPA.
On the hazy facet of issues, Highland Ranch’s Residing the Dream Brewing Co. took prime honors for its Trailhead Fog, adopted by Boulder’s Past the Mountain Brewing Co. (silver for I Want You Extra IPA), and Aspen Brewing Co. (bronze for Extra in Moderation).
Most of the aforementioned breweries usually earn accolades from massive competitions, just like the Nice American Beer Pageant, however the Colorado Brewers Cup additionally afforded lesser-known outfits past Denver to climb the rostrum. Eagle River Brewing Co. in Gypsum, for instance, received two medals, as did Arvada’s LUKI Brewery and Hideaway Park Brewery in Winter Park.
Moreover, the Colorado Brewers Cup awarded its first Ambassador of the Craft Award, which acknowledges people who present dedication to the craft beer trade in a roundabout way aside from brewing. That award went to the unique founders of the Colorado Brewers Guild, who got here collectively in 1995 to advocate for the state’s then-nascent craft beer trade.
“This set the stage for the route of the Guild and, as we enter the thirtieth anniversary, we need to acknowledge their foresight and dedication to serving to create the State of Craft Beer,” stated Shawnee Adelson, the guild’s present government director, in an announcement.
Honorees embrace Jeff Mendel (Tabernash Brewing/Left Hand Brewing), Tara Dunn (Nice Divide Brewing Co.), Jeff Brown (Boulder Beer Co.), Mike Bristol (Bristol Brewing Co.), Doug Odell (Odell Brewing Co.), and Mark Youngquist (Rock Backside Brewing/Boulder Beer/Walnut Brewery/Dolores River Brewing).
To see the total checklist of winners and which native breweries make the most effective of your favourite beer model, go to the Colorado Brewers Cup web site.
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