Every two years, the World Beer Cup bestows accolades on arguably the world's finest beers. Organized by the Brewer's Association, this years' competition took place on Saturday, April 10 in Chicago at the Craft Brewer's Conference. 642 brewers from 44 countries and 47 U.S. states vied for awards with 3330 beers entered in 90 beer style categories. This competition broke the record held by the 2009 GABF for the amount of beers entered, to become the world's largest ever commercial beer competition.
The mission of the World Beer Cup is to create greater consumer awareness around the world about the quality and diversity displayed by the various beers of the world.
The Brewers Association developed the World Beer Cup® International Competition in 1996 to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. Every two years, a highly qualified professional panel of beer judges honors the top three beers in nearly 91 categories with gold, silver, and bronze awards. These judges will not give a gold medal if they feel that none of the beers in the category deserve gold, based on their judging criteria. You can see in this years' competition that several categories do not have a gold winner.
The World Beer Cup is often referred to as "The Olympics of Beer Competitions". The Brewer's Association touts it as “the most prestigious beer competition in the world.”
As we would expect, Colorado brewers came away with 11 medals in varying categories.
Duane Lujan of Rocky Mountain Brewery won Gold in the Fruit Beer or Field Beer category. The beer, Da' Yoopers, is named for the people who live in the upper peninsula of Michigan where the Montmorency Cherries for the beer came from. Duane said that “to win this award in our first two years of brewing is awesome. We were kind of surprised, kind of not. We knew we had a great beer”. He described the beer's flavor as “an intense cherry pie. Its got the sweet and tart of the cherries and a hint of cinnamon.”
Odell Brewing won Bronze in the American-Style Amber/Red Ale category for their Odell Red Ale. The beer is described as an “American style red taken to a whole new level by adding a variety of aggressive American hops giving this ale a distinctive fresh hop aroma and flavor.”
Kannah Creek Brewing Company in Grand Junction won gold in the German-Style Brown Ale category for its Lands End Amber Ale. They describe their beer as being light amber in color, with a medium malt sweetness and a light hoppy flavor. It's Kannah Creek's most popular selling beer. Said Jim Jeffryes, co-owner and Head Brewer, “We were happy to have verified what our customers already know – that this is a great beer.”
The Bull and Bush Pub and Brewery won Gold in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer category. Their beer, The Legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial Stout, Vintage 2006, was aged in a used 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Barrel for 18 months. “Perfect balance is on display here, with big, bold flavors and smooth, refined textures.” The brains behind The Legend, Master Brewer Gabe ‘Sammy Suitcase’ Moline had this to say in his acceptance speech; “I could not have pulled this off without my late aroma hop additions, also I would like to thank every single yeast cell that went to work during that week of fermentation, their dedication and hard work so often go unnoticed.”
Owner Erik Peterson, having been seen after winning the award with what could only be described as ‘being caught with one foot off the Merry-Go-Round,’ marveled at the accomplishment of his brewing staff. “Suffice it to say this is a great success and reward for us, and we are unbelievably proud to have won this Gold Award, in the largest single category, going up against 112 other incredible beers!”
Our hats are off to you Colorado Brewers!
Below you'll find the Colorado breweries that won awards at the Cup. For a full listing, go to the World Beer Cup website. Enjoy and Drink Well!
2010 World Beer Cup Colorado Brewery Winners
Category 4: Rye Beer (22 Entries) Bronze: Hoss Rye Lager
Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Category 5: Fruit Beer or Field Beer (86 Entries) Gold: Da' Yoopers Rocky Mountain Brewery, Colorado Springs, CO
Category 7: Coffee Flavored Beer (47 Entries) Silver: Addiction Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery, Boulder, CO
Category 17: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (113 Entries) Gold: The Legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial Stout Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver, CO
Category 28: German-Style Märzen (28 Entries) Bronze: Festus The Sandlot, Denver, CO
