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2009 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. and HopUnion
Gold: Herbal Joe’s Columbarillo IPA, Chama River Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Brewmaster: Jeff Erway, AHA Member: Ben Miller
Silver: Alright Already Amber, O’Fallon Brewery, O’Fallon, MO
Brewmaster: Brian Owens, AHA Member: Jim Yeager
Bronze: Time of the Season, Upslope Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Brewmaster: Daniel Pages, AHA Member: Brian Patterson
2009 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards
Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Crosby & Baker Ltd.
Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD; Robert Malone
Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Microstar Keg Management
Dry Dock Brewing Company, Aurora, CO; Dry Dock Brewing Team
Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA; Pizza Port Brew Guys
Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.
Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA; Will Kemper
Here are more best and dissapointing (I don’t like using “worst”) awards.
BEST BEER @
THE DENVER RARE BEER EVENT
This was close but my vote goes to Rogue with their John John hazelnut. A lovely mixture of nuttiness with rum and a nice smoothness to it. Would be an excellent dessert beer.
BEER I’M DISSAPOINTED I MISSED @
THE DENVER RARE BEER EVENT
Wynkoop’s Beserker Mead sounded interesting but by the time I had worked my way down the list of must haves, my poor taste buds were burnt.
I honestly did not know what to expect at my first GABF. But now that I have experienced it, I think I understand what the fuss is about. There is nothing like being in a great beer town full of enthusiastic beer geeks.
Over the next few days, I will post my thoughts, my photos, lists of winners, lists of beers and places to go in Denver. Along with my own Beer Search Party awards.
Lets start with…drum roll please
The beer that dissapointed the most.
I was going to go with the Sam Adams Utopia but I sorta knew when I asked for it at the Rare Beer Event that it was going to be too spirit-y and not beer-y enough for me so the winner of this award goes to Rubidus from Uncommon Brewers. I have enjoyed their beers before and was intrigued by this one that uses mushrooms. It was too sweet, with a strange vegetal taste that was also too alcoholic for me.
If you go to the GABF website, my profile is now up! I have perused the breweries and events and here is what I plan on doing. (I’m keeping it light for my first visit)
Collaboration Celebration panel
6:30 to 7:00 with Tomme Arthur and Tonya Cornett
You Be the Judge booth
7:30 to 8:15
Beer Enthusiast bookstore
I will be checking out who is signing books throughout the night
Here is the list of breweries that I want to visit…
Cascade Brewery, 10 Barrel Brewing, Cigar City Brewing, Uncommon Brewers, Heater-Allen Brewing, Pelican Pub, Mt. Emily Ale House, Bell’s Brewery, Three Floyds Brewing, Goose Island Brewing
Starting next Monday, I will be giving you the re-cap from Denver. Including my favorite beer and photos of all the sights.
My first event at GABF will be this incredible event. The mead and the wet hop ale sound most intriguing to me.
Beers at the Tasting:
Allagash Fluxus ’09: This saison from Maine is brewed with sweet potatoes and black pepper, weighing in at 8.3 percent alcohol by volume. Jason Perkins will represent the brewery.
Alaskan 1999 Vintage Smoked Porter: The last known draught keg of the 1999 vintage of Alaskan’s much decorated Smoked Porter. This beer will be served alongside a sample of 2008 Alaskan Smoked Porter for comparison.
Anheuser-Busch Pilot Batch: This is an experimental beer from Anheuser-Busch so rare that only brewery insiders and a few lucky beer journalists will ever get the chance to taste the brew. Get ready to be surprised. Kristi Saviers will represent the brewery.
Brooklyn Wild 1: This beer started off as a batch of the popular bottle-conditioned Brooklyn Local 1 farmhouse ale, then spent nine months in Bourbon barrels and then it was bottle conditioned with Belgian re-fermentation yeast and a strain of Brettanomyces bruxellensis. Only 80 cases were made for consumption by Brooklyn Brewery staff. Garrett Oliver will represent the brewery.
Deschutes Black Butte Porter XX: Brewed in 2008 to celebrate Deschutes’ 20th anniversary, this 11 percent alcohol by volume beer was pulled from the brewmaster’s private library. This beer starts off as a Double Black Butte Porter, has cocoa nibs and Bellatazza Coffee Roasters’ Sumatran and Ethiopian beans added, then it is aged in ex-Bourbon barrels. Brett Porter will represent the brewery.
Dogfish Head 2006 Raison D’Extra: This is a super charged 18 percent alcohol by volume version of the popular Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre. The brewery has not made this brew for the past two years.
Foothills Barrel Aged Total Eclipse Stout: One of only 10 kegs of this beer in the world. This North Carolina brewery took its award winning stout and aged it for three to four months in ex-whiskey barrels that previously held 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon. Jamie Bartholomaus will represent the brewery.
Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Glacier Harvest ’09 Wet Hop Ale: The 28th edition of Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series, this deep copper colored beer is made using fresh Glacier hops. Todd Charbonneau will represent the brewery.
Highland Big Butte Smoked Porter: Winner of the Highland Cup homebrewing completion and based on a recipe created by Alex Buerckholtz, this beer is only available for a very limited time in North Carolina. Features smoked German malt and Fuggle hops. John Lyda will represent the brewery.
New Glarus Golden Ale: This Belgian-style ale is the first of the Wisconsin brewery’s R&D Series and previously was only available at the brewery. The 7 percent alcohol by volume beer is bottle fermented with Brettanomyces yeast. Dan Carey will represent the brewery.
Reunion – A Beer of Hope: This Double White Ale was collaboratively designed and brewed by four brewers across the U.S.: Bison Brewing and Pizza Port Brewing in California, Elysian Brewing in Washington and Terrapin Brewing in Georgia. This Belgian-style witbier uses sweet orange peel, coriander, lemongrass and rhubarb root. Sales of the beer support The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research. Daniel Del Grande and George Allen from Bison Brewery represent the brewers.
Rogue John-John Hazelnut Dead Guy: Named for Rogue Brewmaster John Maier and Rogue Master Distiller John Couchot, this brew starts off with Rogue’s famous Dead Guy Ale that is aged in Rogue Hazelnut Rum barrels. Brett Joyce will represent the brewery.
Saranac Imperial IPA: Part of the New York brewery’s limited release High Peaks Series this ale features 10 different hop varieties and 10 different malts.
Stone 2008 Old Guardian Barley Wine Aged in Red Wine Barrels: This 95 IBU barley wine has a massive malt character that is made even more complex thanks to the barrel aging. Greg Koch and Mitch Steele will represent the brewery.
Stoudt 2007 Barrel-Aged Reserve Old Abominable Barleywine: This vintage barleywine from Pennsylvania was aged for 10 months in oak whiskey barrels before being keg conditioned. Carol Stoudt will represent the brewery.
Wynkoop 2008 Barrel Aged Berserker Mead: This 11 percent alcohol by volume mead was made using Colorado wildflower honey and has spent about 20 months in barrels that were formally the home of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. C. Andrew Brown will represent the brewery.
NEW in 2009
(Breweries with * next to their names will be judged only.)
(512) Brewing Company
10 Barrel Brewing Company
AC Golden Brewing Company
Asher Brewing Company
Back Forty Beer Company*
Battered Boar Brewing Company
Big Al Brewing
Black Raven Brewing Company
Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery*
Breakwater Brewing Co.
Cathedral Square Brewery
Chuckanut Brewery
Cigar City Brewing
Colorado Brewing Company/ Draft House
COOP Ale Works
Corner Cafe & Brewery*
Devils Backbone Brewing Company
Evolution Craft Brewing Company
Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon
Freetail Brewing Co.
Glacier Brewing Company
Golden Hills Brewing Co.
Healdsburg Beer Company*
Heater Allen Brewing
Hometown Beverages
Hop Valley Brewing Company*
Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
LoneRider Brewing Company
Lovejoys
Main St. Grille and Brewing Co.*
Main Street Brewery & Restaurant
Metropolitan Brewing
Mt Emily Ale House
Napa Smith Brewery*
New Planet Beer Company, LLC*
NOLA Brewing Company
Old Forge Brewing Company
Old Mill Brewery, LLC
Palisade Brewery
Pisgah Brewing Company
Pittsfield Brew Works*
Sonoma Springs Brewing Company
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
Sun King Brewing Company
TableRock BrewPub
Upslope Brewing Co.
Wedge Brewing Company*
Wild Mountain Smokehouse & Brewery
Wind River Brewing Co.
Yak and Yeti Brewpub
I will be attending the Great American Beer Festival for the very first time this year. So if anyone out there on the interwebs has any tips or suggestions or advice. Hit me with it.
And if anyone wants to say hello or talk, I will be at the Rare Beer Event on Friday and if all goes according to plan, at the merchandise table on Saturday. I am really excited to get to know more beer geeks and drink in the atmosphere of this event.
from Draft Magazine
On a stormy night in 2008, three brewmasters devised an evil plan to take over the world. Okay, not really, but they named the inspired beer of their collaboration, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Collaborative Evil.
They each brewed the base beer at their own breweries, and the rule was that each brewer had to add a unique ingredient to distinguish it from the other two. The founders, Zac Triemert of Lucky Bucket Brewing Co., Matt Van Wyk formerly of Flossmor Station Brewing Co. and now at Oakshire Brewing Co., and Todd Ashman of Fifty Fifty Brewing, hoped to enter the beers in the Great American Beer Festival. Two of the three made it.
So this year, the Collaborative Evil effort has expanded to nine breweries and the new base beer style is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. This has presented some interesting challenges for the brewers, since they have to find nine unique ingredients instead of just three.
We wish them the best of luck in their quest for the GABF.
The new participants are: Valley Brewing Co., Sacramento Brewing Co., Fat Head’s Brewery and Saloon, Oakshire Brewing Co., Silver Peak Brewery, and Speakeasy Ales & Lagers.
All About Beer, in cooperation with BeerAdvocate.com, created the Denver Rare Beer Tasting as a benefit event for the Pints for Prostates campaign. More than 20 of America’s finest craft breweries have already committed to attend this event. They will be pouring some truly one-of-a-kind brews on Friday, Sept. 25th, from 1-4 p.m. at the Wynkoop Brewery at 1634 18th Street in LoDo. What’s more is that the legendary brewers who created these phenomenal beers will be on hand to answer your questions.
There are just 450 tickets available for this event. When they are gone, they are gone and so is the chance to say you had a Stone 2008 Old Guardian Barley Wine Aged in Red Wine Barrels poured by Greg Koch or a Stoudt 2007 Old Abominable Barleywine served by Carol Stoudt. You just will not find most of the beers at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting at the GABF, or elsewhere in Denver for that matter. We’re talking about beers like New Glarus Golden Ale, the Belgian-style Trappist Ale Dan Carey is bringing from his Wisconsin brewery’s first batch in its new R&D series.
These are just three of the great beers slated to be served to the lucky guests at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting. Other breweries expected at the event include Allagash, Alaskan, Avery, Boston Beer, Bison, Dogfish Head, Foothills, Harpoon, Jolly Pumpkin, New Belgium, Pizza Port, Rogue, Saranac, Victory, Wynkoop and more! This event will be the talk of Denver during the 2009 GABF and you can be a part of it by buying a ticket today.
All proceeds from the Denver Rare Beer Tasting go to support the Pints for Prostates campaign ( http://www.ustoo.org/pints ) in its efforts fight prostate cancer. Please help us in reaching men through the universal language of beer!