The annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado had over 3500 entries this year and was completely sold out 5 weeks in advance. The GABF is a 3 day event held by the Brewers Association with over 100 beer judges and 500 breweries. The 2010 GABF went from Thursday the 16th through Saturday the 18th. The original GABF in 1982 only had 22 breweries.
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Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Blue Moon Brewing Company, Denver, CO
Dr. David Ryder
Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Crosby & Baker Ltd.
Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT
UBC Brewers
Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Microstar Keg Management
Mad River Brewing Company, Blue Lake, CA
Mad River Brewing Company
Brewpub Group and Brewpub Group Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Country Malt Group
TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Brea, CA
Victor Novak
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
By Jeremy Thompson, Don Corino, Pat Smith, Tim Rodgers, Paul Reiter and Matt Goldstein
1. Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI:
The Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout is a shoe in to be our #1 overall beer on our next Top 100 beer list. The seasonal Breakfast Stout was already on our top 10 list and the Founders Porter was our Philadelphia Beer Week Champion. Have you ever tasted the Centennial IPA or the Curmudgeon? Please. Founders Brewing Company is the #1 Brewery in the world!
2. Bell’s Brewing Inc, Kalamazoo, MI:
It’s hard putting Bell’s at #2 on this list because these guys have taken the art of beer making to perfection. From the Bell’s Expedition Stout to the Consecrator Dopplebock and the Hopslam are 3 of the best beers in the world hands down. Add the Kalamazoo Stout, Oberon Ale and the Two Hearted Ale and you have a magnum opus in beer making.
3. Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, San Diego, CA:
The Ballast Point Sculpin IPA is largely considered to be the best India Pale Ale in the world. The Sculpin also won a gold medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup. The Calico Amber Ale is made like an English ESB but this American brew is also a gold medal winner. The Big Eye IPA and the Victory at Sea Imperial Vanilla Coffee Porter are entirely world class.
4. Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA:
Stone’s Ruination IPA, Imperial Russian Stout, Smoked Porter and Arrogant Bastard Ale are staples of the craft beer world, while their Anniversary Ale is one of the highest rated beers ever.
5. Port/Lost Abbey Brewing Company, San Marcos, CA:
The Lost Abbey Avant-Garde, Devotion and Yellow Bus along with the Port Old Viscosity, High Tide IPA and Santa’s Little Helper Stout put the Port/Lost Abbey Brewing at #5. Throw in the Hop 15 and Port/Lost Abbey competes with any brewery in the world.
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6. Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA:
Victory’s Hopdevil, Prima Pils, and Golden Monkey are almost mainstream craft beers at this point but the Storm King Imperial Stout, Hopwallop, Baltic Thunder Porter, and V-12 are all world class while the Saison du Buff might be the best Saison in the world.
7. Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales, Milton, DE:
The 60 Minute, 90 Minute and 120 Minute IPA’s are some of the best IPA’s being brewed today. At the same time, the Old School Barley Wine and the Bitches Brew are some of the best beers in their class. Dogfish also collaborated with Victory on the Saison du Buff.
Established in 1829, Yuengling is America’s oldest brewery, and they make damn good beer. A few weeks ago I heard someone mention it as a craft beer. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that because I grew up on the stuff, but for about $18 a case it’s an excellent buy. Yuengling Lager has great color, flavor and bite. I was even asked to mail two cases out to a friend of mine in AZ because he couldn’t seem to find it anywhere in Phoenix. People crave this stuff!
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2. Bitburger, Germany:
I’ve had Yuengling so many times that if I was in the store right now I’d probably grab Bitburger instead. It’s full bodied, light, a little dry and a little hoppy, but very refreshing. I had a few this weekend and I can’t believe this German import sells for about $18. It’s a flat out steel!
3. Leinenkugels
Original Premium Pilsner/Lager, Chippewa Falls, WI. About $20 a case.
4. Shiner Bock
Shiner, TX. You can get a case of cans for about $20.
5. Lionshead, Wilkes-Barre, PA.
It’s a flat out good beer and you can get a case of bottles for $15. In the college days it might have been $11.
Founders Destroys the Entire Stout Beer World with KBS
By Jeremy Thomson, Don Corino, Paul Reiter and Matt Goldstein
1. Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout:
11.2% Grand Rapids, MI. We’re pretty sure that the Founders KBS is a shoe in to be our next #1 Beer pound for pound overall. The KBS doesn’t only take the stout world to a new level; the KBS takes the beer world to a whole new echelon. There are a few things we could compare it to like Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Floyd Mayweather, the Wire, Picasso’s Don Quixote, etc… I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably asking yourself, “did they just compare a beer to the theory relativity?” Of course we did. What do you like more, beer or physics? Exactly. There’s no doubt which one had a greater impact in the last century. Kentucky Breakfast Stout TKO3 Albert Einstein.
2. Founders Breakfast Stout
8.3% Grand Rapids, MI
3. Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout
6.0% Kalamazo, MI
4. Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout
6.10%, Newport, OR
5. Goose Island Black Cat Bourbon County Stout
13%, Chicago, IL
6. Deschutes the Abyss
11.0%, Bend, OR
7. Victory Storm King
9.1%, Downingtown, PA
8. Sierra Nevada Stout
5.8%, Chico, CA
9. Bell’s Expedition Stout
10.5%, Kalamazoo, MI
10. Stone Imperial Russian Stout
10.5%, Escondido, CA
11. Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout
11.5%, Tampa, FL
12. Deschutes Obsidian Stout
6.4%, Bend, OR
13. Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout
5.0%, UK
14. Bear Republic Big Black Bear
8.1%, Healdsburg, CA
15. Rogue Chocolate Stout
6.0%, Newport, OR
16. Dark Horse Plead the 5th Imperial Stout
12%, Marshall, MI
17. Duck Rabbit Rabid Duck
10.0%, Farmville, NC
18. Ballast Point Victory at Sea
10.0%, San Diego, CA
19. Flying Fish Imperial Esspresso Stout
8.0%, Cherry Hill, NJ
20. North Coast Old Rasputin
9.0%, Fort Bragg, CA
21. Sly Fox O’Reily Stout, 3.6%, Pheonixville, PA
22. Hoppin Frog ‘Boris the Crusher’ Imperial Stout
The Beers Trials are a completely blind taste test with craft beer experts from around the country. The results are based on a book entitled The Beer Trials, by Seamus Campbell and Robin Goldstein.
Blanche de Bruxelles is the 2010 Grand Champion: Are you down wit da Witbier?
By Tim Rodgers, Matt Rodgers and Matt Goldstein
1. Blanche de Bruxelles:
4.5%, Belgium. It’s the perfect Belgian White! Blanche has a delicate balance of coriander spices with citrus notes and to our surprise, clearly stood out from the crowd.
2. Hoegaarden:
4.9%, Belgium. This world famous witbier performed extremely well, with a nice aroma, mouth feel, and should be considered the gold standard of Belgian Whites.
3. Ommegangs Witte:
5.9%, Cooperstown, NY. The Witte is light on color but packs a lot of flavor.
4. Victory Wirlwind Witbier, 5.0%, Downingtown, PA. Very light and refreshing, no aftertaste though.
5. St. Bernardis Blanche, 5.5%, Belgium. According to Ratebeer.com, the St. Bernardis witbier is made under the supervision of the father of Hoegarden and bottle re-fermented much like Blanche de Bruxelles.
6. Blue Moon, 5.4%, Golden, CO. You wouldn’t know it was a Coors product in a blind test. Blue Moon has great color and well balanced citrus for a Belgian Whit.
7. Allagash White, 5.2%, Portland, ME. The critically acclaimed Allagash was a little too heavy on the coriander spices with not enough citrus to balance it.
8. Wittekerke Witbier, 5.0% ABV, Belgium.
9. Shock Top, 5.2%, St. Louis, MS. It’s the Anheuser Busch answer to craft beer. Shock Top is not bad, but it lacked the flavor of its competition.
10. Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat, 4.9%, Chippewa Falls, WI. Sunset Wheat was way too heavy in floral, lavender, and sweet notes. It could be used for a bathroom air freshener.
11. Bud Light Golden Wheat, 4.1%, St. Louis MS, Another Anheuser Busch creation but to no surprise, it fell way short. It was a control to our experiment. There’s no taste, no aroma and a flavor that seems to fake the funk.
Are you down wit da witbier?
Blanche de Bruxelles is an excellent witbier and specialty of the farm-breweries of old Brabant, Belgium. Through a very slow brewing process and only the best crops, the master brewers infuse the non-filtered beer with coriander and bitter orange peels and then re-ferment the yeast and sugar. Blanche de Bruxelles owes its natural cloudiness to the large percentage (40 %) of wheat that goes into its composition. You need only take a sip of the Blanche de Bruxelles Belgian White to appreciate the fresh and mellow flavor with its hint of orange and realize that it’s not like any other beer. Also, there is a picture of a little devil child taking a wiz on the label. It’s amazing. Maybe that’s where this champion witbier gets it’s flavor.
1. Green Flash’s Le Freak Belgian IPA, 9.2%, Vista, CA
2. Twilight Summer Ale, 5.0%, Bend, OR
3. MacTarnahan’s Lip Stinger Saison Farmhouse Ale, 4.8%, Portland, OR
4. Seven Brides Lil’s Pils, 4.5%, Silverton, OR
5. Golden Valley Festival Kolsch
6. Mt Shasta Mountain High IPA, 7.0%, Weed, CA
7. 21st Amendment Watermelon Wheat, 4.9%, San Francisco, CA
8. Double Mountain’s The Vaporizer, 6.0%, Hood River, OR
9. Lompoc Brewing Son of C-Note, 8.0%, Portland, OR
10. Mad River Jamaica Red Ale, 6.5%, Blue Lake, CA
The Oregon Brewers Festival on the waterfront here in Portland is always a blast. There are tons of people outside getting twisted on the river. What better way to spend a summer weekend?
Portland Oregon is the craft beer capital of the United States. This is most likely because the surrounding mountains provide fresh spring water to the area and all of the local brewers. Local water plays a significant role in the brewing process and the Portland area has taken full advantage. Every beer on our top 10 list is a must, but Green Flash’s Le Freak stole the show!
2. Mont Saint Aubert Grand Reserve 8.5%, Brunehaut, Belgium
3. Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale 5%, North Yorkshire, England
4. Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale 8%, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
5. Dogfish Head 60 6%, Milton Deleware
6. Fuller’s Porter 6.5%, London, England
7. Draft Horse Shire Brown Ale Ontario, Canada
8. Duvel 8.5%, Breendonk, Belgium
9. St. Feullien Saison 6.5%, Le Roeulx, Belgium
10. Victory Golden Monkey 9%, Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Founders Porter of Grand Rapids Michigan has been selected Philadelphia Beer Week’s Grand Champion for 2010! Founders is a classic full flavor porter with a light punch of hops, caramel and chocolate. Founders porter beer puts Guinness to pure shame. Sorry Guinness, but the best part of the half and half is the other half. Founders has real bite and becomes our 2010 Philadelphia Beer Week Grand Champion! Check out our top 10 list of Beer Week musts. Newbies like Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale by Yards and classic Belgians like Duvel (translated in English to Devil) anchor the top 10 list of beers that you shouldn’t go a week without.
In a domestic beer landscape of vortex neck bottles, cold window boxes, cold activation cans, triple hops guarantees, and flavor seal taste protector caps, the surface of the American beer industry looks and tastes pretty grim. I was disappointed to learn that when my tasteless beer flavored water spins real fast at the end of my bottle; it still tastes like beer flavored water with a metallic finish when hit finally reached my mouth. Although, when Miller Lite recently introduced its triple hops guarantee, at least I could be comforted with the notion that at least three actual hops were used when brewing each batch. And, since I merely have a liberal arts education and not one in science or physics, it is reassuring to know that when the mountains turn blue on my can or bottle, I know that my beer is cold rather than the archaic method of putting my beer in the refrigerator for an hour or feeling the bottle for its temperature like our ancestors did.
The Macro-American Beer industry ironically reflects much about American society in general. Bloated advertising budgets, humorous commercials on television, and most important of all; self-image and sex. Calorie counting has become an American pastime just as much as a day at a baseball game or apple pie. Perhaps that is why the “light beer” phenomenon dominates the American beer industry. To put it simply, American beer drinkers and companies favor style over substance, much like today’s popular culture in general. However thankfully, what America also has to offer traditionally, is its great beautiful lands, its illustriative resources, innovation, entrepaneurship, and craftsmanship. The beer that represents these elements of American society well is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
Of course there is always going to be your local micro-brew that brings varieties and flavors that will be your favorite, but it reassuring to know that you can always count on Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to be consistently crisp, refreshing, clean, aromatic, and delicately balanced hoppiness in each sip. Headquarted in Chico, California and originally a micro-brew, it now produces 700,000 barrels of beer a year. And for your calorie counters, a 12-ounce bottle has 175 calories per serving. If that troubles you, lose the mayo or butter or put in an extra ½ hour at the gym because any serious beer drinker would never compromise taste for quality. I don’t ever recall seeing a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale commercial, so I know that that more of a percentage of their operating costs and budgets go into improving their product rather than the pockets of the NFL at halftime of the Super Bowl.
The other well-known craft macro brewery in the United States is the Boston Brewing Company that brews Sam Adams. But instead of going off of the map in so many directions that Sam Adams has a tendency to do, Sierra Nevada in its specialty and seasonal brews stays close to its original formula. In the late fall, the Anniversary Ale is one of the best beers ever produced in America hands down. When my beer taste buds were less mature, beers that were hoppy in nature like your Pale Ales were not as appealing, but unlike most Pale Ales, Sierra Nevada doesn’t try to impress other brewers by putting 113 counts of hops into each batch so you feel like your drinking a Christmas Tree, but rather the hoppiness of the Sierra Nevada variety is merely one component of its complexity. Just like a piece of a puzzle of a masterpiece. The carbonation and head when poured into a pint glass is perfect. Most importantly in these troubled economic times, I bought a 12 pack of bottles in Wilmington, Delaware for $10.99. I think Bud Light Lime was $14.99.
So when you’re in favorite bar or restaurant you no longer have to skip right past the domestic beer selection and go for the pricy imports. If you are looking to support American entrepreneurship, American jobs, and most importantly, if you are looking for simply a great beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is one of the best choices out there. And although there is no plans in the works for a “Vented Wide Mouth Can” to allow drinkers to swig more easily or a house made entirely of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale bottles (including the shower) I still think that if they served and sold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in a dog dish, it would still be a better beer than most domestically speaking.
2010 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards:
by Matt Goldstein
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