The results from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) were announced Saturday afternoon and we reported them here. We know that many of our regular followers are offline on the weekends, so here’s a follow up that includes more details.
- Chuckanut Brewery (Bellingham) won four medals for beer and two other awards. They won 2 gold medals – one for the Dunkel and one for the Vienna Lager. They won 2 silver medals – one for the Schwarzbier and one for the Pilsner. Chuckanut was also awarded Best Small Brew Pub and Best Small Brewer.
- Silver City (Silverdale) won three medals. They won 2 gold medals – one for Ridgetop Red and one for Old Scrooge ’98. They also won a bronze medal for the Gold Mountain Pilsner.
- Red Hook (Woodinville) won two medals. They won a gold medal for the ESB. They also won a silver medal for the Treblehook (barley wine).
- Snipes Mountain Brewing (Sunnyside) won a bronze medal for the Coyote Moon. It’s a reddish-bronze ale that drinks like an English brown ale and was entered in the “English Style Mild Ale” category.
It’s not always so simple. You tell me if Washington deserved to get credit for the following:
- The Ram Restaurant and Brewery won a silver medal for the Clearwater Kolsch. The Ram enters their beers in regional groups. The brewery in Boise is considered part of “Ram Restaurant and Brewery (2),” which is credited as being out of Lakewood, WA. So, although the Clearwater Kolsch was brewed in Boise, ID by Kevin Bolen, it’s appears to have come from the Ram in Lakewood, WA.
- Pyramid Brewing won two medals. They won two gold medals – one for the Haywire Hefeweizen and one for the McTarnahan’s Amber. Although brewing activities at the Seattle facility seem to have ceased entirely, and we get conflicting reports every time we ask about it, the company is still officially headquartered in Seattle. The beer was almost certainly brewed out-of-state, but that’s the story.
For the complete GABF results, visit the GABF Web site.
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I really wonder sometimes about the judging at GABF.
Tony, I know what you mean. I often end up scratching my head. But it is a double blind tasting, so it’s not like anyone is playing favorites. I like to imagine at the end of it all when they reveal that the winner for “American-Style Lager or Premium Lager” is Miller High Life, a bunch of judges say, “Damn it!” and kick themselves. Same too, when they realize they’ve awarded the gold medal for “American-Style Cream Ale or Lager” to Milwaukee’s Best. Ouch. Keystone Ice got a gold medal for “American Style Specialty Lager.” If you’re one of those judges, how can you sleep at night?