Oct. 19, 2012
With 580 breweries in attendance pouring more than 2,500
beers, it would be easy for some of the smaller brew houses to get lost in the
giant maw of the Colorado Convention Center, but despite its exhaustive array
of beers, the Great American Beer Festival still offers a chance for
up-and-coming brewers to strut their stuff and win medals and bragging rights
for their delectable concoctions.
>> First gold for Eddyline.
For smaller breweries and
those just creeping into the ranks of the brewing elite, a medal at the Great
American Beer Festival can open up doors. Such is the case for Eddyline
Restaurant and Brewing Co. in Buena Vista. In its inaugural GABF competition
this year, the brewery won a gold medal out of 29 entries in the
International-Style Pale Ale category for its River Runner Pale Ale.
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| The upstanding gentlemen of the Bull & Bush in Denver were kind enough to share some pretzels with me at GABF. Photo by Devin Schow. |
International refers to the style of the beer, not where it
comes from. The official GABF description of this category calls for beers with
a wide range of hop characteristics, unlike their fruity, floral American
cousins or the earthy, herbal English varieties.
“We put it in that category because our pale ale is a bigger
pale ale,” said Brian England, manager at Eddyline. “It’s 6 percent ABV, with
50 to 60 IBUs — nice, dry finish, and the hop aroma is amazing.”
The Great American Beer Festival was a coming out party for
River Runner, a beer that England said is the brewery’s best but not its
biggest seller. England said the festival is a great way to grow awareness of
the good things that are brewing in this small shop in the mountains.
“I think the competition is fair,” he said. “A small brewery
or a big brewery can make a great beer, and I think that has been shown at
GABF. It’s a big deal. We have distributors already contacting us.”
Gold medal-winning beers are hot commodities for beer
schleppers, and Eddyline has started work on a label design to get its pale ale
canned and into the hands of the beer-thirsty hordes. The award also will help
pave the way with new customers while the brewery launches its Front Range
distributing campaign over the next few weeks, though River Runner itself won’t
be ready to ship out for a few more months.
“This beer was not in the design phase at all, so now we’re
trying to fast track it,” England said. “It will be in all of our distribution
areas. I don’t know if we know fully yet what it’s going to do.”
>> A long shot for home brewers.
The most visible
entry point to the Great American Beer Festival for home brewers is the Pro-Am
competition. This year, 93 amateur members of the American Homebrewers
Association paired up with professional brewers to make beers worthy of entry
into the festival lexicon. The winner, home brewer Jay Shambo, took home the
gold medal for his More Fun Blonde, and the cohort brewery, New Belgium Brewing
Co., added a medal to its collection, which includes a bronze in this year’s
German-Style Sour Ale category.
But flying just under the radar was another contest for
these dilettantes of draught. Each year, Samuel Adams founder and brewer Jim
Koch combs the country for talented home brewers and recognizes their designs
through the brewery’s Longshot American Homebrew Contest. Two winners out of
nearly 1,000 entries earned the right to have their beer brewed and bottled by
Sam Adams and packaged in a variety six-pack to be sold all over the country.
“The Longshot Competition is definitely one of the things I
look forward to because as a brewer, we have the pleasure of brewing these
truly unique and inspiring creations that our Longshot winners submitted so
everyone can enjoy them,” said Jennifer Glanville, a brewer with Samuel Adams.
“Plus, there are some serious bragging rights around the brewery to be won by
the employee whose beer wins at the festival.”
Attendees of the Great American Beer Festival had a hand in
selecting the third Longshot victor, chosen from entries solicited from
employees of Sam Adams. Completing the home brew trifecta this year was Dave
Anderson, a member of the brewery’s packaging team. Anderson’s Strawberry Lager
beat out a Thai-basil beer and an imperial stout for brewery accolades and a
spot in the mixed six-pack, including a label featuring his mug. His beer was
fantastic, a smooth, crisp lager sporting all the fruity flavor of a ripe
strawberry without any of the sweetness. Absolutely the best strawberry beer I
have ever tasted.
If you’re a wannabe wort aficionado with an eye on a GABF
medal, now is the time to start perfecting your craft. Pro-Am entries are
typically due in June, and paired brewers must be established members of the
American Homebrewers Association and sponsored by a brewery. For more
information, visit www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com.
Think you could be a Longshot? Sam Adams begins accepting entries in the
spring. Visit www.samueladams.com for
details.
Krista Driscoll
Hophead
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