Biggest 'upset' at 2012 World Beer Cup

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by jakesingleton, May 12, 2012.

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  1. jakesingleton

    jakesingleton Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2011 Arizona

    After having a read through the full winners list from the 2012 World Beer Cup (link below), a couple things jumped out at me:
    1) How does Sam Adams Utopias 2011 beat out King Henry in the wood- and barrel-aged strong beer category??? So much gushing from the BA community about King Henry, I figured that was a shoe-in. *Before you start mocking, I fully acknowledge that taking Silver out of 91 entries is one hell of an accomplishment, but I haven't seen a beer as hyped as KH since I joined BA (not long ago)*
    2) Should Pizza Port have been recognized with one of the overall champion brewer awards? I think they took home 8 awards across their locations. I don't know the criteria, but seems like they dominated. Is each location completely independent?
    3) I've never heard of any of the 3 medal winners from the ever popular American-style IPA category (most entries at 150). I guess that means more award winning beer to seek out, but I expected to see a more familiar name on that list.
    4) Should categories 43 & 44 be eliminated all together?

    Link to winners list (pdf): http://www.worldbeercup.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/WBC12-Winners-List.pdf
     
    #1 jakesingleton, May 12, 2012
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  2. deadonhisfeet

    deadonhisfeet Pooh-Bah (2,481) Apr 23, 2011 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    I imagine more BAs would gush over Utopias if they actually tried them. However, at over $150 per bottle, I'm guessing very few have (I know I haven't).
     
    #2 deadonhisfeet, May 12, 2012
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  3. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam


    And with blind tasting the judges can't taste the hype/rare/price.
     
    #3 drtth, May 12, 2012
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  4. ewright

    ewright Initiate (0) Oct 25, 2007 North Carolina

    WTF? Bigfoot was in the Imperial red category. That's absurd considering it is often held up a THE quintessential American barleywine.
     
    #4 ewright, May 12, 2012
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  5. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Talk to Sierra Nevada, that's where they entered it.
     
    #5 drtth, May 12, 2012
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  6. nanobrew

    nanobrew Initiate (0) Dec 31, 2008 California

    all of the Pizza Port locations are run separately. They each have their own brewer and they make their own beers.
     
    #6 nanobrew, May 12, 2012
  7. WassailWilly

    WassailWilly Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2007 New York

    How can we DO without this ??? LOL
    Category 43: American-Style Lager or Light Lager, 39 Entries of crap in a can
    Gold: Coors Light, Coors Brewing Co., Golden, CO
    Silver: Michelob Ultra, Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, MO
    Bronze: Michelob Light, Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, MO
    Category 44: American-Style Premium Lager or Specialty Lager, 37
    Gold: Steel Reserve, Miller Brewing Co., Golden, CO
    Silver: Evans Original, Cervecería Mexicana, Corona, CA
    Bronze: Icehouse, Miller Brewing Co., Golden, CO
    Category 45: American-Style Amber Lager, 40 Entries of swill
     
    #7 WassailWilly, May 12, 2012
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  8. ewright

    ewright Initiate (0) Oct 25, 2007 North Carolina

    Well, that's just crazy talk!
     
    #8 ewright, May 12, 2012
  9. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Categories 43 and 44 should be kept. They represent very popular beer styles.
     
    #9 drtth, May 12, 2012
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  10. deadonhisfeet

    deadonhisfeet Pooh-Bah (2,481) Apr 23, 2011 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    It reminds me of a heavyweight fighter shedding several pounds so he can take on smaller opponents.
     
    #10 deadonhisfeet, May 12, 2012
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  11. jakesingleton

    jakesingleton Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2011 Arizona

    Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware they each had a separate brewer. Apparently all very qualified brewers. Good showing from them.
     
    #11 jakesingleton, May 12, 2012
  12. jakesingleton

    jakesingleton Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2011 Arizona

    BrewDog offers their 'Tactical Nuclear Penguin' (32% ABV) and 'Sink the Bismarck' (41% ABV) via 1.5oz tastings in their bar locations. I've only seen Utopias offered in this format at the Mikkeller bar in Copenhagen (I still didn't splurge for it). But I'm sure there are ways to sample without plunking down the $150 for a whole bottle.
     
    #12 jakesingleton, May 12, 2012
  13. jakesingleton

    jakesingleton Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2011 Arizona

    Yea, the homeless guy I was talking to was in full agreement with the Steel Reserve gold medal win. His only gripe was how badly Olde English got hosed by the judging panel.
     
    #13 jakesingleton, May 12, 2012
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  14. deadonhisfeet

    deadonhisfeet Pooh-Bah (2,481) Apr 23, 2011 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    You're absolutely right, and it reminds me of how stupid I am sometimes. I attend a weekly beer tasting. Not too long ago, they featured a bunch of Sam Adams beers. Usually the tasting costs $2. However, for $10 they'd let you try Utopias. Unfortunately, I passed on the opportunity because I honestly didn't know what they were. I'm still kicking myself.:angry:
     
    #14 deadonhisfeet, May 12, 2012
  15. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Well, there
    Well, there you go, even your friends and neighbors follow the awards and like the category.
     
    #15 drtth, May 12, 2012
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  16. kiwifuz

    kiwifuz Crusader (400) Oct 27, 2005 Indiana

    You have to keep the macro crap catergories, how will Miller Lite brag after a win?! But honestly, big beer pays lots of sponsorship money toward these big events, so let them have their crappy catergory awards.
     
    #16 kiwifuz, May 12, 2012
  17. woosterbill

    woosterbill Pooh-Bah (2,807) Apr 6, 2009 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    I was just curious about the Belgian-Style Sour category - who entered? I just can't imagine Oude Geuze Boon (not even Mariage Parfait!) beating out every other Geuze on the market. Did 3 Fonteinen and Cantillon even bother to enter? Girardin and De Cam?
     
    #17 woosterbill, May 12, 2012
  18. superacct2004

    superacct2004 Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2008 Michigan

    I am surprised at how few of the top beers on this site received any medals; few and far between. Theoretically blind tasting removes bias/agendas so is this just a sign of many popular beers not be 'to style'??
     
    #18 superacct2004, May 12, 2012
  19. jakesingleton

    jakesingleton Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2011 Arizona

    It would be interesting to see a full listing of entrants for each category. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find anything via a quick internet search. Although this may not be common practice for these types of competitions.
     
    #19 jakesingleton, May 12, 2012
  20. woosterbill

    woosterbill Pooh-Bah (2,807) Apr 6, 2009 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    You have to wonder why they don't offer a complete list of entrants - is it to keep the non-medalists from feeling like losers, or to increase the prestige for the winners by suppressing the possible fact that they were simply the best in a weak field? You know they've got a spreadsheet with every beer entered, and it would take practically no effort to release that to the public...
     
    #20 woosterbill, May 12, 2012
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