I want to start by giving a huge shout-out to Georgetown for winning what is like THE premiere category, American IPA, with Bhodizafa, and also grabbing another Gold in the Coffee beer style. I haven't had a chance to closely look at the list yet, but Whatcom County only got two medals; Chuckanut Helles Gold, and Kulshan Gose Bronze, congrats guys. What all y'all think about this year in Denver?
is this the first year where a brewery in the PNW didn't win a medal for fresh hopped? edit: also a lot of Oregon's medal winners came out of nowhere it feels like. edit 2: Really glad to see Migration win for Old Silenus, I'm a fan of old ales and it's one of my favs.
Big props to Perry Street Brewing in Spokane too. They won gold for best Session beer. They have been consistently awesome since they opened and deserve that award. Well done WA all around.
Two medals in three years for tiny Kootenai River in Bonners Ferry is pretty impressive, too: http://www.spokane7.com/blog/2016/oct/08/gabf-gold-psb/
Melvin (Wyoming) and Bosque (New Mexico) were two of the three winners last year, too, third one then was Comrade (Colorado).
Like I said, I haven't looked at the list close-up yet, but, there were 286 medals awarded, and they went to 254 breweries. A maximum of 30ish breweries got multiple awards. That's a great sign that a lot of awesome beer is being brewed pretty much everywhere across the country. So, it stands to reason that, when I do look at the list in detail, it's going to seem like a lot of breweries came out of nowhere. Great!, I say.
Really happy for Georgetown (and our local Whatcom County brewers too). Bodhi is a really tasty beer, and the fact that you can get a growler of it so easily/cheaply is just amazing.
I am surprised that Bodhi got the gold, but pleased that I had a chance to try it, and further pleased that such a terrific beer was recognized with the medal. I am genuinely pleased that the gold in such an important category was awarded to a good PNW brewery.
The fresh-hop category has a later receipt deadline (9/15), but hops are still being harvested in the Willamette and Yakima then. There may be some other logistical advantages that give those guys an edge, or maybe they just make better fresh hop beers. That wasn't my experience (under less than ideal conditions) so maybe my palate values things differently than the judges. I still feel reeeeaaalllly good about our FH beer situation from my sampling.
Ill say this. I saw the beers that were sent out to GABF and I can say that 95% of the best stuff made in the PNW isnt sent to this festival. A lot of places just send a standard beer and see what happens.
What the hell is "Australian-Stlye" or "International-Style" Pale Ale? That's the category Breakside got Bronze for an ISA.
It's a combination of two subcategories: Australian-Style Pale Ale Australian-Style Pale Ales are light amber to light brown. Chill or hop haze may be evident. Hop aroma is often reminiscent of tropical fruit such as mango, passion fruit and other tropical fruit character. Intensity can be low to medium-high. Malt character has a perceived low to medium caramel-candy sweetness. Hop flavor is aligned with aroma; tropical fruit such as mango, passion fruit and other tropical fruit character. Intensity can be low to mediumhigh. Hop bitterness is low to medium. Fruity-ester aroma should be perceived. Diacetyl should be very low if present. DMS aroma should not be present. Body is low to medium. Original Gravity (ºPlato) 1.040 - 1.052 (10 - 12.5) ● Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato) 1.004 - 1.008 (1 - 2) ● Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.50% - 5.20% (4.20% - 6.20%) ● Bitterness (IBU) 20 - 45 ● Color SRM (EBC) 3 - 14 (6 - 28) International-Style Pale Ale International-Style Pale Ales are gold to light brown. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Recognizing the wide range of distinctive hop flavors and aromas which characterize Pale Ales from around the world, International Pale Ales will be assessed on the merits that they do not fit existing Pale Ale guidelines (such as American, English or Australian). Low caramel malt aroma may be present. Hop aroma is absent to high and reflective of hop flavor. Very low to medium maltiness is present. Low caramel malt flavor may be present. Hop flavor is very low to high, and may reflect a wide range of characters evident in hop varieties from origins not otherwise outlined in these guidelines, for example, tropical fruity qualities typical of New Zealand hop varieties and/or spicy, woody or other qualities typical of German hop varieties, or other origins. Hop bitterness is medium to high. Fruity-ester flavor and aroma should be low to high. Diacetyl should be absent or present at very low levels. DMS should not be present. Body is light to medium. Original Gravity (ºPlato) 1.040 - 1.060 (10 - 14.7) ● Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato) 1.006 - 1.014 (1.5 - 3.6) ● Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.50% - 5.20% (4.40% - 6.60%) ● Bitterness (IBU) 20 - 42 ● Color SRM (EBC) 5 - 14 (10 - 28)
Enjoyed a rippin at the pub on Saturday and was reminded what a quality brew that is. Couldn't help but wish that SR had done a FH version. They didn't, did they?
Nope. Sunriver did the same 2 FH beers as last year, D'Bomb (Amarillo) and D'Kine (Mosaic). They're both 6.5% vs. Rippin's 6%, so not too far off, and pretty tasty.
