Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Local 2014 GABF winners

SD shines early, often at Great American Beer Festival

San Diego County brewers are used to successful outings at the country's largest, most-respected brewing competition, the Great American Beer Festival. Held annually in Denver, the combination festival and competition draws thousands of beer fans as well as brewing company head honchos eager to ascend the stairs to the award stage to receive medals for best brews in 90-plus beer style categories.

Winners were announced earlier today and San Diego County interests brought home medals in the following categories.

  • American-Belgo-Style Ale - Green Flash Brewing Company, Le Freak (Bronze)
  • American-Style Pale Ale - Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Grunion (Gold)
  • Barley Wine-Style Ale - AleSmith Brewing Company, Old Numbskull (Gold)
  • Belgian-Style Tripel - Pizza Port Ocean Beach, La Flama Dorada (Bronze)
  • Belgian-Style Witbier - Saint Archer Brewery, White Ale (Gold)
  • Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout - Bagby Beer Co., Asphalt Jungle (Bronze)
  • Imperial India Pale Ale - Port Brewing Company, Hop 15 (Silver)
  • Imperial Red Ale - Port Brewing Company, Shark Attack (Bronze)
  • International Style Pale Ale - Societe Brewing Company, The Pupil (Bronze)
  • Irish-Style Red Ale - Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Piper Down (Silver)
  • Other Belgian-Style Ale - Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Liberty Station, Witty Moron (Gold)
  • Session Beers - Benchmark Brewing Company, Oatmeal Stout (Gold), Pizza Port Ocean Beach, Guillame (Silver), Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Mosaic Session Ale (Bronze)

This year, brewing companies were only allowed five entries total. In the past, the maximum number of entries per organization was 10, so competition was fiercer. Also, companies' approach to the competition was much more strategic.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Even before judging for the main competition had been completed, two local breweries won big awards in the largest side contests coinciding with GABF. Vista's Belching Beaver Brewery took first place in the prestigious Alpha King challenge, an IBU-focused event crowning the highest quality, mega-hopped India pale ale (IPA) in the country. That distinction goes to Belching Beaver Pound Town Triple IPA.

A prize even better than a GABF medal went to small but formidable ChuckAlek Independent Brewers, who applied for and were awarded a $10,000 small business loan as part of Boston Beer Co.'s Brewing the American Dream program. That money will be put toward expansion of their Ramona-based business. Now, that's some serious gold!

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer fends off attacks on Encinitas cliff story

Says each letter writer takes on only part of the article

San Diego County brewers are used to successful outings at the country's largest, most-respected brewing competition, the Great American Beer Festival. Held annually in Denver, the combination festival and competition draws thousands of beer fans as well as brewing company head honchos eager to ascend the stairs to the award stage to receive medals for best brews in 90-plus beer style categories.

Winners were announced earlier today and San Diego County interests brought home medals in the following categories.

  • American-Belgo-Style Ale - Green Flash Brewing Company, Le Freak (Bronze)
  • American-Style Pale Ale - Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Grunion (Gold)
  • Barley Wine-Style Ale - AleSmith Brewing Company, Old Numbskull (Gold)
  • Belgian-Style Tripel - Pizza Port Ocean Beach, La Flama Dorada (Bronze)
  • Belgian-Style Witbier - Saint Archer Brewery, White Ale (Gold)
  • Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout - Bagby Beer Co., Asphalt Jungle (Bronze)
  • Imperial India Pale Ale - Port Brewing Company, Hop 15 (Silver)
  • Imperial Red Ale - Port Brewing Company, Shark Attack (Bronze)
  • International Style Pale Ale - Societe Brewing Company, The Pupil (Bronze)
  • Irish-Style Red Ale - Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Piper Down (Silver)
  • Other Belgian-Style Ale - Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Liberty Station, Witty Moron (Gold)
  • Session Beers - Benchmark Brewing Company, Oatmeal Stout (Gold), Pizza Port Ocean Beach, Guillame (Silver), Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Mosaic Session Ale (Bronze)

This year, brewing companies were only allowed five entries total. In the past, the maximum number of entries per organization was 10, so competition was fiercer. Also, companies' approach to the competition was much more strategic.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Even before judging for the main competition had been completed, two local breweries won big awards in the largest side contests coinciding with GABF. Vista's Belching Beaver Brewery took first place in the prestigious Alpha King challenge, an IBU-focused event crowning the highest quality, mega-hopped India pale ale (IPA) in the country. That distinction goes to Belching Beaver Pound Town Triple IPA.

A prize even better than a GABF medal went to small but formidable ChuckAlek Independent Brewers, who applied for and were awarded a $10,000 small business loan as part of Boston Beer Co.'s Brewing the American Dream program. That money will be put toward expansion of their Ramona-based business. Now, that's some serious gold!

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Holiday Market At Petco Park, Will Smith’s Dance in the Darkness Tour, Light Shows, Snowfall, Caroling

Events December 12-December 13, 2024
Next Article

The greatest symphonist of them all

Havergal Brian wrote over 30 of them
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader