Well folks we are back in Bellingham from the 28th Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colo and we did not return empty-handed! In fact, we returned with one of the most prestigious awards a Brewery can take home in the United States:
The Great American Beer Festival is the largest and most prestigious competition for American craft beers. This year’s competition featured 3,308 beers from 495 breweries. A panel of 132 professional judges from 10 countries, worked over a three-day period during the week of the festival, to award brewers prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 78 beer categories, establishing the best examples of each style in the U.S. These awards are among the most coveted in the beer industry and heralded by the winning brewers.
What did it take for Chuckanut Brewery to earn this celebrated title?
Well first off, it was the talented hard work of Brewmaster Will Kemper and Head Brewer Josh Pfriem brewing exceptional lager beers. Then we came in and swept four different competitive lager categories earning 2 Golds & 2 Silvers, giving us a total of 10 GABF points towards Small Brewpub of the Year. Breweries at GABF are awarded points based on medals won, and these points are calculated for the results of the 2009 GABF Brewery of the Year Awards. The GABF Judges awarded Chuckanut Brewery the 2009 Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year based upon the 4 medals won.
Chuckanut had a total point accumulation greater than any other Washington State brewery for any year in GABF history. In the past was 3 Golds (9 pts) vs. our 10 pts for two Golds and two Silvers. Chuckanut Brewery is also the first brewery in the history of the Great American Beer Festival competition to win a Small Brewpub of the Year award with all Lager Style Beers!
Chuckanut Dunkel won a Gold medal in the European Style Dunkel Category, in topping a field of 21 entries. The Dunkel is a deep reddish-brown color, capped by an impressively sturdy tan head, with a slightly sweet nutty palate and complexity. Chuckanut Vienna Lager also won a Gold medal in the Vienna Style Lager category, beating a field of 25 entries. The Vienna Lager is light bronze, with a delicate malt aroma and a slightly caramelized and toasted malt character, finishing clean and crisp. Chuckanut German Pilsner won a Silver medal in the German-Style Pilsener, in a field of 48 entries. The German Pilsner is golden, dry, and sharply bitter, with a flowery, noble hop flavor and aroma. Chuckanut Schwarzbier also won a Silver medal in the German Style Schwarzbier, in a field of 34 entries. Schwarzbier is dark, with a smooth roundness that combines a snappy bitterness with dry, coffee-like roast flavors on a light to medium-bodied frame.
As a whole, Washington state did very well, coming in 4th for most medals. Colorado: 45, California: 39, Oregon: 22, Washington: 13. Congratulations to our brewing friends at Silver City Brewery who earned 3 medals. They took gold in the Old Ale or Strong Ale and Irish Style Red Ale categories, and they picked up a bronze in the International Style Pilsener category. Redhook and Pyramid both earned two medals, and the Tacoma RAM and Snipes Brewing each took home one medal each. Great job Washington State, way to represent the Northwest!
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Well folks, we are off to the Great American Beer Festival this week!
Will, Mari, Josh & I are headed to the Colorado Rockies (specifically the Denver Convention Center) to showcase our Traditional German Lagers & English Ales among the other mighty fine beers that will be showcased this weekend!
The Great American Beer Festival (also known as GABF) is one of the largest beer festivals in the United States each year. Next to the World Beer Cup, which takes place once every two years, this is one of the biggest beer competitions for brewery's around the US to participate in.
This is Chuckanut Brewery's first year to enter beers in the GABF competition and Josh & Will have gone all out! We have entered 10 different beers:
Dortmunder
Helles
Vienna Lager
Rauchbier
Schwarzbier
Dunkel
Marzen
Strong Bock
Kolsch
We have already sent in our beers for judging and we will find out at the rewards ceremony on Saturday afternoon how we did, stacked up next to other Beers around the nation?
If any of you readers will be attending the festival this weekend in Denver...we will be pouring our beer for the public at our booth in the Pacific NW section A21.
Here's what we are bringing to taste:
German Pilsner
Rauchbier
Schwarzbier
Marzen
Interested in watching the GABF Medal Ceremony streamed live compliments of The Brewing Network! visit: http://www.justin.tv/brewingnetwork at 1:00 pm Mountain Time. The presentation of GABF medals will start around 1:30 pm after other awards are presented.
Stop by our booth and say "hello" and/or stay tuned to our website and Blog to see how we do in the competition this weekend!
Cheers!
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Chuckanut Brewery, was featured on September 19th's Bellingham Farmer's Market in the "Chef at the Market" at 11am.
Our cook's Chad, Ross, Rob and demonstrated in front of the pavilion
how to prepare our:
Chuckanut Beer Brats with Sauerkraut
Holly Street Mac-N-Cheese
Using fresh local foods available for purchase at the Farmers Market,
recipes and samples were available following the demonstration.
Take a look at some of our cook's in action by clicking here:
Chuckanut Mac & Cheese demo 1 & demo 2
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