Note: Due to space constraints, Gold Medal winners are the only ones listed in this section. European-Style Low-Alcohol Lager/German-Style Leicht(bier)
The 2010 World Beer Cup rolled out for the 8th time at the Sheration Chicago Hotel and Towers in Chicago, Illinois, USA, in conjunction with the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America in early April. The Brewers Association welcomed judges from across the globe, hosting the world's largest commercial beer competition to date. World Beer Cup judges assess each beer according to the Style Guidelines developed by the Brewers Association for description and specifications. In addition, they seek to determine which beers display distinctive, ethereal qualities that propel them into the category of true World-Class prominence.
Five Champion Awards were given for World Beer Cup Brewery/Brewmasters in Large, Medium, and Small Brewery categories and Large and Small Brewpub categories at the gala awards dinner held on Saturday evening, April 10, 2010. Charlie Papazian, President of the Brewers Association, spoke with passion about the creativity and ability of these World-Class brewers, saying, For a brewer, a World Beer Cup gold award allows them to say that their winning beer represents the best of that beer style in the world.
2010 World Beer Cup Statistics:
3,330 Beers entered from 642 breweries in 44 countries
90 style categories
179 Judges from 26 countries 62% from outside the USA
Breweries from 18 countries were medal winners:
Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Canada Czech Republic Denmark Germany Iceland Italy Japan Lithuania Mexico Russia Singapore Sweden United Kingdom United States
Leading medal winning U.S. states were:
California 45
Oregon 13
Illinois 12
Washington 12
Colorado 11
Michigan 11
Virginia 8
Most Gold Medals for U.S. state were:
California 19
Oregon 6
Colorado 4
Illinois 3
Virginia 3
Washington 3
Missouri 3
Other medal winning U.S. states were:
Wisconsin Delaware Missouri Indiana Nevada New York Maryland Pennsylvania Massachusetts - North Carolina Arizona New Mexico Alaska Utah Tennessee Vermont Wyoming Maine Texas Kansas Minnesota Oklahoma Montana Hawaii Nebraska Kentucky Ohio Georgia Iowa Wyoming
Categories with more than 50 and less than 100 entries
Fruit Beer or Field Beer - 86 Entries
Gold - Da' Yoopers, Rocky Mountain Brewery, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
American Style Pale Ale 77 entries
Gold - Pale 31, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, California, USA
American Style Lager 75 entries
Gold Olympia, Pabst Brewing Company, Woodridge, Illinois, USA
German Style Pilsener 69 entries
Gold Pilsner, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California, USA
Imperial India Pale Ale 69 entries
Gold - Hardcore IPA, BrewDog, Fraserburgh, United Kingdom
South German Style Hefeweizen/Hefeweissbier 66 entries
Gold Hefeweizen, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, California, USA
American Style Amber / Red Ale 66 entries
Gold - Rudolph's Red, Rock Bottom Brewery [La Jolla location], La Jolla, California, USA
Robust Porter 64 entries
Gold - Pier Rat Porter, Pizza Port San Clemente, San Clemente, California, USA
American Style Strong Pale Ale 59 entries
Gold - O'Brien's IPA, Alpine Beer Company, Alpine, California, USA
International Style Lager 58 entries
Gold - Tiger Beer, Asia Pacific Breweries Limited, Singapore
Barley Wine-Style Ale 58 entries
Gold - Little Korkny Ale Niepoort Barrel, Nψrrebro Bryghus, Copenhagen N, Denmark
Belgian and French-Style Ale 57 entries
Gold - Saison Sayuri, Baird Brewing Company, Numazu, Japan
Belgian Style Tripel 53 entries
Gold - Daisy Chain Tripel, Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Experimental Beer 51 entries
Gold - 100% Brett Autumn Maple, The Bruery, Placentia, California, USA
Golden or Blonde Ale 50 entries
Gold - Heavy Seas Gold Ale, Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Pennsylvania (Home state of the Beer Fox) received 4 medals:
Gold Traditional German-Style Bock: Troegenator, Troegs Brewery, Harrisburg
Silver German Style Sour Ale: Ich Bin Ein Berliner Weisse, Nodding Head Brewery, Philadelphia
Bronze Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter: Extra Special Ale, Yards Brewing Company, Philadelphia
Bronze Belgian Style Tripel: Merry Monks Ale, Weyerbacher, Easton
The following categories remained as the untouchables to the American brewers, completely dominated by European brewers (or European and Asian brewers):
Dortmunder/European-Style Export or German-Style Oktoberfest/Wiesen (Meadow)
German-Style Pale Wheat Ale
German-Style Dark Wheat Ale
German-Style Heller Bock/Maibock
International-Style Lager (Gold was won by Asia Singapore; Silver and Bronze to the Czech Republic and Iceland, respectively)
Other surprises:
In the Aged Beer Category, Alaskan Brewing Company of Juneau, Alaska, USA won Gold with a 12-year-old vintage beer, Alaskan Smoked Porter 1998. For those curious about the effects of aging on beer, Alaskan Brewing Companys win echoes as positive proof that keeping well-brewed beer in ideal conditions will enhance the flavor profile with time.
Americans learn well. Morgan Street Brewery of St. Louis, Missouri, USA took the Gold medal for Golden Pilsner in the Bohemian Pilsner Category, knocking Plzeňskύ Prazdroj a.s. of Plzeň, Czech Republic into Silver status for Gambrinus Excelent and Bronze status for Velkopopovickύ KOZEL Premium. Plzeňskύ Prazdroj a.s. wrote the book on the Bohemian Pilsner style, originated in Plzeň.
Baird Brewing Company of Numazu, Japan won Gold in the American-Style Amber Lager Category with Numazu Lager, as well as Gold in the Belgian-and-French Style Category for Saison Sayuri.
The Brewers Association also holds an Awards Ceremony in Europe, for those who cannot make the trip to the United States. The Awards Ceremony for 2010 will be on May 5, 2010 in Hohr-Grenzhausen, Germany.
A complete list of winners can be found at the Brewers Association 2010 World Beer Cup website:
http://worldbeercup.org/winners.html
Cheers!
