GABF 2008 Winners from Categories 1-10
Category: 1 American-Style Cream Ale or Lager – 25 Entries
Gold: Lone Star, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL
Silver: Hamm’s, MillerCoors, Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Henry Weinhard’s Blue Boar Pale Ale, MillerCoors, Milwaukee, WI
TFP: I think I am going to try out Hamm’s. I enjoy an ice cold PBR, and I always giggle when I see these retro beers at the grocery store.
Category: 2 American-Style Wheat Beer – 21 Entries
Gold: Pyramid Crystal Wheat Ale, Pyramid Breweries Inc., Seattle, WA
Silver: Spanish Peak Crystal Weiss, Spanish Peaks Brewing Co., Stamford, CT
Bronze: American Wheat, Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Co., Hays, KS
TFP: American-Style Wheat Beer is a great gateway out of swill and into great flavorful ales. Pyramid is the go-to brewer for American Wheat Beer.
Category: 3 American-Style Hefeweizen – 52 Entries
Gold: Henry Weinhard’s Hefeweizen, MillerCoors, Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Hefeweizen, Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Bronze: Whitetail Wheat, Montana Brewing Co., Billings, MT
TFP: See notes on Category 2!
Category: 4 Fruit or Vegetable Beer – 87 Entries
Gold: Pyramid Apricot Ale, Pyramid Breweries Inc., Seattle, WA
Silver: Alaskan Raspberry Wheat Beer, Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK
Bronze: Sangre de Frambuesa, Santa Fe Brewing Co., Santa Fe, NM
TFP: Last time I looked on my shelfs, Pyramid changed their Apricot offering from Ale to Wheat Beer. If this signifies the return of the ale, that would be great!
Category: 5 Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beer – 72 Entries
Gold: Russian Roulette, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN
Silver: Pangaea, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE
Bronze: State Beach Blonde, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
TFP: I had the chance to sample Pangaea with Stan from Lone Hill Liquor, and it was really unique and tasty. Visit the Dogfish Head Rehoboth Brewpub, as they have the place decked out with experimental herb and spiced beers.
Category: 6 Coffee Flavored Beer – 28 Entries
Gold: Java the Hut, CB & Potts Restaurant & Brewery (Flatirons – Westminster), Broomfield, CO
Silver: Big Shot Espresso Stout, Twisted Pine Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Bronze: Double Espresso Stout, Barley Brothers Brewery and Grill, Lake Havasu City, AZ
TFP: None of these winners have been reviewed or sampled by TFP. If this style sounds dreamy to you, pick up a six pack of Kona Brewing Pipeline Porter.
Category: 7 Specialty Beer – 21 Entries
Gold: Red & White, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE
Silver: Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Rogue Ales, Portland, OR
Bronze: Palo Santo Marron, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE
TFP: All three of these brews are fantastic. Even if you don’t like wheat or fruit beers, DFH Red and White is awesome. Hazelnut Brown is a bit powerful in the flavor department, and Palo Santo Marron is powerful in all departments a beer can be in. Super congrats on this category.
Category: 8 Rye Beer – 24 Entries
Gold: Roggenbier, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – Media, Wilmington, DE
Silver: Right On Rye, Rock Bottom Brewery – Bethesda, Bethesda, MD
Bronze: Ryeteous Red, Amherst Brewing Co., Amherst, MA
TFP: We will have to seek out some of these to sample.
Category: 9 Specialty Honey Beer – 33 Entries
Gold: Honey Lager, Capitol City Brewing Co. – Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
Silver: Eye of the Storm, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN
Bronze: Honey Moon Summer Ale, Blue Moon Brewing Co., Golden, CO
TFP: This type of beer is another style that is perfect for the person who only knows of beer as a bitter stinky swill.
Category: 10 Session Beer – 33 Entries
Gold: 3.2 Unfiltered Wheat Beer, Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
Silver: USS Minnow Mild Ale, Dry Dock Brewing, Aurora, CO
Bronze: Blonde Bombshell, Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., Redmond, OR
TFP: We have not sampled any of these, but as a group, we love session beers. It’s hard drinking nothing but the great stuff non-stop.
Click HERE to read the results of Categories 11-25.
Click HERE to read the results of Categories 26-50.
