GABF 2008 Winners from Categories 26-50

Click HERE to read the winners of categories 1-10
Click HERE to read the winners of categories 11-25

Category: 26 Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest – 16
Entries
Gold: Rolling Thunder Dortmunder, Snake River Brewing Jackson,
Jackson, WY
Silver: Westy Export, CB & Potts Restaurant & Brewery (Flatirons –
Westminster), Broomfield, CO
Bronze: Penn Oktoberfest, Pennsylvania Brewing Co., Pittsburgh, PA

TFP: You can get Penn Oktoberfest on draft at Citizens Bank Park, while rooting for the Phillies!!

Category: 27 America-Style Light Lager – 25 Entries
Gold: Coors Light, MillerCoors, Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Old Milwaukee Light, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL
Bronze: Keystone Light, MillerCoors, Milwaukee, WI

TFP: While we like educating our readers on nice craft beer, we will go out on a limb and say there is a time and a place for swill aka American-Style Light Lager. You gotta wonder how one of these swills beats the other. They almost taste identical.

Category: 28 American-Style Lager or Premium Lager – 29 Entries
Gold: Olympia, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL
Silver: Blatz, Pabst Brewing Co., Woodridge, IL
Bronze: Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve, MillerCoors, Milwaukee, WI

TFP: Not much difference in our book from category 27 and 28. Mind boggling.

Category: 29 American-Style Specialty Lager – 24 Entries
Gold: Hurricane High Gravity, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., St. Louis, MO
Silver: Natural Ice, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., St. Louis, MO
Bronze: Busch Ice, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., St. Louis, MO

TFP: God bless the judges that had to choke through this.  Might these ladies and gentlemen be on the receiving end of punishment?

Category: 30 Vienna-Style Lager – 28 Entries
Gold: Vienna Red Lager, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – West Chester,
Wilmington, DE
Silver: Oaktoberfest, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Bronze: Clipper City MarzHon, Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD

TFP: Stay tuned for a review on Clipper City MarzHon, and BIG UPS to Firestone Walker.  Too bad all the good, rare Firestone Walker is being horded by their home region.

Category: 31 German-Style Märzen – 48 Entries
Gold: Dogtoberfest, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
Silver: Saratoga Lager, Olde Saratoga Brewing Co., Saratoga Springs, NY
Bronze: Munsterfest, Three Floyds Brewing Co., Munster, IN

TFP: This is a fun style, as it gets you in the mood for the fall time of year.  Stay tuned for a Dogtoberfest Review.

Category: 32 American-Style Amber Lager – 43 Entries
Gold: BJ’s Oktoberfest, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Chandler, Huntington
Beach, CA
Silver: Old Scratch Amber Lager, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
Bronze: El Oso, Bear Republic Brewing Co., Healdsburg, CA

TFP: B.J.’s Octoberfest is really good, and should be fresh wherever your local B.J.’s is.  It will warm you up as well.

Category: 33 European-Style Dunkel – 18 Entries
Gold: Munich Dark, Redwood Brewing Co., Flint, MI
Silver: Bastone Münchner Dunkel, Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak, MI
Bronze: Michelob AmberBock, Michelob Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO

TFP: I’m sure the European beer drinking population would love to know their well crafted brew is being represented by Michelob’s dark brown water.

Category: 34 American-Style Dark Lager – 12 Entries
Silver: Leinenkugel’s Creamy Dark, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.,
Chippewa Falls, WI
Bronze: Henry Weinhard’s Classic Dark, MillerCoors, Milwaukee, WI

TFP:  This style is puzzling.  Appearance is one thing, but whats behind the appearance?

Category: 35 German-Style Schwarzbier – 23 Entries
Gold: B3K, Wynkoop Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Cherny Bock, Bohemian Brewery, Midvale, UT
Bronze: Black Noddy Lager, Buckbean Brewing Co., Reno, NV

TFP: These have not been sampled by us, but if you are interested in the style, try Zingu or Sam Adams Black Lager.

Category: 36 Bock – 39 Entries
Gold: Goat Rancher, The SandLot, Denver, CO
Silver: Bock Lager, Elk Grove Brewery and Restaurant, Elk Grove, CA
Bronze: Butt Head Bock, Tommyknocker Brewery, Idaho Springs, CO

TFP: Hehhhhhehhhh, he said butt.

Category: 37 German-Style Strong Bock – 19 Entries
Gold: Capital Autumnal Fire, Capital Brewery Co., Inc., Middleton, WI
Silver: Deep Water Dopplebock, Thomas Creek Brewery, Greenville, SC
Bronze: Red Cock Doppel Bock, Maui Brewing Co., Lahaina, HI

TFP: Again, we’d love to try these, but you would love Troeg’s Troegenator for the best of style.

Category: 38 Baltic-Style Porter – 18 Entries
Gold: Kick in the Baltic Porter, Bluegrass Brewing Co., Louisville, KY
Silver: Killer Kowalski, Flossmoor Station Brewing Co., Flossmoor, IL
Bronze: SMP, Sixpoint Craft Ales, Brooklyn, NY

TFP: If you like Baltic Porter, a readily available one is Flying Dog Imperial Porter.

Category: 39 Golden or Blonde Ale – 40 Entries
Gold: Steelhead Extra Pale Ale, Mad River Brewing Co., Blue Lake, CA
Silver: Alaskan Summer Ale, Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK
Bronze: All Nighter, Chicago Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV

TFP: This is an easy going, easy drinking style. Why Alaskan Summer Ale wasn’t placed in the Kolsch category, I’ll never know.

Category: 40 German-Style Kölsch – 42 Entries
Gold: Wind Blown Blonde, Stewart’s Brewing Co., Bear, DE
Silver: Sierra Nevada Kolsch Style Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
Bronze: Guido’s Kolner Brau, Snake River Brewing, Jackson, WY

TFP: Sierra Nevada Kolsch!! Something tells me that must be the hoppiest Kolsch ever.

Category: 41 English-Style Summer Ale – 34 Entries
Gold: Surfer’s Summer Ale, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR
Silver: Montgomery Blonde, Montgomery Brewing Co., Montgomery, AL
Bronze: 312 ‘Urban Wheat Ale’, Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL

TFP: You can find 312 in just about every bar, small or large in Chicago.

Category: 42 Classic English-Style Pale Ale – 48 Entries
Gold: Full Sail Pale Ale, Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, OR
Silver: Clipper City Pale Ale, Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD
Bronze: Summit Extra Pale Ale, Summit Brewing Co., Saint Paul, MN

TFP: Three cheers for Full Sail and Clipper City!

Category: 43 English-Style India Pale Ale – 28 Entries
Bronze: Hop Daddy IPA, Main Street Brewery, Corona, CA

TFP: Either beertown.org omitted the Gold and Silver, or maybe they didn’t.  I’ll give first place to Drakes IPA, and silver to 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA.

Category: 44 American-Style Pale Ale – 76 Entries
Gold: Mission Street Pale, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Silver: Drake’s 1500 Pale, Drake’s Brewing Co., San Leandro, CA
Bronze: Firestone Pale 31, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA

TFP: Firestone Walker has this style nailed. All the other breweries of the country, take notice.

Category: 45 American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 71 Entries
Gold: Hop Bomb, Rock Bottom Brewing, Louisville, CO
Silver: Nectar Pale, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Bronze: Organic IPA, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland, OR

TFP: Nectar Pale is fantastic. Crisp, refreshing, floral, fruity, yet dry at the same time.

Category: 46 American-Style India Pale Ale – 104 Entries
Gold: Union Jack IPA, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Silver: Blind Pig IPA, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA
Bronze: Hop Head, Bend Brewing Co., Bend, OR

TFP: California doin the damn thing. Union Jack does rock, and Blind Pig is sublime.

Category: 47 Imperial or Double India Pale Ale – 50 Entries
Gold: Hopnotic 2X IPA, San Diego Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Hip Hop Double IPA, Hollister Brewing Co., Goleta, CA
Bronze: Hop 15, Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA

TFP: Notice a trend? California + hops = winner!

Category: 48 American-Style Amber/Red Ale – 65 Entries
Gold: Dry Hopped Red, Rogue Ales, Portland, OR
Silver: CascaZilla, Ithaca Beer Co., Ithaca, NY
Bronze: American Amber, Rogue Ales, Portland, OR

TFP: Let’s hope the relatively new Green Flash Hop Head Red wins next year.

Category: 49 Imperial or Double Red Ale – 30 Entries
Gold: Rock Hopera Imperial IPA, Vino’s Pizza • Pub • Brewery, Little Rock, AR
Silver: Alpha Dog Double Red Ale, Big Dog’s Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV
Bronze: Weekender Red Ale, Amicas, Salida, CO

TFP: To sample others in this style, check out Rogue Imperial Red, Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale, and Port Brewing Shark Attack.

Category: 50 Bitter or Pale Mild Ale – 42 Entries
Gold: Drop Top, Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: Hopsmith Pale Ale, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver, CO
Bronze: Sawtooth Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, CO

TFP: For you Three Floyds fan boys and girls, Pride and Joy is worthy of gold as well.

Click HERE to read the winners of categories 1-10
Click HERE to read the winners of categories 11-25