America’s First Certified Organic Brewery Strikes Gold

Fortuna, CA – Eel River Brewing Company has received numerous medals and certificates for their organic beers from two separate competitions. Eel River Brewing Co. entered beers in both the Australian International Beer Awards and the California State Fair Commercial Craft Brewing Competition winning a total of three gold medals, two silver medals, a bronze medal and five certificates.

In the Australian International Beer Awards Eel River’s Organic Porter received a gold medal, the Organic Raven’s Eye Imperial Stout won a silver medal and the Organic Açai Berry Wheat Ale won a bronze medal. The Australian International Beer Awards was first held in 1993 recording 94 entries from 30 exhibitors from Australia and New Zealand. It has grown today to host 1170 entries from 243 exhibitors across the world.

In the California State Fair Commercial Craft Brewing Competition Eel River Brewing Company’s Organic IPA and Organic California Blonde Ale both won gold medals, their specialty Baltic Porter won a silver medal and they also received five certificates for their other beers. The California State Fair began the Commercial Craft Brewing competition in 1993. The competition has since grown to over 475 entries from over 60 breweries in the state.

Eel River Brewing Company co-owners Margaret Frigon and Ted Vivatson were thrilled with their beers winning gold. “We’ve struck again!” announced Frigon at the news of the win. Vivatson responded by saying that Eel River Brewing Company’s Organic Porter was “rated the highest rated porter of 2007 – organic or otherwise by DRAFT Magazine and this confirms what critics have been saying about our beers for a long, long time. It’s nice to be getting the international recognition for this beer.”

While Eel River Brewing Company is proud of their accomplishments, they also acknowledge the importance of their customers. “It always makes us happy to do so well and we couldn’t have done it without the support of everyone who buys our beer,” said Frigon.

Eel River Brewing Co. is the first certified organic brewery in the United States and is currently certified organic by both the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). They produce eight year-round styles of beer as well as seasonal beers. Not only does Eel River Brewing Co. have a commitment to handcrafted, traditional, organic beer, but they also believe in sustainable practices. The brewing facility is a reclaimed redwood lumber mill and is powered by bio-mass power, a 100% renewable energy.

In addition to the brewing facility in Scotia, California, Eel River Brewing Co. has a pub restaurant in Fortuna, California which features the largest beer garden on the California North Coast. The Eel River Brewing Co. pub serves locally produced and organic foods as much as possible and offers all of their year-round beers on tap. The pub is open 7 days a week and is located at 1777 Alamar Way in Fortuna, California.