GABF 2008 Winners from Categories 51-75
Click HERE to read the winners of categories 1-10, 11-25 or 26-50
Category: 51 Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter – 43 Entries
Gold: Bachelor ESB, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
Silver: Sweetwater Motorboat ESB, Sweetwater Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA
Bronze: Standing Wave Pale Ale, Kannah Creek Brewing Co., Grand Junction, CO
TFP: Congrats to Deschutes and Sweetwater, both holding it down in their city.
Category: 52 Scottish-Style Ale – 24 Entries
Gold: Highland Courage, Rock Bottom Brewery – Bethesda, Bethesda, MD
Silver: Dells Chief Amber Ale, Dells Brewing Co., Wisconsin Dells, WI
Bronze: Railbender Ale, Erie Brewing Co., Erie, PA
TFP: I would love to try any of these, and hopefully, we can get a review of Railbendeer. Oh wait, we have one from our East Coast Correspondant Evan! Click HERE to read it!
Category: 53 Irish-Style Red Ale – 31 Entries
Gold: Red Rocks Red Ale, Rock Bottom Brewing, Louisville, CO
Silver: Ragtop Red, Rock Bottom Brewery – La Jolla, La Jolla, CA
Bronze: Eric The Red, Rock Bottom Brewery – Orland Park, Orland Park, IL
TFP: I have heard from many that Sam Adams makes a decent rendition of Irish Red Ale.
Category: 54 English-Style Dark Mild Ale or Brown Ale – 48
Entries
Gold: Sweet George’s Brown, Dillon DAM Brewery, Dillon, CO
Silver: Old Elk Brown Ale, Walnut Brewery, Boulder, CO
Bronze: OB-1, Snake River Brewing, Jackson, WY
TFP: Please send in your reviews for these winners or something in this style.
Category: 55 American-Style Brown Ale – 47 Entries
Gold: Kick-Ass Brown, C.H. Evans Brewing at the Albany Pump Station, Albany, NY
Silver: Bitch Creek ESB, Grand Teton Brewing Co., Victor, ID
Bronze: Bad Dog Brown Ale, Elk Grove Brewery and Restaurant, Elk Grove, CA
TFP: Have you met a brown ale that you didn’t like? I didn’t think so.
Category: 56 German-Style Altbier – 27 Entries
Gold: The Detroit Dwarf, The Detroit Beer Co., Detroit, MI
Silver: Railyard Ale, Titletown Brewing Co., Green Bay, WI
Bronze: All The Way Alt, Desert Edge Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT
TFP: It will be hard for many to track these down to try, so check out Alaskan Amber.
Category: 57 South German-Style Hefeweizen – 52 Entries
Gold: Wixa Weiss, Wynkoop Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: The Love, Starr Hill Brewing Co., Crozet, VA
Bronze: Mueller Hefeweizen, Springfield Brewing Co., Springfield, MO
TFP: These are SOOOOO much better than North German-Style Hefeweizens.
Category: 58 German-Style Wheat Ale – 32 Entries
Gold: I’m Half the Beer I Used to Be, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Chandler, Huntington Beach, CA
Silver: Dark-n-Curvy Dunkelweizen, Piece Brewery, Chicago, IL
Bronze: Wasatch Hefeweizen, Wasatch Brew Pub, Park City, UT
TFP: Congrats to B.J.’s, they whip up some good stuff now and again.
Category: 59 Belgian-Style Witbier – 53 Entries
Gold: Mothership Wit/Organic Wheat Beer, New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
Silver: Belgian Wit, Redrock Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Squatters Wit, Utah Brewers Co-op, Salt Lake City, UT
TFP: Mothership Wit can be found anywhere Fat Tire Can be found, in theory. If it isn’t, hit up your beer seller for this.
Category: 60 French- and Belgian-Style Saison – 37 Entries
Gold: Saison, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – West Chester, Wilmington, DE
Silver: Saison, Nodding Head Brewing Co., Philadelphia, PA
Bronze: Luciernaga, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI
TFP: This is a wonderful style when done right. Nodding Head and Jolly Pumpkin are fantastic brewers, so these winners shouldn’t dissapoint.
Category: 61 Belgian- and French-Style Ale – 34 Entries
Gold: Redemption, Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA
Silver: Pride, Midnight Sun Brewing Co., Anchorage, AK
Bronze: Rare Vos, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY
TFP: Congrats to Russian River and Ommegang!
Category: 62 Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale – 29 Entries
Gold: Lambic de Hill, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – Media, Wilmington, DE
Silver: Upstream Gueuze-Lambic, Upstream Brewing Co., Omaha, NE
Bronze: Cassis de Hill, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – Newark, Wilmington, DE
TFP: Check out Iron Hill. They are really cleaning up with the medals. It just so happens none of these award winning beers were on tap during my visit. Makes me want to give them one more shot.
Category: 63 Belgian-Style Abbey Ale – 53 Entries
Gold: Bishop’s Tipple Trippel, Main Street Brewery, Corona, CA
Silver: Abbey Dubbel, Flying Fish Brewing Co., Cherry Hill, NJ
Bronze: 6th Glass, Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
TFP: Abbey Dubbel by Flying Fish is extra good. I wish for expansion, so we can all share the joy this beer brings.
Category: 64 Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale – 44 Entries
Gold: Darth Delirium, Moose’s Tooth Brewing Co., Anchorage, AK
Silver: Brother David’s Double, Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Boonville, CA
Bronze: Golden Armor, CB & Potts Restaurant & Brewery (Highlands Ranch), Highlands Ranch, CO
TFP: Congrats to Califoria’s Anderson Valley Brewing!
Category: 65 Brown Porter – 30 Entries
Gold: BlackWatch Cream Porter, Pyramid Breweries Inc., Seattle, WA
Silver: FireHouse Porter, FireHouse Grill & Brewery, Sunnyvale, CA
Bronze: Prospector Porter, Tommyknocker Brewery, Idaho Springs, CO
TFP: A nice style that would convert a beer hater into a beer lover.
Category: 66 Robust Porter – 47 Entries
Gold: Nolan’s Porter, Barrio Brewing Co., Tucson, AZ
Silver: Sweet Sanderine Porter, Il Vicino Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Pacemaker Porter, Flyers Restaurant and Brewery, Oak Harbor, WA
TFP: TheFullPint.com needs to check out some of these breweries. They aren’t too far away!
Category: 67 Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout – 19 Entries
Gold: Blarney Sisters Dry Irish Stout, Third Street Aleworks, Santa Rosa, CA
Silver: Shaft House Stout, Dostal Alley Brewpub & Casino, Central City, CO
Bronze: Port Truck Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
TFP: San Diego isn’t just about Shamu, its about Pizza Port!
Category: 68 Foreign-Style Stout – 28 Entries
Gold: Whiteface Black Diamond Stout, Great Adirondack Brewing Co., Lake Placid, NY
Silver: Black Bear XX Stout, Alameda Brewhouse, Portland, OR
Bronze: Black Hole XXX Stout, Chelsea Brewing Co., New York, NY
TFP: This style is foreign to me? Mexican stout? Chinese stout?
Category: 69 American-Style Stout – 23 Entries
Gold: Terminal Stout, Rock Bottom Brewing, Louisville, CO
Silver: Black Mocha Stout, Highland Brewing Co., Asheville, NC
Bronze: Troegs Dead Reckoning, Troegs Brewery, Harrisburg, PA
TFP: Big ups again to Troegs! Also good to see Rock Bottom getting face time.
Category: 70 Sweet Stout – 19 Entries
Gold: Cream Stout, Redwood Brewing Co., Flint, MI
Silver: Milk Stout, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, CO
Bronze: Cow Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
TFP: An excellent style by itself or with cake.
Category: 71 Oatmeal Stout – 32 Entries
Gold: Oatmeal Stout, Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Co., Hays, KS
Silver: Velvet Merkin, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
Bronze: Oatmeal Stout, Schooner’s Grille & Brewery, Antioch, CA
TFP: Not sure if the Oatmeal Stout I had at Firestone Walker was Velvet Merkin, but they don’t make a bad beer.
Category: 72 Imperial Stout – 44 Entries
Gold: BORIS The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout, Hoppin’ Frog Brewing Co., Akron, OH
Silver: Night Rider Imperial Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Bronze: Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, CO
TFP: Night Rider is excellent. The stout first, the show second.
Category: 73 Strong Scotch Ale – 38 Entries
Gold: AleSmith Wee Heavy, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Way Heavy, Pizza Port San Clemente, Carlsbad, CA
Bronze: Bag Pipe’s Scotch Ale, Allentown/Bethlehem Brew Works, Allentown, PA
TFP: Alesmith Wee Heavy is in fact the best in its class.
Category: 74 Old Ale or Strong Ale – 40 Entries
Gold: AleSmith Decadence Old Ale, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Old Scrooge, Silver City Restaurant & Brewery, Silverdale, WA
Bronze: Old Scratch Barley Wine ‘99, Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co., Madison, WI
TFP: I wonder which Decadence was selected? It’s all good no matter what, with this style.
Category: 75 Barley Wine-Style Ale – 55 Entries
Gold: Treblehook, Redhook Ales Brewery, Portland, OR
Silver: AleSmith Old Numbskull, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: Scratch #4 “The Flying Mouflan”, Troegs Brewery, Harrisburg, PA
TFP: Wow, Redhook makes a Gold Medal winning barley wine. Something to seek out for sure.
Click HERE to read the winners of categories 1-10, 11-25 or 26-50
