Posted 10.31.2009

State of the State: Brewing

Colorado tastes great at the Great American Beer Fest

We know Colorado makes lots of beer - typically more than any other state in any given year. That's always worth bragging about when bellying up to a bar in, say, California or Texas.

Quantity's fine, you say, but how about quality? Well, the results of the Great American Beer Festival from September confirm what beer lovers here know to be true: We've got the most AND the best.

Brewers from the Centennial State garnered a total of 45 medals, beating out California's 39 and more than doubling Oregon's 22. Colorado did it with fewer total entries than California, too - 459 compared to 594.

California's "Yeah, but ..." is this: The Golden State nabbed the most gold medals, 17 compared to Colorado's 10. Fair enough. But here's how I'd counter that: If you use a weighted scoring system - that is, count each gold medal as three points, a silver as two and a bronze as one - Colorado comes out ahead in total score.

Washington and Pennsylvania - well-known for their beer-loving folk, too - were the only other states in double-digits with medals.
Colorado also made an impressive showing in awards for Brewery and Brewer of the Year. Coors Brewing and David Ryder took honors in the large category, while Aurora's Dry Dock Brewing and its whole team won the small category. The state could have enjoyed a sweep if the mid-size winner, Flying Dog Brewery, hadn't relocated to Maryland from Denver a couple of years ago.

Some might note that the festival, which drew 49,000 attendees to the Colorado Convention Center for a sold-out weekend, is presented by a Boulder-based trade group, the Brewers Association. Any home cooking involved in the tallies? Actually, the 132 judges who took on the task of judging the 3,308 beers came from 10 countries around the world. So Colorado - and the rest of the breweries from across the country - can take pride in knowing their medal winners truly are representative of the best in America.

For a searchable list of winners, go to the Brewers Association website: http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/medals/medalists.aspx

- Jay Dedrick

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