Brewery News: NW: 10 regional breweries medal at the US Open Beer Championship
A couple of weeks ago while most of the United States was jubilating our independence some area brewers were identified for the imagination and hard work.
Since 2009 the US Open Beer Championship has awarded medals in 60 categories, spread out amongst over thousands of submissions.
In fact this year alone the USOBC received over 2500 entries, across 68 categories, and from over 20 international breweries. To put this into perspective the USOBC judges over half as many submissions as the Great American Beer Festival. But unlike GABF, which also hosts a festival, this event encourages both commercial and amateur brewers to submit their beers for judging.
“This competition is significant because it accepts entries from breweries around the world and allows national, winning homebrews to compete,” said Dow Scoggins, director of the U.S. Open Beer Championships.
Special mention goes out to recipients Deschutes & Pike for the “Judges Awards”, in the area of “Most Creative Names”, for their Deschutes The Abyss Imperial Stout and Pike Octopus Ink Black India Pale Ale.
Special congratulations to Adam Robbings & Reuben’s Brews, for placing 6th overall, for total medals received!
We are also happy to announce the following winners, based on the category their beer was submitted.
Bend, OR
Deschutes Brewery Inc.
Phat Matt’s Brewing Company
Eugene, OR
Steelhead Brewing Company
Hood River, OR
Full Sail Brewing
Portland, OR
Burnside Brewing Co.
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
Leavenworth, WA
Icicle Brewing
Seattle, WA
Reuben’s Brews
Pike Brewing Company
Victor, ID
Grand Teton Brewing Company
Congratulations to all the winners from the region.
Cheers
About Steelhead Brewing Co.
Steelhead Brewing Company began brewing in December 1990 and opened its doors on January 22, 1991, bringing fresh, quality beers to Eugene, Oregon. Steelhead's state-of-the art 10-barrel brewery has a production capacity of 130 barrels a month. The ales are brewed using a single-step infusion all-grain process.
About Full Sail Brewing
The independent and employee-owned Full Sail Brewery is perched on a bluff in Hood River, Oregon, overlooking the most epic wind and kite surfing spot in the world. At this very moment our specialists in the liquid refreshment arts are crafting barley and hops into your next beer. Among the company’s most popular brews are Full Sail Amber, IPA, Limited Lager Series, Pub Ale Series, Session Premium, Session Black, and Session Fest lager. Founded in 1987, the Full Sail crew has been fermenting godlike nectar for 25 years. Committed to brewing great beer and sustainable practices, their award winning brews are now available in 30 states. The Full Sail Tasting Room and Pub is open seven days a week. Swing by for a pint, grab a bite, tour the brewery, or just soak up the view. http://www.fullsailbrewing.com
About Deschutes Brewery
Located in beautiful Bend, Oregon, Deschutes Brewery overlooks the wild and scenic Deschutes River. It's home base to our adventurous, award-winning lineup of pioneering beers. You're always welcome to drop in, sample our beers, tour the kettles and meet the beer-obsessed folks who tend them. You can also get an insider tip or two on how spend the day, a week or a lifetime in our high-desert home.
About Phat Matt’s Brewing Co.
Located in beautiful Central Oregon, in the town of Redmond, Phat Matt’s brewery benefits tremendously from the purity of its pristine natural water source, the majesty of the Cascade mountain range and the people that call this high desert oasis home. Originating in the snow capped peaks, the purist glacial fed water flows completely submerged into the volcanic aquifer, allowing us to brew the most flawless of beers.
About Burnside Brewing Co.
We believe in creativity and the highest quality malt, hops, yeast, and Bull Run water to create the finest local brews. In addition to the craft staple Burnside IPA, we take new spins on time tested brews like our Oatmeal Pale Ale, and the uber creative Gratzer and Sweet Heat Wheat recipes.
All Burnside brews remain unfiltered, instead we opt for the lagering process to remove particulates. This requires an increased time commitment, but pays dividends in the depth, character, and flavor profile of our offerings.
Come indulge in our passion for beer, and check out the Brews page for info on current brews& upcoming releases.
About Widmer Brothers Brewing
Widmer Brothers Brewing is located in beautiful and brew-friendly Portland, OR. Our publicly-held brewery employs over 150 people who are as passionate about quality craft beer as Kurt & Rob themselves.
We opened the brewery in 1984, and built a new 40-barrel brewing system in our current Russell Street location in 1990. We've grown steadily ever since. In 1996, we completed installation of a state-of-the art 250-barrel brewhouse, bringing our capacity to 220,000 barrels per year. In 1996, for the first time in our brewery's history we also installed a bottling line, capable of producing 500 bottles per minute. In 2008 we added six new 1500-barrel fermentation tanks that increased our capacity to 450,000 barrels per year, and added a new keg filling line capable of filling 300 kegs per hour.
About Icicle Brewing
Icicle Brewing Company strives to use local ingredients whenever possible. The water for our beer comes from Icicle Creek which flows into the Wenatchee River less than a mile from the brewery. The bulk of the malted barley comes from a maltster in the Okanagan Valley. Our hops arrive from the Yakima Valley where owner Oliver Brulotte was born and raised. Finally, we get our yeast from a laboratory located in the Columbia River Gorge.
About Reuben’s Brews
We are a small, family owned and operated brewery located in Ballard in Seattle, WA. We have a cozy taproom open Thursday through Sunday where you can meet with friends, sample and learn about our beers, and pick up a growler to enjoy elsewhere. As a small, craft brewery operating on an artisan scale, we can’t guarantee broad distribution of our seasonal brews. We hope you make the trip often to imbibe our frequently changing brews and become a part of the Reuben’s Brews Family.
About Pike Brewing Company
The Pike Brewing Company is a family owned brewery located 1/2 block South of the entrance to the Pike Place Public Market. It is owned by Charles and Rose Ann Finkel who founded it in 1989.
About Grand Teton Brewing Company
Grand Teton Brewing is committed to crafting only the highest quality ales and lagers. We take measures at every point in our brewing, packaging and shipping process to ensure that we deliver only the best beers to you. Our Quality Manager performs multiple tests of every batch at every stage and conducts daily tastings of our finished brews to guarantee that only the best possible beers make the journey from our brewery to your glass