U.S. Open Beer Championship: Wisconsin breweries win 16 medals

Contact: Dow Scoggins – Director

Phone 334-444-3346

Email: Dow_Scoggins@hotmail.com

U.S. Open Beer Championship Announces Medal Winners
Wisconsin Breweries win 16 Medals at the 2014 U.S. Open Beer Championship

Atlanta, GA (July 2014) – Breweries from Australia to Iceland sent in more than 3,000 beers and ciders representing 81 different categories for the 2014 U.S. Open Beer Championship, the only brewery competition to include professional breweries and award-winning home-brewers. Today, judges from England, Canada, Finland and the U.S. announced the winners.

Wormtown Brewing in Worcester, MA was named Grand National Champion, winning three gold medals and one silver medal. Wormtown uses Massachusetts-grown ingredients in every beer it brews.

Stone Brewing of Escondido, CA tied 2-time Grand National Champion Deschutes Brewery of Bend, OR, for second place honors.

Judging in the U.S. Open Beer Championships is blind; the judges do not know what beers they are tasting.

Gold medal winners during the previous year at the American Homebrewers Association’s National Homebrew Competition also competed. Homebrewer Jeffrey Jantz of Albuquerque, New Mexico won a silver medal for his Rauch Katze Altbier, and Jeff Lewis of Hilliard, Ohio took home a bronze for his Brandy’s Black Lab Schwarzbier.

“We’re excited that one of newest and oldest breweries in the U.S. – and even the oldest in the world – all took home big medals,” said Dow Scoggins, director of the U.S. Open Beer Campionships. “Our grand winner, Wormtown Brewing, was founded in 2010. D.G. Yuengling & Son, founded in 1829 in Pottsville, PA, took home gold and silver. Then, the oldest brewery in the world, Weihenstephaner, founded in 1040 out of Freising, Germany, won two silvers.”

More than 20 international breweries from Iceland, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Finland and England competed.

For the first time, the U.S. Open also judged three styles of ciders. Boston Beer Company in Boston, MA took home three medals and was named “Cidery of the Year” for its Angry Orchard Ciders.         
             

                         
Other “winners” from The U.S. Open Beer Championship are a local Atlanta Youth Soccer Club, which benefited through the donation of hundreds of ice packs used to pack and deliver U.S. Open Beer entries.

Top 10 Breweries

1. Wormtown Brewing – Massachusetts

2. Stone Brewing – California

2. Deschutes Brewery – Oregon

4. Blue Point Brewing – New York

4. Sprecher Brewing – Wisconsin

4. Black Tooth Brewing – Wyoming

4. Rahr & Sons Brewing – Texas

4. Reuben’s Brews – Washington

4. Boston Beer Company – Massachusetts

9. Green Bench Brewing – Florida

9. Peticolas Brewing – Texas

9. Big Island Brewhaus – Hawaii

9. Lakewood Brewing – Texas

The judges also named a “Judges Award” for the top ten “Most Creative Names.” Among the favorites:

Razzberry Princess Yum Yum

Holy Hand Grenade

The Dogfather

Nerd Alert Summer Ale

Mr. Winky Brown Ale

Vienna Waits for You

The Princess Wears Girl Pants IPA

The Kimmie, the Yink and the Holy Gose

Zed the Zorcerer

Kiss My Irish Stout

2014 United States Open Medal Winners Link&