2004 Summer Competition Awards
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Buffalo, NY - The United States Beer Tasting ChampionshipTM (USBTC) recently completed the Summer Competition of its 10th annual competition. A total of 362 beers from 142 breweries were examined across 11 different beer categories. Within each category, the USBTC determined both a Grand Champion and the best entry from each of six U.S. regions: 1) Northeast, 2) Mid-Atlantic/Southeast, 3) Midwest, 4) Rockies/Southwest, 5) California, and
6) Northwest/Pacific.
The USBTC takes a unique approach in that its competition is held in multiple stages. Sequential field trials are conducted wherein judges evaluate beers and select the best to advance to subsequent rounds. This allows beers to be judged in relatively small flights while ensuring that the best beers are still determined through head-to-head competition. All beers were tasted in blinded fashion and judged on a hedonic scale.
The USBTC Grand Champions were:
Category Grand Champion Company Location Total Beers
Judged
India Pale Ale Torrey Pines IPA Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Company San Diego, CA 66
Pale Ale New River Pale Ale New River Brewing Company Atlanta, GA 47
Amber/Red Ale Redpoint Ale Avery Brewing Company Boulder, CO 40
Bitter/ESB Extra Special Bitter McNeill’s Brewery Brattleboro, VT 21
Belgian/French Specialty SPF 8 Farmhouse Ale Pizza Port Brewery Solana Beach, CA 23
Golden Ale/Kolsch Golden Ale The St. George Brewing Company Hampton, VA 29
Bock/Doppelbock Blonde Dopplebock Capital Brewery Middleton, WI 31
Pilsner Prima Pils Victory Brewing Company Downington, PA 33
Dortmunder/Helles All Malt Lager Victory Brewing Company Downington, PA 16
Wheat Beer Weizen Penn Brewery Pittsburgh, PA 33
Fruit Beer Raspberry Imperial Stout Weyerbacher Brewing Company Easton, PA 23
The regional winners (along with beers receiving honorable mention) from each category were:
Region/ Regional Champion/ Company Location
Category Honorable Mention
Northeast
India Pale Ale Big A IPA Smuttynose Brewery Portsmouth, NH
Honorable Mention Deadhorse IPA McNeill's Brewery Brattleboro, VT
Pale Ale Chamberlain Pale Ale The Shipyard Brewery Portland, ME
Amber/Red Ale Ruby Red Ale McNeill's Brewery Brattleboro, VT
Belgian/French Specialty White Ale Allagash Brewing Company Portland, ME
Bitter/ESB Extra Special Bitter McNeill's Brewery Brattleboro, VT
Golden Ale/Kolsch Summer Ale Sea Dog Brewery Portland, ME
Bock/Doppelbock Samuel Adams Double Bock Boston Beer Company Boston, MA
Honorable Mention Maibock Smuttynose Brewery Portsmouth, NH
Pilsner Samuel Adams Boston Lager Boston Beer Company Boston, MA
Dortmunder/Helles No winner declared
Wheat Beer Samuel Adams Weiss Beer Boston Beer Company Boston, MA
Fruit Beer Raspberry Wheat Ale Sea Dog Brewery Portland, ME
Honorable Mention Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat Boston Beer Company Boston, MA
Region/ Regional Champion/ Company Location
Category Honorable Mention
Mid-Atlantic/Southeast
India Pale Ale Paw Print IPA Big Bear Brewing Company Coral Springs, FL
Honorable Mention 60 Minute IPA Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton, DE
Pale Ale New River Pale Ale New River Brewing Company Atlanta, GA
Amber/Red Ale HopBack Amber Ale Troegs Brewing Company Harrisburg, PA
Honorable Mention Youghiogheny Red Ale Deep Creek Brewing Company McHenry, MD
Bitter/ESB Pale Ale Starr Hill Restaurant & Brewery Charlottesville, VA
Honorable Mention Purist Pale Ale Appalachian Brewing Company Harrisburg, PA
Belgian/French Specialty Hennepin Brewery Ommegang Cooperstown, NY
Honorable Mention Red Sky at Night Clipper City Brewing Company Baltimore, MD
Golden Ale/Kolsch Golden Ale The St. George Brewing Company Hampton, VA
Honorable Mention Gold Ale Clipper City Brewing Company Baltimore, MD
Bock/Doppelbock Troegenator Doppelbock Troegs Brewing Company Harrisburg, PA
Pilsner Prima Pils Victory Brewing Company Downington, PA
Honorable Mention Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Pils Old Dominion Brewing Company Ashburn, VA
Dortmunder/Helles All Malt Lager Victory Brewing Company Downington, PA
Wheat Beer Weizen Penn Brewery Pittsburgh, PA
Honorable Mention Ramstein Blonde High Point Brewing Company, Inc. Butler, NJ
Fruit Beer Raspberry Imperial Stout Weyerbacher Brewing Company Easton, PA
Honorable Mention Aprihop Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton, DE
Midwest
India Pale Ale Alpha King Pale Ale Three Floyds Brewing Company Munster, IN
Honorable Mention India Pale Ale Goose Island Brewing Company Chicago, IL
Pale Ale Stone Tepee Pale Ale Tyranena Brewing Company Lake Mills, WI
Honorable Mention The Bitter End Pale Ale Two Brothers Brewing Company Warrenville, IL
Amber/Red Ale Bell’s Amber Ale Kalamazoo Brewing Company Galesburg, MI
Bitter/ESB Honkers Ale Goose Island Brewing Company Chicago, IL
Honorable Mention Luna Sea ESB Empyrean Ales Brewery Lincoln, NE
Belgian/French Specialty Domaine DuPage French Style Country Ale Two Brothers Brewing Company Warrenville, IL
Golden Ale/Kolsch Schlafly Summer Kolsch Ale The Saint Louis Brewery Saint Louis, MO
Bock/Doppelbock Blonde Dopplebock Capital Brewery Middleton, WI
Pilsner Hometown Blonde New Glarus Brewing Company New Glarus, WI
Honorable Mention Schlafly Pilsner The Saint Louis Brewery Saint Louis, MO
Dortmunder/Helles Dortmunder Gold Great Lakes Brewing Company Cleveland, OH
Wheat Beer Kloster Weizen Capital Brewery Middleton, WI
Honorable Mention Fargo Brothers Hefeweizen Tyranena Brewing Company Lake Mills, WI
Fruit Beer Lakefront Cherry Lager Lakefront Brewery Milwaukee, WI
Rockies/Southwest
India Pale Ale Titan IPA Great Divide Brewing Company Denver, CO
Honorable Mention Mojo IPA Rockies Brewing Company Boulder, CO
Pale Ale Denver Pale Ale Great Divide Brewing Company Denver, CO
Honorable Mention Snake River Pale Ale Snake River Brewing Company Jackson Hole, WY
Amber/Red Ale Redpoint Ale Avery Brewing Company Boulder, CO
Honorable Mention Hazed and Infused Rockies Brewing Company Boulder, CO
Bitter/ESB Sawtooth Ale Left Hand Brewing Company Longmont, CO
Belgian/French Specialty White Rascal Avery Brewing Company Boulder, CO
Golden Ale/Kolsch Tire Bite Ale Flying Dog Brewery Denver, CO
Bock/Doppelbock Discombobulator Mai-Bock Snake River Brewing Company Jackson Hole, WY
Pilsner Ptarmigan Pilsner Backcountry Brewery Frisco, CO
Dortmunder/Helles No Winner Declared
Wheat Beer Sweaty Betty Blonde Rockies Brewing Company Boulder, CO
Honorable Mention Wheeler Wheat