Judging in the U.S. Open Beer Championship is blind; the judges know only the categories, but they do not know what beers they are tasting.
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The competition, which has been held since 2009, is the only one to include beers from professional breweries and award-winning home-brewers, with judges from England, Canada and the United States.
The U.S. Open Beer Championship judges more beer styles than any other competition in the world. This year, the new styles included a half dozen new barrel-aged beers.
Sun King Brewing from Indianapolis, Indiana was named Grand National Champion after winning three gold medals and three silver medals. Twenty Ohio breweries took home medals with 16 of those in Southwest Ohio — 13 in the Cincinnati area and 3 in the Dayton area.
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In Butler and Warren counties, medal winners by catergory included:
• Honey Beer, Silver: Anniversary DIPA – Municipal Brew Works (Hamilton)
• English Brown Ale, Bronze: We Been Dancin' – Swine City Brewing (Fairfield);
• Belgian Witbier; Gold: Blanc – Sonder Brewing (Deerfield Twp.)
• Coffee Flavored Beer, Bronze: Lulu Bean – 16 Lots Brewing Company (Mason).
The championship also “awarded” YMCA Camp Campbell Gard in Hamilton a donation of hundreds of ice packs used to pack and deliver U.S. Open Beer entries. YMCA Camp Campbell Gard near Cincinnati has one of the best summer camps in the country for special needs children.
Winners from the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton areas included:
American Amber Lager
Silver: White Legs – Brink Brewing
American Brown Ale
Silver: Mother Fuggle – Eudora Brewing Company – Ohio
American Style Fruit Beer
Bronze: Tangerine Vibes – Taft’s Brewing
Barrel Aged Pale Beer
Silver: Chamomile Joon – MadTree Brewing
Barrel-Aged Strong Stout/Porter Specialty
Bronze: Broken Empire – The Dayton Beer Co.
Barrel-Aged Fruited Sour Beer
Bronze: Levanto Oscuro – Madtree Brewing
Barrel-Aged Barley Wine
Bronze: Kelly’s Candy – Brink Brewing
Brut IPA
Gold: Soundcheck – Fretboard Brewing
Belgian Pale Ale
Gold: Crazy Train – Fretboard Brewing
Bronze: Doom Pedal – Fifty West Brewing
Belgian Witbier
Bronze: Doom Pedal – Fifty West Brewing – Ohio
Brandy Barrel Aged Beer
Gold: Peach Brandy BA Imperial Chickow! – Listermann Brewing
Barrel-Aged German Lager
Bronze: Beast of Tadmor – The Dayton Beer Company
Coconut Beer
Gold: Coconut Porter – Narrow Path Brewing
English Mild Ale
Gold: Uncle – Rhinegeist Brewery
Silver: Hold The Reins – Brink Brewing
Extra Special Bitter
Gold: Balloon Factory ESB 1 – Heavier Than Air Brewing
Fruit Gose
Gold: Sobbing Mathematically – Streetside Brewery
Specialty Beer/Anything Goes
Silver: Guava Tangent – Rhinegeist Brewery
Bronze: Perceptual Passion – Rhinegeist Brewery
Nut
Silver: Chickow! Listermann Brewing
Tequila Barrel Aged Beer
Silver: Tequila Mockingbird – Streetside Brewery
For a complete list of winners, click here.
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