Craft brewer

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by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

2022 World Beer Cup Winners

2022 World Beer Cup Winners

by David Klemt

Person pouring draught beer

The Brewers Association‘s 2022 World Beer Cup identifies the top three beers across a staggering 103 separate categories.

If you enjoy multiplication, that’s 309 medals in a single competition. And that’s just the winners; there can be more than 200 entries in a single category.

So, yes—I envy the World Beer Cup judges. I mean, what beer fan wouldn’t want to taste all the entries into the Olympics of Beer?

This competition, developed by the Brewers Association, has been going strong since 1996. Next year’s competition, if you happen to brew beer and want to enter it, will take place in Nashville in May.

Okay, you may be wondering why I’m talking about this beer competition. The reason is simple: To get your ready for September.

There are three beer holidays to program for and celebrate next month:

  • National Beer Lover’s Day (September 7)
  • National Crush a Can Day (September 27)
  • Drink Beer Day (September 28)

Oh, and there’s this little event—Oktoberfest—that takes place from September 17 to October 3.

Below you’ll find 48 medal winners from 16 categories to give you a taste of the 2022 World Beer Cup results. For the full list, click here, then click the “2022 Winners” button.

Cheers!

Category 1: American Wheat Beer (68 entries)

  • Gold: For-scythe, Cherry Street Brewpub at Halcyon (Alpharetta, GA)
  • Silver: Hefe, Widmer Brothers Brewing (Portland, OR)
  • Bronze: American Wheat, Cerveceria Principia (Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico)

Category 2: Fruit Beer (134 entries)

  • Gold: Yuzu KSA, Fort Point Beer Co. (San Francisco, CA)
  • Silver: Berry, Berry, Quite Contrary, Territorial Brewing Co. (Springfield, MI)
  • Bronze: Grape Fruit Session IPA, Mahanine Brewing (Hohhot, People’s Republic of China)

Category 5: Pumpkin Beer (40 entries)

  • Gold: 5 Phantoms, Philipsburg Brewing Co. (Philipsburg, MT)
  • Silver: Ryes of the Pumpkin King, Sound2Summit Brewery (Snohomish, WA)
  • Bronze: Pumpkin Paddy, Launch Pad Brewery (Aurora, CO)

Category 9: Coffee Beer (79 entries)

  • Gold: Gusto Crema Coffee Ale, Georgetown Brewing Co. (Seattle, WA)
  • Silver: Daybreak, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing – Production Operations (Columbus, OH)
  • Bronze: Double Cream Coffee Dream, Dangerous Man Brewing Co. (Minneapolis, MN)

Category 10: Coffee Stout or Porter (112 entries)

  • Gold: Dusk til Dawn, Pizza Port San Clemente (San Clemente, CA)
  • Silver: Mocha Porter, Bend Brewing Co. (Bend, OR)
  • Bronze: Mocha Machine, Beachwood Brewing (Huntington Beach, CA)

Category 11: Specialty Beer (56 entries)

  • Gold: KURI KURO – Dark Chestnuts Ale, Miyazaki Hideji-Beer Co. (Nobeoka, Japan)
  • Silver: Agavemente, SouthNorte Beer Co. (Chula Vista, CA)
  • Bronze: Graham Cracker Porter, Denver Beer Co. (Denver, CO)

Category 14: Non-Alcohol Beer (123 entries)

  • Gold: Golden Lager, Grüvi (Denver, CO)
  • Silver: Non-Alcoholic Black Butte, Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR)
  • Bronze: Parallel, Southern Grist Brewing Co. (Nashville, TN)

Category 15: Session Beer (43 entries)

  • Gold: Swift Half, Station 26 Brewing Co. (Denver, CO)
  • Silver: Peacekeeper, Launch Pad Brewery (Aurora, CO)
  • Bronze: Bucketty’s Pale Ale No. 2, Bucketty’s Brewing Co. (Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia)

Category 16: Session India Pale Ale (107 entries)

  • Gold: Trump Hands, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. (Golden, CO)
  • Silver: Moon Rocks, Mickey Finn’s Brewery (Libertyville, IL)
  • Bronze: Tiny Juicy IPA, Five Boroughs Brewing Co. (Brooklyn, NY)

Category 22: Gluten-Free Beer (66 entries)

  • Gold: La Gosa Rita, Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee, WI)
  • Silver: Little Brown Job, Lucky Pigeon Brewing Co. (Biddeford, ME)
  • Bronze: Glutenberg Session IPA, Glutenberg (Montréal, Québec, Canada)

Category 91: American-Style Pale Ale (160 entries)

  • Gold: Figueroa Mountain Mosaic, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. (Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA)
  • Silver: Cruisin’, Pizza Port Bressi Ranch (Carlsbad, CA)
  • Bronze: Somewhere Golden, Institution Ale Co. (Camarillo, CA)

Category 92: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale (141 entries)

  • Gold: Hazealicious, Reuben’s Brews – The Taproom (Seattle, WA)
  • Silver: Baby Azacca, 33 Brewing Experiment (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
  • Bronze: Haze in the Park, Kings & Convicts Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)

Category 95: Imperial India Pale Ale (174 entries)

  • Gold: Space Lettuce, Monday Night Brewing (Atlanta, GA)
  • Silver: Cali Boy, No Label Brewing Co. (Katy, TX)
  • Bronze: Devil’s Pool, Wissahickon Brewing Co. (Philadelphia, PA)

Category 96: Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale (171 entries)

  • Gold: Pantless Thunder Goose, Mast Landing Brewing Co. (Westbrook, ME)
  • Silver: Houblon Deluxe, Pure Project (Vista, CA)
  • Bronze: Citra Powered Jetpack, Barebottle Brewing Co. (San Francisco, CA)

Category 102: American-Style India Pale Ale (384 entries)

  • Gold: Hop-Fu!, North Park Beer Co. (San Diego, CA)
  • Silver: Super Slap, Brewery X (Anaheim, CA)
  • Bronze: Aurora Hoppyalis IPA, Karl Strauss Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)

Category 103: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (343 entries)

  • Gold: Rhymes Like Dimes, Xül Beer Co. (Knoxville, TN)
  • Silver: Blue Comet, Widowmaker Brewing (Braintree, MA)
  • Bronze: Tasty Jams, Brix City Brewing (Little Ferry, NJ)

Image: Josh Olalde on Unsplash

Stack of beer kegs in black and white
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

2020 Craft Brewing Production Infographic

2020 Craft Brewing Production Infographic

by David Klemt

Stack of beer kegs in black and white

The Brewers Association‘s latest report and infographic reveal 2020 small and independent craft brewery production numbers.

Like their restaurant, bar and brewpub cohorts, brewers are facing enduring struggles due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the Brewers Association did find some good news.

First, the challenges.

Overall Market Drop

The BA’s report reveals that small and independent craft brewer production is down nine percent from 2019. Overall, draught beer sales dropped 40 percent last year.

That equates to an overall market share of 12.3 percent in 2020. Comparing 2020 to 2019, that’s a decline of 1.3 percent.

Unfortunately, 2020 craft brewer numbers also reveal significant job loss for the industry. In comparison to 2019, direct craft beer jobs are down 14 percent.

In terms of small and independent brewery closures, 2020 saw 346 brewers close their doors permanently.

Some Silver Linings

There is some good news for craft beer. Not every closure is attributable to Covid-19.

Reviewing the 2020 numbers, the BA says there are 8,764 craft breweries operating in the United States. That’s an all-time high.

The breakdown is as follows:

  • 220 Regional craft breweries
  • 1,854 Microbreweries
  • 3,219 Brewpubs
  • 3,471 Taproom breweries

Impressively, the number of new craft brewery openings more than double the number of closures at 716.

Per Bart Watson, chief economist at the BA, the total number of craft breweries and openings in 2020 proves the “resilient and entrepreneurial nature” of small and independent brewers.

BA Infographic

You’ll find more information below. The BA’s infographic neatly tells the story of the association’s latest report.

Perhaps the biggest positive takeaway is the steady growth in operational craft breweries. Since 2016, the number of breweries in this category has increased by nearly 3,100.

That’s an average of 785 new brewery openings each year. Given the number of openings in 2020, it’s possible craft brewers will gain ground on the jobs lost over the course of last year.

It’s also likely production and sales numbers will see a boost in 2021 through a culmination of easing restrictions, reopening markets, pent-up demand, vaccination rates, and guest comfort levels.

2020 Small and Independent US Craft Brewer Annual Production Report

Infographic: Brewers Association

Image: Hennie Stander on Unsplash

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