Roundup: Lists of best beers of 2012
I’m a sucker for end of the year lists, especially when it comes to music. LargeheartedBoy.com has an exhaustive tally going of links to music lists by blogs, newspapers and other sites that’s worth checking out if you have some time to kill. For what it’s worth, my favorite album this year is, without question, Fear Fun by Father John Misty (click here to hear the whole album). They also put on my favorite show this year, along with Youth Lagoon.
Anyway, getting back to beer, I decided to try and compile links to lists of the best beers of 2012. If anyone wants to contribute, be it your own picks or picks from any other sites, email GrizGrowler@gmail.com. I personally don’t have a full list, but the best beer I had this year was Zombie Dust by Three Floyds Brewing Co. out of Munster, Ind. It lived up to its billing as a “gushing undead pale ale.” My sister’s boyfriend brought it back from Chicago over the Fourth of July and it definitely sticks out in my mind.
Here’s the list with links. The No. 1 beer from the site and the brewery are listed to the side:
- Rate Beer (top 50) Westvleteren 12 by Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
- Homebrewers Association (top 50) Pliny the Elder by Russian River Brewing
- Beer Advocate (top 100) Pliny the Younger by Russian River Brewing
- First We Feast (best beer in each state) Montana: Ivan the Terrible by Big Sky Brewing
- Draft Magazine (best 25)
- Draft Magazine (100 best beer bars)
- Esquire (best 24)
- Wine Enthusiast (top 25) Saison Rue by The Bruery
- Beer Advocate community thread (best 5 new beers)
- Willamette Week (president of beers) Beaverbear Barleywine by Tom Roan and Nancy Bowser
- World Beer Awards Red Chair NWPA by Deschutes Brewery
- Great American Beer Awards
- World Beer Cup
- North American Brewers Association
- Montana Brewers Festival Red Ale by Lewis and Clark Brewing
- Matt Pritchard
Montana breweries take home medals at 2012 World Beer Cup
Several Montana breweries took home some hardware over the weekend during the 2012 World Beer Cup awards ceremony. Nearly 800 breweries throughout the world entered close to 4,000 beers into the competition, which took place at the beginning of May and is held every two years.
Montana breweries entered 29 beers and four of those won awards. The big winner was Montana Brewing Co., which took home a gold medal for its Whitetail Wheat. Lewis and Clark Brewing received a silver for its Miner’s Gold, and Missoula’s own Kettlehouse Brewing Co. won bronze for Cold Smoke.
Montana Brewing Co.
Category: American-style wheat beer with yeast
Gold medal – Whitetail Wheat
Category: Ordinary or special bitter
Silver medal – Happy Hour Hero Ale
Lewis and Clark Brewing
Category: American-style wheat beer with yeast
Silver medal – Miner’s Gold
Kettlehouse Brewing Co.
Category: Scotch Ale
Bronze medal – Cold Smoke
Head over here for a full listing of all 95 categories and winners.
- Matt Pritchard
Kettlehouse Brewing among Montana medal winners at 2011 Great American Beer Festival
The 30th annual Great American Beer Festival was held last weekend in Denver, and three Montana breweries took home medals, including Missoula’s own Kettlehouse Brewing Co.:
- Kettlehouse Brewing Co. - Seeley Axe, Bronze, Gluten-Free Beer
- Carter’s Brewing - Blackened CDA, Silver, American-Style Black Ale
- Montana Brewing Co. – White Eagle Baltic Porter, Silver, Baltic-Style Porter
Quite an accomplishment, as more than 3,900 beers competed for just 248 medals. Here’s a breakdown of the winners.
- Matt Pritchard
Big SkyBrewing Company Beers Rock Down Under
Got a note from Big Sky Brewing Company today about a little beer competition in Australia. Turns out our mountain brewing friends picked up a couple golds, a silver and Best New Exhibitor. Here’s the note from Big Sky:
Well, a few months ago we sent a few bottles of Big Sky IPA, Bobo’s Robust Porter, and Ivan The Terrible Imperial Stout down to the Australian International Beer Awards. This is the largest international beer judging in the Asian/Australian area. Over 1300 beers from 40 nations were entered, and Big Sky won the trophy as best new exhibitor.
Ivan and Bobo both took Gold Medals while Big Sky IPA took a Silver Medal.
Congratulations to Big Sky Brewing Company and all the hard working folks who put out great beer that wins awesome awards around the world. They’re making Missoula look good one continent at a time.
Prost,
GG
Montana Brewing Company wins a bronze at the World Beer Cup
The largest beer competition in the world was kind to Montana Brewing Company this year, recognizing their Whitetail Wheat with a bronze medal in the American-Style Wheat Beer with Yeast category.
From what I can tell from reading the list of winners, there were no other winners from Montana this year.
Montana Brewing Company head brewer Travis Zeilstra continues a streak of brewing award-winning beers that includes a stint as Small Brewer of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in 2007.
Congratulations to Travis and his crew at Montana Brewing Company. Thanks for keeping Montana at the forefront of the brewing industry’s award-winning and innovative breweries.
Prost,
GG
Big Sky Brewing Co.’s Ivan the Terrible named Grand Champion at USBTC
That’s the United States Beer Tasting Championship, if you didn’t know.
Good old bourbon-barrel-aged Ivan also won best of the Northwest/Pacific in the barrel-aged category. And Bobo’s Robust Porter picked up the best of the Northwest/Pacific in the porter category. Here’s a breakdown of the Northwest/Pacific region and the winners in each category.
Northwest/Pacific
Barrel-Aged Beer
Ivan the Terrible Big Sky Brewing Company Missoula, MT
Honorable Mention Bourbon Barrel Double Vision Grand Teton Brewing Company Victor, IDBarleywine
Old Crustacean Rogue Brewery Newport, OR
Honorable Mention Mirror Mirror Deschutes Brewery Bend, ORStrong/Old Ale
Mogul Madness Ale Rogue Brewery Newport, OR
Honorable Mention Wassail Full Sail Brewing Company Hood River, ORImperial Stout
The Abyss Deschutes Brewery Bend, OR
Honorable Mention Imperial Stout Rogue Brewery Newport, ORStout
Obsidian Stout Deschutes Brewery Bend, OR
Honorable Mention Polar Bear Stout Coeur d’Alene Brewing Company Coeur d’Alene, IDPorter
Bobo’s Robust Porter Big Sky Brewing Company Missoula, MTBrown Ale
Hazelnut Brown Nectar Rogue Brewery Newport, OR
Honorable Mention Lakeside British Ale Coeur d’Alene Brewing Company Coeur d’Alene, IDScottish-Style Ale
Sheep Eater Scotch Ale Grand Teton Brewing Company Victor, IDBelgian-Style Ale
Dick’s Grand Cru Dick’s Brewing Company Centralia, WA
Honorable Mention Ménage À Frog Issaquah Brewery Issaquah, WADunkels Lager
Dirtoir Black Lager Rogue Brewery Newport, OR
Honorable Mention Session Black Full Sail Brewing Company Hood River, ORVienna/Marzen Lager
Fest Bier Marzen Lager Grand Teton Brewing Company Victor, IDSpice Beer
Auld Acquaintance Pike Brewing Company Seattle, WASmoke Beer Smoke Ale Rogue Brewery Newport, OR
Belgo-American No winner declared
Congratulations to Matt and the crew at Big Sky Brewing Co., awesome job on the Ivan and Bobo and all the other great beers you guys make.
Prost,
GG