Lauren Drewes Daniels
Audio By Carbonatix
Although Dallas was a bit late to the game, it has a wonderful craft beer scene. In early October, Denver hosted the Great American Beer Festival, an annual beer and cider competition where breweries across the country enter their best for a chance to be recognized on a national level. The GABF is widely known as one of the largest commercial beer competitions in the world.
Industry professionals from around the world judge the event; each is assigned a style category according to their area of expertise.
Sitting together, they taste each entry anonymously, and their goal is to identify the three entries that best represent each style category (e.g., stout, amber ale, lager). Judges are not allowed to judge their own product or any product that would create a conflict of interest or bias.
Recipients of bronze, silver and gold medals stand as symbols of brewing excellence.
According to the GABF website, this is how each medal is rated:
“Gold: A world-class beverage that accurately exemplifies the specified style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma and appearance.
“Silver: An excellent beverage that may vary slightly from style parameters while maintaining close adherence to the style and displaying excellent taste, aroma and appearance.
“Bronze: A fine example of the style that may vary slightly from style parameters and/or have minor deviations in taste, aroma or appearance.”
Texas Gold Winners
Texas had a total of 21 winners across the state, and four breweries won gold:
Field Beer: Rhubarbed from Karbach Brewing Co. (Houston)
International Dark Lager: Fleeting Shadows from Pinthouse Brewing (Austin)
International Light Lager: Mexican Lager from Union Bear Brewing Co. (Denton)
Smoke Beer: Hot Shot from Lazarus Brewing Co. (Austin)
Local Winners
Peticolas Brewing Co. won bronze in the Belgian-style Dubbel category for “Room for More” brew. Hey, we told you they were one of the best breweries in Dallas.
There were three other North Texas winners:
Bock (Bronze): The Last Bockbuster from Flix Brewhouse (Mansfield)
Scotch Ale (Silver): Kilt Switch from 903 Brewers (Sherman)
Old Ale, Strong Ale or Barley Wine (Silver): Assume but Verify from Bankhead Brewing Co. (Rowlett)
Other winners from Texas were based mainly in Houston and Austin, with a few stragglers on the outskirts of either. See the full list of winners on the Great American Beer Festival website.
