Tuesday, November 10, 2015

The best beers in Maryland, 2015 edition.

The Brewers Association of Maryland (BAM) recently hosted the 10th Annual Maryland Craft Beer Competition to determine the best beer—by category—crafted by Maryland breweries.

The Brewers Association of Maryland (BAM) announced the results in late September. Better late than never, I've re-posted them here, today. The Best of Show, overall winner, is yet to be announced. In the past, the competition has been known as the Maryland Governor's Cup, and more recently, as the Maryland Comptroller's Cup.

Congratulations to the winners, and good luck to all in the next round, as Maryland's best of the best is announced.

UPDATE: 13 November 2015.
Peabody Heights Brewery Old Oriole Park Bohemian Lager was named Maryland’s top beer at the 2015 Maryland Craft Beer Competition. Other overall winners included Evolution Craft Brewery’s Lot #6 Double IPA which placed 2nd overall, RavenBeer’s The Cask which placed 3rd overall, and Franklin's Brewery was awarded Honorable Mention for their Bombshell Blonde.


Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (second from left) awards the Maryland Craft Beer Competition Cup to Ernesto Igot, brewmaster for Peabody Heights.
Photo courtesy Maryland Brewers Association.

  • Pale Lager / Pilsner

  • Amber Lager / Dark Lager / Bock

  • Amber Ale

  • Pale Ale
    • Gold – Union Craft BrewingAnthem
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Flying Dog BreweryDoggie Style Pale Ale
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze (Tie) – Milkhouse Brewery, Dollyhyde Farmhouse Ale
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze (Tie) – Calvert Brewing Co.Good Company Pale Ale
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Honorable Mention – Franklins Brewery, Bombshell Blonde
      Advanced to Best of Show Round


  • IPA
    • Gold – Evolution Craft BreweryLot #6 Double IPA
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Evolution Craft Brewery, Lot 3 IPA
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze – Flying Dog Brewery, Snake Dog IPA


  • Brown Ale

  • Stout
    • Gold – Heavy Seas Beer, Siren Noire Bourbon-Aged Chocolate Imperial Stout
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Monocacy Brewing Co.Brewtus Coffee Imperial Stout
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze – Flying Dog Brewery, Pearl Necklace

    Maryland breweries map: October 2015.

  • Porter
    • Gold – Heavy Seas Beer, Deep Six Porter
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Evolution Craft Brewery, Lucky 7 Porter
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze – Gordon Biersch (Rockville), Robust Porter


  • Strong Beer
    • Gold – Barley & Hops, Snowmaggedon
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Franklins Brewery, Jack The Giant Killer
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze – Franklins Brewery, 97 Pound Weakling
      Advanced to Best of Show Round


  • Wheat Beer
    • Gold – Franklins Brewery, Weisenbock
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Gordon Biersch (Rockville), Broyhan
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze – Barley & Hops, Pickett’s White Star
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Honorable Mention – Gordon Biersch (Rockville), Hefeweizen
      Advanced to Best of Show Round


  • Sour Beer / American Wild
    • Gold – Franklins Brewery, More Bounce to the Ounce
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Franklins Brewery, Slippin’ Into Darkness
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze – Franklins Brewery, Outaspace


  • Spiced Beer
    • Gold – Full Tilt Brewing, Patterson Pumpkin
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Gordon Biersch, Hibiscus Shandy
    • Bronze – Mully’s BreweryAncho IPA
    • Honorable Mention – Gordon Biersch (Rockville), Coffee Stout


  • Fruit, Wood, or Smoked Beer
    • Gold – Heavy Seas Beer, Red Sky at Morning Wood-Aged Saison
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver (Tie) – Heavy Seas Beer – Blackbeard’s Breakfast Barrel-Aged Coffee Porter
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver (Tie) – Oliver Brewing Co.Don’t Fear The Creeper
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze- Gordon Biersch (Rockville), Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter


  • Specialty Beer
    • Gold – Union Craft Brewing, Broken Record
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Silver – Brewers Alley1634 Ale
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
    • Bronze – Flying Dog Brewery, Juniper White IPA
      Advanced to Best of Show Round
*****

Afterthoughts

Tied for most medals won were Franklin's and Gordon Biersch (Rockville location) with seven apiece (although three of the latter's were honorable mentions).

Flying Dog was second with five medals overall; Heavy Seas Beer, third, with four.

For most gold medals won, Franklin's and Heavy Seas Beer were tied with three apiece. Union Craft had two.

Thirty-four of the fifty-one beers that won medals were pushed on to Best of Show. That's nearly two-thirds of the medalists, somewhat akin to the "every kid in the sport wins an award." It might be less unwieldy and less silly if the number were capped at, say, ten percent.

If one were keeping score, Franklin's had the most beers pushed forward, seven. Next was Heavy Seas Beer with four, and both Barley & Hops and Flying Dog with three. As mentioned above, an overall winner has yet to be announced.

Jailbreak Brewing (in Laurel) was the only Maryland brewery to win a medal at this year's Great American Beer Festival —the nation's commonly accepted premier beer festival and competition. Its Van Dammit won top honors among all American beers entered in the Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale category. But Jailbreak won nothing at all in the Maryland competition. Did Jailbreak enter the Maryland Craft Beer Competition? I would assume so, but I don't know. Its exclusion speaks to the subjective and sometimes arbitrary nature of beer competitions, regardless of Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) certification and strictures.

The map above, from BAM's website, shows forty-four breweries: that is, those forty-four Maryland breweries that are, as of today, members of the Association. According to the Comptroller of Maryland, however, there are fifty-four breweries in the state, that is, have a license to brew.

-----more-----
  • I've edited this post to indicate that it was the Rockville location of Gordon Biersch that won the seven medals.
  • See the results as originally posted in BAM's press release: here.
  • YFGF maintains a list of those breweries in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia which have active Twitter accounts. Fifty-two breweries in Maryland do.

  • For more from YFGF:

2 comments:

  1. Jailbreak didn't participate this year (though they did win a few medals last yr). They're busy ramping up operations and chose to focus on GABF.

    ReplyDelete

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