This Week's Beer News: A Midwestern WBC Roundup
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In a week where thousands of representatives from breweries around America gathered en masse in Indianapolis for the annual Craft Brewers Conference, the biggest news from the world of beer was … Anheuser-Busch’s announcement that Busch Light Apple would be returning for a little while.
Here’s just a taste of the coverage:
I try to avoid conspiracy-theory thinking, but still, there’s no way the timing of that release was an accident, right? A-B pushed it out on Tuesday - the second full day of CBC - and by Wednesday all sorts of local and national press outlets had picked it up, as you can see from the above, including Fast Company and Ad Age.
Or maybe, this is a little bit closer to accurate:
Anyways, as promised, I have the full Midwestern / Great Lakes medal recap. Ohio hauled in the most medals this year like usual, followed closely by a (briefly?) resurgent Indiana.
Other brief takeaways from this year’s World Beer Cup before we dive into who won what:
Big breweries won the biggest: New Glarus, Fat Head’s and Sun King all took home three medals apiece.
Go for Go: Illinois’ biggest winner this year was Go Brewing, taking home two medals in the NA Specialty and Hoppy NA Beer categories.
Stupid Sexy Flanders: Nice to see this memorably-named beer still getting love from Sun King - I first had it way back at FoBAB in 2013. A dozen years later, it’s still medaling. That makes me happy.
Good Timing, Deth’s Tar: Revolution Brewing’s famed barrel-aged stout took Bronze this year, just ahead of May the Fourth, the annual Star Wars celebration day.
This Year’s Pumpkin Powerhouse Preview: There’s more than corn at Indiana breweries! Well, at two of ‘em at least - Moontown Brewing and Guggmann Haus - which pulled in gold and bronze for pumpkin beers this year respectively.
Congrats to all the winners!
Illinois: 8 Medals
Gold: “Extra Medium Mild” English Mild or Bitter, White Oak Brewing
Silver: “Bel Ringer” Belgian-Style Tripel, 9th Hour Brewing Co.; “Der Reisende” Export Stout, Adams Street Brewery; “Disarm” Hoppy Non-Alcohol Beer, Go Brewing
Bronze: “Really Decent” American Light Lager, Werk Force Brewing Co.; “For 4” Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale, Brothership Brewing; “New School” Specialty Non-Alcohol Beer, Go Brewing; “Deth's Tar” Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout, Revolution Brewing
Indiana: 11 Medals
Gold: “Fulcrum Imperial Stout” American-Style Imperial Stout, ZwanzigZ Brewing; “Free Range Farmhouse Ale” Brett Beer, Sun King Brewery; “Curse The Goat” German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock, Shoreline Brewery; “Follow the Lederhosen” German-Style Maerzen or Franconian-Style Rotbier, Moontown Brewing Co.; “Not Your Grandma's Pumpkin Ale” Pumpkin Beer, Grand Junction Brewing Co.
Silver: “French Kiss” Belgian-Style Ale or French-Style Ale, Primeval Brewing
Bronze: “Stupid Sexy Flanders” Belgian-Style Flanders Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ale, Sun King Brewery; “Amalfi” Experimental Beer, Sun King Brewery; “Riverside NEIPA” Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale, Guggman Haus Brewing Co.; “Pumpkin Ale” Pumpkin Beer, Bier Brewery and Taproom; “Broliner Weisse” Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer, Wooden Bear Brewing Co.
Michigan: 3 Medals
Gold: na.
Silver: “Lunar Fallout” American Wheat Beer, Tilted Axis Brewing Co.; “AEgir's Wreath” Historical Beer, Archival Brewing; “Baltic Porter” Strong Porter, Haymarket Beer Co.
Bronze: na.
Minnesota: 5 Medals
Gold: “Coffee Cream Ale” Coffee Beer, Pantown Brewing Co.; “Haha Pils” German-Style Pilsener, Arbeiter Brewing Co.; “Vinter Liv” Historical Beer, Paddlefish Brewing Co.
Silver: “Saturday Morning Cartoons” Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout, Hackamore Brewing Co.; “Alternative Medicine” German-Style Altbier, Lakeville Brewing Co.
Bronze: na.
Missouri: 2 Medals
Gold: “Construct Of Quality” Munich-Style Helles, Cinder Block Brewery
Silver: na.
Bronze: “Bobber Lager” Dortmunder/Export or Oktoberfest, Logboat Brewing Co.
Ohio: 12 Medals
Gold: “Higher Consciousness” Scotch Ale, Third Eye Brewing Co.; “Apres Hefe” South German-Style Bernsteinfarbenes Weizen, Fat Heads Brewery; “Battle Axe” Strong Porter, Fat Heads Brewery; “Moozie” Sweet Stout or Cream Stout, Brink Brewing Co.
Silver: “Mother Fuggle” Brown Porter, Eudora Brewing Co.; “Viator Obscura: Triple Chocolate” Chocolate Beer, Wandering Monsters Brewing Co.; “Wooly Pig Farm Brewery Rye Dunkel” Rye Beer, Wooly Pig Farm Brewery; “Alternative Medicine” German-Style Altbier, Lakeville Brewing Co.; “Alpenglow” South German-Style Weizenbock, Fat Heads Brewery; “A.5” Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer, Eighty-Three Brewery
Bronze: “Crazy Train” Belgian-Style Ale or French-Style Ale, Fretboard Brewing Co.; “Lil' Zoomie” Coffee Stout or Porter, Brink Brewing Co.; “Engine 402” Irish-Style Red Ale, Orange Hat Brewing
Wisconsin: 5 Medals
Gold: “Kriek” Belgian Fruit Beer, New Glarus Brewing Co.; “North Tower Stout” Oatmeal Stout, Earth Rider Brewery
Silver: “Champ Du Blanc” Belgian Fruit Beer, New Glarus Brewing Co.
Bronze: “Hinterland Altbier” German-Style Altbier, Hinterland Brewery; “Imperial Pilsner” Other Strong Beer, New Glarus Brewing Co.
Noon Whistle’s Malort Baja Blast caught the eye of WGN-TV this week.
ABC-7 previewed the upcoming Mayfestiversary from Dovetail and Begyle.
The first franchise location for Good News Brewing is coming to Alton this summer.
All About Beer editor John Hall went on WISH to talk about the IN Guild’s collaborative beer and the CBC. Additional CBC coverage came from Forbes, Axios, and WRTV.
Kayak, Bike and Brew has four different tours this year for visitors, with stops at Right Brain and The Filling Station, among others.
If you’ve got $249K, you could be the new owner of Preston’s Trout City Brewing.
After 11 years in business, St. Paul’s Burning Brothers Brewing will close on May 10.
On May 11, Falling Knife will host a Celebration of Life gathering for owner Tom Berg who recently passed away.
Craft Brewing Business has more about the changes and updates coming to the Great Lakes Brewing Company brewpub.
Lakewood’s Bottlehouse Brewing Company is merging with Eugene Kitchen and making some other changes.
To celebrate the Brewers and Cubs playing each other this past weekend, Broken Bat Brewing released two Malort-barrel-aged beers.
Also releasing a beer for the I-94 faceoff is J. Leinenkugel's Barrel Yard at the ballpark, who has a Grand Slamber Ale on tap.
More on the arrival of Vault 202 Brewery in Appleton comes from the Post Crescent.
Wrapping up the CBC content, Washington state won 26 medals this year … but only were credited with 24, as two somehow were labeled as Oregon beers.
In California, Moylan’s Brewery & Restaurant shuttered yesterday after 30 years in business.
Are you looking to microdose alcohol? You might want to try this “Dad Strength” IPA at just 2.9% ABV.
Last week’s most-clicked link: The Block Club story about the closing of On Tour Brewing.
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Thank you all for being here!