The AC Golden team on their home turf (provided by AC Golden).
A dozen Colorado breweries — from old standbys to new arrivals — took home 19 medals over the weekend in the U.S. Open Beer Championship, .
Taking top honors among the locals was AC Golden, the MillerCoors craft beer incubator that finished ninth place among all competing breweries on the strength of two golds and a silver.
New Belgium Brewing won more medals — four — but didn’t take as many points in the competition because three were bronze.
The podium also featured plenty of newcomers and small operations, reflecting the depth of Colorado’s nearly 300-strong roster of breweries .
Such recognition can be a boost for breweries trying to stand out in a competitive market. Neil Fisher, head brewer at WeldWerks Brewing Co. in Greeley, which opened in February, said in a news release he was encouraged to enter the competition by Seth Townsend of Liquid Mechanics Brewing in Lafayette, which took home a couple of medals itself.
The Greeley start-up describes its brewing approach as “retro-futuristic” — revering the historical significance of classic recipes but infusing them with our own modern creativity.” Sounds a lot like Former Future Brewing in Denver.
Denver Beer Co. has to feel good about a gold medal in the increasingly popular session beer category. The brewery’sSun Drenched is a hybrid IPA/American wheat with generous dry-hopping (5.0 percent ABV) available in cans.
The full list of Colorado winners from the competition, staged in Oxford, Ohio:
AC Golden Brewing, Golden: gold in Belgian lambic for Hidden Barrel Kriek; gold in German lager/pilsener for Barmen; silver in American Imperial Pilsner for Colorado Native IPL.
Aspen Brewing, Aspen: gold in French/Belgian saison for Belgian Farmhouse Saison
Bootstrap Brewing, Niwot: gold in American amber/red for Flagstaff Amber
Boulder Beer, Boulder: silver in chocolate/cocoa beer for Shake Chocolate Porter
City Star Brewing, Berthoud: bronze in American dark wheat for Harley’s Honey Wheat
Denver Beer Co., Denver: gold in sessions beer for Sun Drenched.
Elevation Beer Co., Poncha Springs: gold in Belgian quadrupel for Apis IV
Liquid Mechanics, Lafayette: bronze in German kolsch for Kolsch; bronze in American imperial porter for Imperial Porter.
New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins: bronze in Belgian dubbel for Abbey; bronze in American lager/pilsener for Blue Paddle; gold in American specialty wheat for Snapshot Wheat; bronze in sessions beer for Slow Ride
Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont: gold in imperial red ale for G’Knight Imperial Red Ale
Verboten Brewing, Loveland: bronze in oatmeal stout for Pure Imagination; silver in gose for Roll in Ze’ Hay.
WeldWerks Brewing, Greeley: silver for American specialty wheat for WeldWerks Hefeweizen
