One of Colorado’s smaller craft breweries is celebrating a huge honor.
Louisville’s 12Degree Brewing took the for small brewpub of the year and collected two more medals for its Belgian beers at the 2016 Craft Brewers Conference.
Days after returning home from Philadelphia, 12 Degree head brewer Jon Howland still seemed at a lost for words. “It was pretty cool,” he said in an interview.
The beers that won recognition are part of the brewery’s year-round lineup: the Soleil saison and the Treachery Belgian strong.
In total, Colorado craft brewers took home 35 medals Saturday — 11 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze — in a variety of categories. (See full list of Colorado winners below.) The state claimed all three medals in Belgian strong ale category and the only two awarded to fresh hop beers.
The other gold medal winners in what is called the craft beer Olympics: Blue Moon’s First Peach Ale; 4 Noses’ Pump Action Imperial Pumpkin Ale; Comrade’s Yellow Fever; Steamworks’ Steam Engine Lager; Odell’s 90 Shilling; Dry Dock’s Amber; Aspen Brewing’s Independence Pass Ale; Odyssey Beerwerks’ Clan Warrior Scotch Ale; Denver Beer’s Summit Sunrise; and Left Hand’s Fade to Black, Vol. 1.
In Louisville, Howland opened three years ago in a 120-year-old building downtown, expanding on his experience as a homebrewer.
Now, the seven-barrel operation is “just barely able to keep up with demand,” he said, and the brewery is considering expansion. The saison that won the medal won’t even return to the taps until this summer.
What stands out, Howland said, is knowing that his brews competed against the top beers from Belgium. “That makes it all the more special,” he said.
Here’s a list of the categories that featured Colorado winners:
Small Brewpub: 12Degree Brewing, Louisville
Jon Howland & Tor O’Brien
Category: 1 American-Style Wheat Beer (28 Entries)
Gold: Whammy Bar Wheat, Amplified Ale Works, San Diego, Calif.
Silver: Whacked Out Wheat, Telluride Brewing Co., Telluride
Bronze: Flash Bang, Excel Brewing Co., Breese, Ill.
Category: 3 Fruit Beer (77 Entries)
Gold: Shady Spot, Susquehanna Brewing Co., Pittston, Pa.
Silver: Razz Against the Machine, Little Machine, Denver
Bronze: That Guava Beer, Legacy Brewing Co., Oceanside, Calif.
Category: 4 Fruit Wheat Beer (46 Entries)
Gold: First Peach Ale, Blue Moon Brewing Co., Golden
Silver: Mr. Pineapple, SanTan Brewing Co., Chandler, Ariz.
Bronze: Raspberry Wheat Beer, Meantime Brewing Co., London, United Kingdom
Category: 5 Belgian-Style Fruit Beer (58 Entries)
Gold: Rosetta, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, N.y.
Silver: Coal Kriek, Gravity Brewing, Louisville
Bronze: Sunken City, Insight Brewing Co., Minneapolis, Minn.
Category: 6 Pumpkin Beer (25 Entries)
Gold: Pump Action Imperial Pumpkin Ale, 4 Noses Brewing Co., Broomfield
Silver: Tributary Jacques, Tributary Brewing Co., Kittery, Maine
Bronze: Pumpkin Down, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits – Scripps Ranch, San Diego, Calif.
Category: 8 Chili Beer (58 Entries)
Gold: Yellow Fever, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver
Silver: Hellcat, Fort George Brewery + Public House, Astoria, Or.
Bronze: Thunder Axe, Brew Hub, Lakeland, Fl.
Category: 18 Experimental Beer (86 Entries)
Gold: Arima Japan Ale, Konishi Brewing Co., Itami, Japan
Silver: Cerise Mousseux Nouveau, Manitou Brewing Co., Manitou Springs
Bronze: Iwate Kura Beer Oyster Stout, Iwate Kura Beer, Ichinoseki, Japan
Category: 19 Fresh or Wet Hop Ale (10 Entries)
Silver: High Ground IPA, Manitou Brewing Co., Manitou Springs
Bronze: Double Conundrum Imperial Red Fresh Hop, Aspen Brewing Co., Aspen
Category: 29 Aged Beer (40 Entries)
Gold: Nine-Tailed Fox, Nasu Kohgen Beer Co., Nasumachi, Japan
Silver: Solzhenitsyn, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – Media, Pa.
Bronze: 2012 Dr. Strangelove Barleywine, Strange Craft Beer Co., Denver
Category: 35 German-Style Pilsener (108 Entries)
Gold: Trumer Pils, Trumer Brauerei, Berkeley, Calif.
Silver: Pilsner, Dry Dock Brewing Co. — South Dock, Aurora
Bronze: Saalfelder Premium, Buergerliches Brauhaus Saalfeld, Saalfeld, Germany
Category: 39 Vienna-Style Lager (57 Entries)
Gold: Dock Time, Stony Creek Brewery, Branford, Conn.
Silver: Firebrick, August Schell Brewing Co., New Ulm, Minn.
Bronze: Puesta del Sol, WeldWerks Brewing Co., Greeley
Category: 44 German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock (53 Entries)
Gold: Lucubrator, Occidental Brewing Co., Portland, Or.
Silver: Warning Sign, Rockyard Brewing Co., Castle Rock
Bronze: ATOR 20, Brauerei S. Riegele, Augsburg, Germany
Category: 46 American-Style Amber Lager (59 Entries)
Gold: Steam Engine Lager, Steamworks Brewing Co., Durango
Silver: Ringside Red, Boxing Cat Brewery, Shanghai, China
Bronze: Holsteiner, Argus Brewery, Chicago, Ill.
Category: 47 American-Style Dark Lager (29 Entries)
Gold: Jump Seat Black Lager, Lancaster Brewing Co., Lancaster, Pa.
Silver: El Moreno, TAPS Fish House & Brewery – Brea, Brea, Calif.
Bronze: Saint Patrick’s Black, Saint Patrick’s Brewing Co., Littleton
Category: 50 German-Style Altbier (56 Entries)
Gold: 90 Shilling, Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins
Silver: Little Red Cap, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Loveland
Bronze: Breakside Will’s Alt, Breakside Brewery – Pub Brewery, Portland, Or.
Category: 56 French & Belgian-Style Saison (116 Entries)
Gold: Classic Saison, Blackberry Farm Brewery, Walland, Tenn.
Silver: La Saison du Tracteur, Microbrasserie Le Trou Du Diable, Shawinigan, Canada
Bronze: Soleil Saison, 12Degree Brewing, Louisville
Category: 58 Belgian-Style Pale Ale or Blonde Ale (60 Entries)
Gold: La Trappe Trappist Blond, Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven, Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands
Silver: Raise the Roost, Portland Brewing, Portland, Or.
Bronze: Golden Ghost, Lost Highway Brewing, Denver
Category: 63 Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale (48 Entries)
Gold: Treachery, 12Degree Brewing, Louisville
Silver: Sanctuary Golden Strong Ale, Gemini Beer Co., Westminster
Bronze: Deceit, Funkwerks, Fort Collins
Category: 65 Other Belgian-Style Ale (43 Entries)
Gold: Supernatural, Crooked Run Brewing, Leesburg, Va.
Silver: Chump Change, Oak Highlands Brewery, Dallas, Texas
Bronze: Sugarfoot Belgian Table Beer, Spangalang Brewery, Denver
Category: 67 English-Style Summer Ale (30 Entries)
Gold: James Squires The Swindler Summer Ale, West End Brewery, Thebarton, Australia
Silver: Pacific Ale, Stone & Wood Brewing Co., Byron Bay, Australia
Bronze: True Blonde Ale, SKA Brewing Co., Durango
Category: 68 Ordinary or Special Bitter (36 Entries)
Gold: Amber, Dry Dock Brewing Co. — North Dock, Aurora
Silver: Sawtooth Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont
Bronze: Broken Dial, Harviestoun, Alva, United Kingdom
Category: 71 English-Style India Pale Ale (41 Entries)
Gold: Independence Pass Ale, Aspen Brewing Co., Aspen
Silver: Punjabi Pale Ale, CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing, Fort Collins
Bronze: Big Wave Bay IPA, Hong Kong Beer Co., Chai Wan, Hong Kong
Category: 73 English-Style Brown Ale (50 Entries)
Gold: Boar Brown, Pig Pounder Brewery, Greensboro, N.c.
Silver: Sweet George’s Brown, Dillon Dam Brewery, Dillon
Bronze: Brewers Special Brown Ale, New English Brewing Co., San Diego, Calif.
Category: 74 Brown Porter (66 Entries)
Gold: Capella Porter, Ecliptic Brewing, Portland, Or.
Silver: Polygamy Nitro Porter, Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, Utah
Bronze: Blue Nose Brown, Red Leg Brewing Co., Colorado Springs
Category: 78 Scotch Ale (70 Entries)
Gold: Clan Warrior Scotch Ale, Odyssey Beerwerks, Arvada
Silver: AleSmith Wee Heavy, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, Calif.
Bronze: Glasgow Butcher, Crooked Ewe Brewery & Ale House, South Bend, In.
Category: 91 Double Red Ale (51 Entries)
Gold: Summit Sunrise, Denver Beer Co. — Canworks, Denver
Silver: Valentinus IPA, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant — Wilmington, Wilmington, De.
Bronze: Toaster Pastry, 21st Amendment Brewery, San Leandro, Calif.
Category: 92 Imperial Red Ale (37 Entries)
Gold: Blood Junkie, Three Weavers Brewing Co., Inglewood, Calif.
Silver: December Nights Imperial Red, Thorn Street Brewery, San Diego, Calif.
Bronze: Wreak Havoc, Bootstrap Brewing, Niwot
Category: 93 American-Style Brown Ale (81 Entries)
Gold: Granola Brown Ale, Black Hog Brewing, Oxford, Conn.
Silver: Open Road Brown Ale, Troubled Monk Brewery, Red Deer, Canada
Bronze: Upslope Brown Ale, Upslope Brewing Co. — Flatiron Park, Boulder
Category: 83 Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout (42 Entrie)
Gold: Minoh Beer STOUT, A J I Beer, Minoh, Japan
Silver: Irish Stout, Carver Brewing Co., Durango
Bronze: O’Connor’s Dry Irish Stout, O’Connor Brewing Co., Norfolk, Va.
Category: 84 Export Stout (52 Entries)
Gold: Fade to Black, Volume 1, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont
Silver: Spetsnaz, The Grumpy Troll Brewpub, Mount Horeb, Wi.
Bronze: Dirty Frank Stout, River’s Edge Brewing Co., Milford, Mi.
John Frank: 303-954-2409, jfrank@denverpost.com or @ByJohnFrank
