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The 11th annual Oregon Beer Awards were announced Thursday at an event at Revolution Hall in Southeast Portland. But that ceremony is the culmination of two weekends of rigorous tasting and judging in Milwaukie.
Founded in 2015 as a collaboration between Willamette Week and industry experts sometimes dubbed the Academy Awards of Beer, the Oregon Beer Awards has become a model for beer competitions around the country, says Jeremie Landers, a steward who does not judge but helps run the competition.
“It is so very well run and well respected across the country,” Landers says.
One of this year’s trends was collaboration, Landers says, with two or more breweries coming together to develop a single beer. He also suggests West Coast IPAs are becoming dominant again, though “hazies”—a style associated with the East Coast that’s also popular in the United Kingdom—haven’t gone away. This year, 61 West Coast IPAs were entered in the contest, compared with 55 fresh hop IPAs and pale ales.
Lighter beers remain popular, though; this year, judges reviewed 58 international lagers, 52 Pilsners and 48 flavored beers.
The total number of entries this year was just under 1,000 Landers says, slightly down from last year.
“I don’t think the Oregon Beer Awards are going away anytime soon. It’s just too much fun,” Landers says.
A full list of winners follows. For more information, visit oregonbeerawards.com.
Brewery of the Year
Large: Breakside Brewery
Medium: Wayfinder Beer
Small: UPP Liquids
Best New Brewery: UPP Liquids
Best Bottle Shop: Belmont Station
Best Beer Bar or Taphouse: The BeerMongers
Best Brewpub Experience: Fort George Brewing
Best Beer Labels or Branding: Kings & Daughters Brewery
Craft Advocate of the Year: Sean Campbell
Best New Beer Destination: “The Walled Garden Kings & Daughters Public House”
Regional Brewing Company of the Year, North Coast: Fort George Brewery
Regional Brewing Company of the Year, Willamette: Block 15 Brewing
Regional Brewing Company of the Year, Central: pFriem Family Brewers
Regional Brewing Company of the Year, Eastern: Barley Brown’s Beer
Regional Brewing Company of the Year, Southern: Arch Rock Brewing
Hall of Fame: Jerry Fechter
American Sour Beers
Gold: Flower Child, UPP Liquids
Silver: LIVE, ColdFire Brewing
Bronze: Moments Made, UPP Liquids
Barrel-Aged Stouts
Gold: Breakside Learning from Las Vegas, Breakside Brewery
Silver: Breakside La Maison du Bang!, Breakside Brewery
Bronze: Breakside Sted Sarandos, Breakside Brewery
Beyond Beer, Hop Water, and Other Specialty Beverages
Gold: Früt Lüp - Yuzu, Fort George Brewery
Silver: Lord Citra Hop Tea, Public Coast Brewing Company
Bronze: BB Seltzer, Public Coast Brewing Company
Classic UK and North American Styles
Gold: Before the Break, Worthy Brewing
Silver: Rewind IPA, Hetty Alice Brewing Company
Bronze: Bard’s Tale Pale Ale, TPK Brewing Co
Experimental and Historical Beers
Gold: Pudsy, Terranaut Beer
Silver: Rauch Marzen, Von Ebert Brewing
Bronze: The Sparrow And The Crow, ColdFire Brewing
Flavored Beers
Gold: Breakside White Tea Lager, Breakside Brewery
Silver: Omen, Wayfinder Beer
Bronze: Cocoa Cow, Sunriver Brewing Company
Fruit Beers
Gold: Pistol Peach, McMenamins Old Saint Francis School
Silver: Wood Series: Hawaiian-Styled Imperial Stout, Sunriver Brewing Company
Bronze: Drink Me Potion, Von Ebert Brewing
Hoppy Lagers
Gold: French Pils, pFriem Family Brewers
Silver: Cold Cutz, Grand Fir Brewing
Bronze: Italian Pilsner, ColdFire Brewing
Imperial India Pale Ale
Gold: Breakside Thrasher Double IPA, Breakside Brewery
Silver: Sticky Hands, Block 15 Brewing Company
Bronze: Super Ripe, Great Notion Brewing
International Lagers
Gold: JFK Domestic Beer, Santiam Brewing
Silver: Voyage to the Moon, Ruse Brewing
Bronze: Permission To Land, StormBreaker Brewing
Strong Beers
Gold: Sparkling Lager, Wayfinder Beer
Silver: Co-Munichator, Deschutes Brewery
Bronze: Reduction Ratio, UPP Liquids
West Coast IPA
Gold: Ponga, Grand Fir Brewing
Silver: Lava Lamp Potluck, Ruse Brewing
Bronze: Breakside Cowboys & Poets, Breakside Brewery
Fresh Hop Hazy Pale Ales and India Pale Ales
Gold: Keyboard Warrier, Bend Brewing Co.
Silver: Fresh Hop Sector 7 - Perrault Farms Krush, Von Ebert Brewing
Bronze: Set Freshies to Haze, StormBreaker Brewing
Gold: Fresh Hop Bayside IPA, Breakside Brewery
Silver: Queens of the Cone Age, Grand Fir Brewing
Bronze : Fresh Hop Rippin, Sunriver Brewing Company
Other Fresh Hop Beers
Gold: Red Rain, Ruse Brewing
Silver: Fresh Hop King Crispy, Deschutes Brewery
Bronze: FH Oregon Summer Ale, Bend Brewing Co.
Pilsner
Gold: Pilsner, pFriem Family Brewers
Silver: Czech Lager, pFriem Family Brewers
Bronze: Pilsner, Hetty Alice Brewing Company
Golden, Blonde, and Other Light Ales
Gold: Breakside Double Hockey Sticks, Breakside Brewery
Silver: Smooth Music, Terranaut Beer
Bronze: Pre-Glow, UPP Liquids
Light German and European Lagers
Gold: Lager, pFriem Family Brewers
Silver: Van Henion Leichtbier, Van Henion Brewing
Bronze: Heater Allen 10° Pils, Heater Allen Brewing
Dark German and European Lagers
Gold: Secret Secret, Wayfinder Beer
Silver: Miniature Donkey Dunkel, Deschutes Brewery
Bronze: Count Crispy, Deschutes Brewery
Stout and Porter
Gold: Pinball Wizard, UPP Liquids
Silver: Control-Alt-Delete, Binary Brewing
Bronze: Tsunami Stout, Pelican Brewing Company
Belgian, German Wheat, and Traditional Brett Beers
Gold: Zoigl-Weiss, Zoiglhaus Brewing Company
Silver: Dubbel or Nothing, Monkless Belgian Ales
Bronze: Meet Your Maker, Monkless Belgian Ales
Red Beers
Gold: Irish Red, Ancestry Brewing Company
Silver: MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale, Pelican Brewing Company
Bronze: Mississippi Red, StormBreaker Brewing
Sessionable Hoppy Beers
Gold: Rippin, Sunriver Brewing Company
Silver: Breakside Hello My Alien, Breakside Brewery
Bronze: Upstream, Kings & Daughters Brewery
American IPA
Gold: IPA, pFriem Family Brewers
Silver: Marley, Living Haus
Bronze: The Henry IPA, ColdFire Brewing
Hazy or Juicy IPA
Gold: Because Science, Bend Brewing Co.
Silver: Serious Robot, Great Notion Brewing
Bronze: High on Fire, Ruse Brewing
Dark Hoppy Beers
Gold: Not Tomorrow Yet, Sunriver Brewing Company
Silver: Cavatica Stout, Fort George Brewery
Bronze: Midnight Shenanigans, Deschutes Brewery
Barrel-Aged Beers
Gold: Maestro, Alesong Brewing and Blending
Silver: Breakside Bellwether, Breakside Brewery
Bronze: Old Fashioned, Alesong Brewing and Blending
Mixed Culture Beers
Gold: Elisabeth, ColdFire Brewing
Silver: Coming to Fruition: Cherry, Oregon City Brewing
Bronze: Blossom, Alesong Brewing and Blending
Collaboration Beers
Gold: Uncharted Territory, Little Beast Brewing
Silver: Rad Luck, Funky Fauna
Bronze: pFriem + Westbound & Down West Coast IPA
