Colorado breweries take home 13 medals
U.S. Open Beer Competition in Ohio judged beer from around the world
Another beer competition meant another chance for Colorado to shine.
Thirteen Colorado breweries took home medals at the 2018 U.S. Open Beer Championship in Oxford, Ohio, this past weekend. The competition accepts beers from around the world, meaning Coloradans were up against breweries from South Carolina and South Korea.
Lafayette-based Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co. scored two gold medals and a silver, placing it eighth overall. The top three breweries were Texas-based Peticolas Brewing, Florida-based Cigar City Brewing, and Washington-based Reuben’s Brews.
“Each year, the U.S. Open Beer Championship grows more and more competitive,” Liquid Mechanics Brewing co-owner and head brewer Seth Townsend said in a statement. “We are excited that the medals we received showcase our ability to make award-winning, innovative beers.”
Liquid Mechanics also placed first in the top 10 most creative beer names with their “Beast of Bourbon,” which Townsend described as a two-year blended
bourbon barrel-aged beer.
Other Colorado winners included Longmont’s Oskar Blues and Bootstrap Brewing, Fort Collins’ New Belgium and Denver’s Cerebral Brewing.
With 6,300 beer entries in 110 different styles, U.S. Open Beer is the third largest professional beer competition after the World Beer Cup, with over 8,200 entries, and the Great American Beer Festival, with over 7,900 entries. Judges for this competition came from the U.S., England and Canada.
Here’s a full list of Colorado winners: Blue Moon Brewing: Mango Wheat (silver), Summer Honey Wheat (bronze) Bootstrap Brewing: Wreak Havoc (bronze) Cerebral Brewing: Deep Thought (silver), Work From Home (bronze) Crow Hop Brewing: Screen Wheat (gold), Recess IPA (bronze) Denver Beer Company: Pretzel Assassin (bronze) Elevation Beer Co.: Acide (bronze) Launch Pad Brewing: Peace Keeper (gold)
Liquid Mechanics Brewing: Beasts of Bourbon (gold), Amber Altbier (gold), Marzen (silver) Locavore Beer Works: Uberweizen (silver) Loveland Aleworks: Save the Puppies 5th Anniversary Tequila Sour (bronze) Mash Lab Brewing: Barn Find Brown (silver), Automatic Amber Ale (bronze) New Belgium Brewing: Trippel (gold) Oskar Blues Brewery: G’Knight (gold)