And they have more medals to prove it.
Blue Mountain Brewery, of Afton (Nelson County) was awarded the Gold medal in the American-style Wheat Beer category for their new end-of-summer seasonal beer, “Sandy Bottom” and also took the bronze medal in the German-style Kolsch category for one of their year-round bottled and draft beers, “Kolsch 151.”
Taylor Smack, brewmaster for Blue Mountain, said he is proud of his brewing team and especially honored to be recognized for their Kolsch beer. “It’s a very delicate German style of ale, and we competed against 45 other entrants in the category to be recognized as one of the top three,” said Smack. “And our Gold medal ‘Sandy Bottom’ is actually premiering this Thursday night out at the brewery. It’s a great way to roll out a new beer!”
The 2010 Great American Beer Festival was held this past weekend in Denver, Colorado and attracted 151 beer judges from 10 countries, who judged an astounding 3,523 beers over several days of blind tastings. Beers representing 516 breweries were featured in the competition. Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 79 beer categories covering 133 beer styles, establishing the best examples of each style in the U.S. The competition saw increased geographic diversity among medal winners, with an emerging trend of winners from the Midwest and the Southeast alongside the traditionally successful states like California and Colorado. “Other states appear to be emerging as the craft beer producer and consumer markets mature in their regions,” said GABF competition manager Chris Swersey. The festival drew a crowd of over 49,000 in the three days.
