Six Capital Region breweries won medals from the New York State Brewers Association at its annual craft beer competition, held last week at the Capital Center.
Wayward Lane Brewing in Schoharie was the top local winner, awarded a gold, silver and two bronze medals for its entries.
Druthers Brewing Company won a gold and silver medal with locations throughout the Capital Region. Artisanal Brew Works in Saratoga Springs won a gold medal, and Weiss Ferments in Gilboa also won gold.
Active Ingredient Brewing Company in Malta and Fidens Brewing in Albany were awarded silver medals, and Rare Form Brewing in Troy was awarded a bronze medal.
236 breweries entered 1,421 beers in 30 categories in this year’s competition, tasted by 64 judges earlier in the month in Rochester.
Wayward Lane Brewing was awarded a gold medal for its Shadow Tricks beer, which was entered in the experimental category. It was awarded a silver medal for its Portmanteau beer in the porter (non-imperial) category. The two bronze medals came for its PolotmavyPekar beer in the amber lager category, and its Over and Out beer in the Hazy DIPA category.
Wayward Lane’s gold medal winner, Shadow Tricks, was entered in the experimental category, listed as a catch-all to encompass any beers that do not fit elsewhere in the style guidelines.
Beers entered in the category were encouraged to use some nontraditional ingredient, adjunct, or process. This may include beers that strive for flavors outside the normal realm of beer (e.g., “cocktail beers” or savory beers) and beers that do not have an identifiable classic base style.
Wayward’s silver medal went to its Portmanteau entry in the Porter (nonimperial) category.
The requirements were that the beer be a porter should be dark brown to black with low to medium hop bitterness. Malt character, particularly from roasted malts, should be medium to medium-high. Fruity esters are allowable, provided they are in balance with the other flavors.
Weiss Ferments earned the top honor in the category with a gold medal for its Hold Fire entry.
The first bronze medal for Wayward was for its Polotmavy Pekar in the amber lager category.
According to the judges, the entry could be any amber lager brewed in German, Czech, or American traditions. They can also include “modern” variants of these styles, which tend to have more hop character than is traditional in the areas of origin.
The second bronze was awarded for its Over and Out in the Hazy DIPA category.
The entries included all Hazy hop-forward beers above 7.5% ABV. The overall flavor of these beers should strongly favor hops with malt and yeast characters in balance.
Druthers Brewing was awarded a gold medal for its Dark Encounter entry in the dark larger category.
The category criteria encompassed any dark-colored lagers brewed in the German, Czech, or American traditions and can include “modern” variants on these styles, which tend to have more hop character than is traditional in the areas of origin.
Druthers’ Lavel Up beer earned a silver medal in the specialty beer category — light and amber lagers.
Requirements included any beer made with Coffee, Chocolate, Spices or adjuncts where the added ingredient(s) is moderate to strong and well pronounced and dominates the beer's overall impression. The base beer is light or amber-colored.
Artisanal Brew Works in Saratoga Springs won a gold medal for its Trappist at the Track Belgian Triple in the Belgian Other category.
According to judges, these classic style beers appropriate to this category include Abbey styles (dubbel, tripel, quad), as well as Belgian blonde and pale ales, Belgian IPA, Belgian-strong golden ales, and obscure styles such as Belgian biere de table.
Active Ingredient Brewing in Malta’s silver medal was awarded to its Freudian Sips in the golden/blonde ale category.
The category included all interpretations of light-colored ales, including (but not limited to) Kolsch, Golden, and Blonde Ale. It may include more modern versions with more hop characters than traditional ones in the areas of origin. Winning beers should exhibit the intended style's malt, body, balance, and fermentation profile.
Rare Form Brewing in Troy was awarded a bronze medal in the Wild and Sour Ales category for its Family Tree 13 beer.
The judges based their awards for beers with notable “wild” yeast characters on using non-saccharomyces yeast and bacteria. Beers in this category may be brewed in a traditional style, such as Flanders Red or Lambic, or may be brewed with traditional mixed culture fermentations, spontaneous fermentations, or blending. “Funky” notes of Brettanomyces or other non-traditional yeast may be present in high levels.
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