DENVER – Three Durango breweries took medals home following the
Steamworks Brewing Co., Carver Brewing Co. and Ska Brewing each were awarded for craft beers entered in the growing and competitive competition.
Steamworks won two medals, taking a silver for its Slam Dunkel in the German-Style Wheat Ale category, as well as another silver for its Backside Stout in the Oatmeal Stout category.
The Slam Dunkel is a German dunkelweizen, which is a dark wheat beer; the Backside Stout is an oatmeal stout that is named after the backside of Purgatory Resort in Durango.
Steamworks is on a roll after winning for its Steam Engine Lager in May at the World Beer Cup in Philadelphia, making it the best American-style amber lager in the world.
Ska Brewing won bronze for its Mexican Logger, which was reviewed in the American-Style or International-Style Pilsner category. The beer, a light Mexican-style lager, also won a silver medal last year in the same category.
Carver Brewing won a silver medal for its Lightner Creek Lager, a German-style light lager that is a mainstay for the brewery. It was the first time the brewery entered the lager into the GABF competition, which was submitted in the American-Style Light Lager or German-Style Light Lager category.
All three breweries entered five beers each into the competition. Also competing was Durango Brewing Co., though it did not win any medals.
With 379,000 square feet in the tasting hall at the Colorado Convention Center, 60,000 attendees had the opportunity to sample 3,800 beers from more than 800 breweries.
During the awards ceremony at the Colorado Convention Center, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper presented a surprise award to GABF founder and beer guru Charlie Papazian to honor him after 35 years of service to the beer and Colorado communities.
“I remember sitting out, waiting to hear if we got a medal many times. I think I still have ulcers from those days,” said Hickenlooper, co-founder of Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver, which became the city’s first craft brewery.
“There’s no one that all of us owe more to than Charlie Papazian,” the governor continued, while a large gold medal was placed around Papazian’s neck to thunderous applause.
“It occurred to us that he has spent all this time creating this culture around beer, and beer love, and one world, a better world ... But he’s never had a gold medal around his neck. This is for 35 years of amazing service to the community.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
