OnTap Magazine

COMPETITION STATS The demand for IPA and juicy/hazy IPAs is mirrored in the results of the GABF competition, which ran concurrently with the festival and took place for the 36th time. This year 9,904 beers entered the competition in 177 style categories. They were judged by 235 judges who awarded 300 medals in total. As trends on the festival floor suggest, the five most entered style categories were: American Style IPA 423 entries Juicy or Hazy IPA 375 entries German Style Pilsner 233 entries German Wheat Ale 209 entries German Style Märzen 207 entries Winning a medal at GABF is highly prestigious and recognises brewing excellence. Competition amongst brewers is intense and the sheer, unbridled joy when a winning brewery is announced is testimony to that. They whoop, holler, hug and slap each other on the back before heading on stage to collect their medal and pose for a winning photograph. Chris Williams, competition director for GABF, says: “Each year the Great American Beer Festival showcases the best that American brewers have to offer. With 9,904 entries, this year’s competition was the most competitive to date and truly demonstrated why the US is the best brewing nation in the world.” TRY TO TRY THEM Some of the medal-winning beers may make their way into export markets, such as gold medal winners Deschutes Brewery’s Hachimitsu Mai, a lager brewed with puffed Jasmine rice, almost no hops and Chilean Ulmo honey, or perennial favourite Allagash Brewing Co’s White, a Belgian style wheat beer that frequently medals in European beer competitions. Also look out for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co’s Sunny Little Thing, a wheat ale made with citrus, or Cigar City Brewing’s Maduro brown ale. Some brewers liked to show off not only brewing skills but their beer-naming creativity. In this writer’s opinion, the wittiest and most irreverent of all goes to the winner of the hazy/juicy IPA category, Anhyzer Kush! After attending GABF for three consecutive days, I sampled some of the highest quality, most exceptional tasting American craft beers ever and should you be lucky enough to find such beers in your market, try them! The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The BA represents 5,600-plus U.S. breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. The BA organizes events including the World Beer Cup ® , Great American Beer Festival ® , Craft Brewers Conference ® & BrewExpo America ® and American Craft Beer Week ® . Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ABOUT THE BREWERS ASSOCIATION Facebook facebook.com/ BrewersAssoc Twitter twitter.com/ brewersassoc Instagram instagram.com/ brewersassoc ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2022 | 29