Three Texas breweries made an impressive showing at the 2013 U.S. Open Beer Championship, scooping up nine medals in the only brewery competition to include professional breweries and award-winning home brewers. Judges from England, Canada and the United States announced the winners this week.
The recognized breweries from Texas all hail from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Peticolas Brewing Company won four awards. Community Beer Company, a relative newbie, won three. Rahr & Sons Brewing Company in Fort Worth won two.
Breweries from around the world sent in more than 2,500 beers representing 68 different categories.
"This competition is significant because it accepts entries from breweries around the world and allows national, winning home brews to compete," said director Dow Scoggins. More than 20 international breweries — from Canada, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Columbia, Sweden, Finland and England — won medals.
Peticolas took home a gold and three bronzes:
- Gold medal in the American Amber/Red category for its Velvet Hammer
- Bronze medal in the English Brown Ale category for its Alfred Brown
- Bronze medal in two categories — Strong Scottish Ale and Aged Beer — for its Great Scot
Community Beer won two silvers and a bronze:
- Silver medal in Belgian Witbier for its Witbier
- Silver medal in ESB for its Public Ale
- Bronze medal in the Belgian Abbey Ale - Dubbel for its Inspiration
Rahr won two awards, including a gold:
- Gold medal in Strong Scottish Ale category for Iron Thistle
- Bronze in Dopple/Strong Bock for The Regulator
Awards for the top three breweries overall went to Capital Brewery of Middleton, Wisconsin; Sweetwater Brewing of Atlanta, Georgia; and Stevens Point Brewing in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Sponsors were The Beer Connoisseur magazine and brewery website BeerInfo.com.
Community Beer Company's award-winning Inspiration is on tap at Bottle Shop.
