Wisconsin brews made a strong showing in the 2015 United States Open Beer Championship. This year, 4,000 beers, ciders and root beers from all over the world competed in the annual event, representing professional breweries and home brewers. Judges from England, Canada and the US tasted the beers blind and awarded gold, silver and bronze medals in 90 different styles. The winners from Wisconsin this year are:
Gold Medals:
Wisco Disco - Stillmank Brewing – bitter
Summer Pils - Sprecher Brewing – Bohemian pilsener
Capital Dark - Capital Brewery – munchner dunkel/dark
Whole Hog Espresso Stout - Stevens Point Brewery – coffee beer
Paid Time Off - 3 Sheeps Brewing – specialty/anything goes
Silver Medals:
Bunyan Badger - Badger State Brewing – brown ale
Abbey Triple - Sprecher Brewing – Belgian tripel
Point Special Lager - Stevens Point Brewery – American premium lager
Dopplebock - Specher Brewing – dopple/strong bock
JPs Casper White Stout - Stevens Point Brewery – experimental beer
Skakparo - Sprecher Brewing – gluten-free beer
Ciderboys First Press - Stevens Point Brewing – English cider
Bronze Medals:
Wisconsin Amber - Capital Brewery – American amber/California common
Bock of the Future - Stillmank Brewing -bock/maibock
JPs Yabba Dhaba Chai Tea Porter - Stevens Point Brewery – herb and spice beer
Ciderboys Grand Mimosa - Stevens Point Brewing – fruit ciders
Point Premium Root Beer - Stevens Point Brewery – root beer
Upcoming Events
July 9-12: Bastille Days at Cathedral Square Park. French food, live music, marketplace, chef demos and a giant Eiffel Tower. Saturday will feature two wine tastings, at 6:00 and 8:30. Tickets for the tasting are $35 at the festival, $25 in advance, and include eight tastings of wines from around the world.
July 10-11: Blue Ribbon Beer Run at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery at 901 W. Juneau. Hosted by non-profit group Wisco Maniacs, this classic car show is intended to raise awareness about the restoration of Best Place and the history of the brewery. Live music, BBQ, beer and a pin-up contest in addition to the pre-1964 cars and bikes.
July 10-12: South Shore Frolics at South Shore Park. The fest, in its 65th year, features fireworks, live music, classic cars, an art show, fish fry, and of course food and beer.
July 11-12: Milwaukee IndyFest at the Milwaukee Mile. Main Verizon IndyCar Series race is Sunday at 4:35.
Around Wisconsin
July 11: Bacon, Brew and BBQ Fest a celebration of bacon and craft beers, in Sun Prairie. Tickets are $65.
Got the scoop on alcohol-related news or upcoming events? Contact me at lacey@shepex.com or on Twitter @BrewCityBooze.