2021 Oregon Beer Awards Winners
The 2021 Oregon Beer Awards were announced via a livestream show last night, the broadcast and winners were notable for a variety of reasons. Watch the hilarious cold open sketch video here. The awards were first held in 2015 and were entirely chosen by a group of around 30 members of the Oregon beer industry without a formal competition. In 2016 the OBA’s moved into a professional double-blind judged beer style competition with a handful of category awards voted on by committee and that same year handed out honors at Revolution Hall in southeast Portland. For the last 5 years the awards ceremony has sold out Revolution Hall and been a major attraction to the beer industry and it’s fans. Last year on February 18th 2020 the ceremony snuck in less than one month before the Coronavirus changed the world. As such the 2021 Oregon Beer Awards were the first that were truly effected by the pandemic and the first ever OBA ceremony held online rather than at a venue.
You might think that the Oregon Beer Awards would take a hit with everything that’s been going on for the last year + but the number of beers entered into the competition was the second highest of all-time at 1,097. And although the actual ceremony was perhaps the aspect most effected by the pandemic, it was still MC’d by the two lovely hosts Ben Love of Gigantic Brewing and Joe Sanders of Old Town Brewing who returned for their third year in a row. This year they just traded the sparkly suits for swim trunks and the stage of Revolution Hall for a backyard hot tub.
Judging the double-blind beer competition was also very strange this year. Judges were in the same warehouse but at their own personal tables sometimes dozens of feet apart in different rooms. After receiving flights of beer groupings and tasting through them the judge groups convened with each other over zoom to discuss their tasting and debate on the beers merits.
2021 OBA STATS:
1,097 entries from 105 breweries across the state
42 judges
133 flights over 6 days
7 categories will be judged in 3 rounds; 22 categories will be judged in 2 rounds
1 category with only 1 flight (Rare and Historical Beers)
Biggest categories: IPA (85), Hazy IPA (63), Classic UK (60)
IPA and All Hoppy Ales - 277 entries
Classic Pub Styles (UK, North American, Red Beers, Dark Hoppy, Golden) - 194 entries
Lagers - 138 entries
Sour/Mixed Ferm - 116 entries
Adjunct Specialty Beers - 111 entries
Barrel Aged Strong Beers - 100 entries
WINNERS IN NON-BEER CATEGORIES
Over 300 registered members of the Oregon beer industry vote on this non-judged portion of the awards that celebrates excellence in other areas of the community.
HALL OF FAME
Lisa Morrison (watch the video here)
BEST BOTTLE SHOP
Belmont Station
BEST BEER BAR OR TAPROOM
The Beermongers
BEST PATIO OR BEER GARDEN
BEST PANDEMIC PIVOT
Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom *** TIE *** Road Beers
BEST NEW BREWERY
BEST BEER LABELS
Wayfinder Beer
EXCELLENCE IN BREWING OPERATIONS
Regional Awards
CENTRAL Sunriver Brewing
COAST Fort George Brewery
METRO Breakside Brewery
NORTHEAST pFriem Family Brewers
SOUTHERN Caldera Brewing
VALLEY Block 15 Brewing
Left to right: Rachel Coddington, Jeremie Landers, Jenn McPoland and Ben Edmunds celebrate the end of the double-blind Oregon Beer Awards judging sessions
OBA JUDGED COMPETITION WINNERS
Pilsner
GOLD pFriem Family Brewers Pilsner
SILVER Ex Novo Brewing Co. Perle Haggard
BRONZE Breakside Brewery Noble Pilsner
Golden, Blonde, and other Light Ales
GOLD Breakside Brewery Breakside True Gold
SILVER Pelican Brewing Kiwanda Cream Ale
BRONZE Immersion Brewing Packin' The Arena
Pale Lagers
GOLD 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Money Cat
SILVER Breakside Brewery Breakside SoCal Pils
BRONZE Ecliptic Brewing Ecliptic + Wayfinder Cold IPA
Light German and European Lagers
GOLD Zoiglhaus Brewing Company Zoigl-Hell
SILVER pFriem Family Brewers Vienna Lager
BRONZE Wayfinder Luna Muerta
Dark German and European Lagers
GOLD 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Captivator
SILVER Wayfinder Funeral Bock
BRONZE Threshold Brewing & Blending Neptune
Classic UK Styles
GOLD Ecliptic Brewing Magnetar Scotch Ale
SILVER Fort George Brewery Smiling Eyes
BRONZE Breakside Brewery Breakside ESB
Classic North American Styles
GOLD Hop Valley Brewing Hefeweizen
SILVER Cascade Lakes Brewing Company 20 Inch Brown
BRONZE 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Twheat
Belgian Beers, German Wheat Beers, and Traditional Brett Beers
GOLD Alesong Brewing and Blending Pacific Bliss
SILVER Deschutes Brewery Blue Butterfly
BRONZE Von Ebert Brewing Channel Capacity
Red Beers
GOLD Breakside Brewery Breakside Disco Queen Lager
SILVER StormBreaker Brewing ALTerior Motive
BRONZE Sasquatch Brewing Co. Journey To Red Planet
American Pale Ales
GOLD Breakside Brewery Breakside Woodlawn Pale Ale
SILVER Oregon City Brewing Co Temporary Stairs
BRONZE Migration Brewing Company MoHaze-Ic
American IPA
GOLD Von Ebert Brewing Volatile Substance
SILVER Sunriver Brewing Company Howdy!
BRONZE Sunriver Brewing Company Clearview
Hazy or Juicy IPA
GOLD Ruse Brewing Star Senders
SILVER Ruse Brewing Similar Science
BRONZE Sunriver Brewing Company Life Above
Imperial IPA
GOLD 10 Barrel Brewing Co. All Ways Down
SILVER Oakshire Brewing A Life Beyond the Dream
BRONZE StormBreaker Brewing Buffalo Smile
Dark Hoppy Beers
GOLD Ecliptic Brewing Oort Imperial Stout
SILVER Sunriver Brewing Company Cinder Beast
BRONZE Baerlic Brewing Co. Night Howler
Barrel Aged Beers
GOLD pFriem Family Brewers Cognac Barrel-Aged Belgian-Style Strong Dark
SILVER Alesong Brewing and Blending Rackhouse Reserve
BRONZE Buoy Beer Company Decapitator
Barrel Aged Stouts
GOLD Ecliptic Brewing Barrel-Aged Oort Imperial Stout
SILVER Deschutes Brewery Black Butte Cubed Amburana
BRONZE Alesong Brewing and Blending Coconut Rhino Suit
Flavored Beers
GOLD pFriem Family Brewers pFriem + Alesong
SILVER Barsideous Brewing Chocolate Casanovia
BRONZE Xicha Brewing Co. 505 Pale
Fruit Beers
GOLD Breakside Brewery Breakside Desert Bloom
SILVER 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Passionate Envy
BRONZE Public Coast Brewing Company Coconut Brown Ale
Coffee and Smoke Beers
GOLD Wayfinder Linear Ashes
SILVER Away Days Brewing Dope Days Brown Ale
BRONZE Mt. Hood Brewing Co. Multorporter Smoked Porter
Experimental Beers
GOLD Alesong Brewing and Blending Gose Anejo
SILVER Fort George Brewery Pipiopi
BRONZE Upright Brewing Special Herbs
Rare, Historical, and other traditional beers
GOLD Zoiglhaus Brewing Company Berliner Weisse-Bock
SILVER 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Baywindow
BRONZE Oregon City Brewing Co Beast of Burton
Pastry or Dessert Beers
GOLD Deschutes Brewery Peach Cobbler
SILVER Great Notion Peanut Brother
BRONZE Alesong Brewing and Blending Senor Rhino
Emerging IPA or Experimental Hoppy Beer
GOLD 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Equatorial
SILVER Wayfinder Chronokinetic IPA
BRONZE StormBreaker Brewing Liquid Hot Enigma
American Sour Beer
GOLD Cascade Brewing Winter Sage
SILVER Gratitude Brewing Daddy Said I Could Have Unicorns
BRONZE Breakside Brewery Passionfruit Sour
Mixed Culture Beer
GOLD Ex Novo Brewing Co. Dripping Sun
SILVER Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery Friends in Far Places
BRONZE Little Beast Brewing Empire of Oak - Ekuanot
Fruited Mixed Culture Beer
GOLD Von Ebert Brewing Alma
SILVER Von Ebert Brewing Rain Shadows
BRONZE Breakside Brewery Breakside What Peaches And What Penumbras!
The following three awards for FRESH HOP beers were judged and announced in early October 2020 at the peak of the season:
Fresh Hop Pale Ales and India Pale Ales
GOLD Breakside Brewery Fresh Hop Cascade Wanderlust
SILVER Breakside Brewery Fresh IGA
BRONZE Three Creeks Brewing Co. Conelick'r Fresh Hop IPA
Fresh Hop Hazy Pale Ales and India Pale Ales
GOLD Ruse Brewing About That Time
SILVER Breakside Brewery & Beer Hall What Fresh Beast
BRONZE Sasquatch Brewing Co.Fresh Hop Mouth Pillow
Other Fresh Hop Beers
GOLD Breakside Brewery + Taproom Fresh Hop Sterling Pils
SILVER Zoiglhaus Brewing Company Fresh Hop Zoigl-Kölsch
BRONZE Baerlic Brewing Co Fresh Hop Pioneer
Large Brewery of the Year
Breakside Brewery
Medium Size Brewery of the Year
Von Ebert Brewing
Small Brewery of the Year
Alesong Brewing and Blending