Washington Breweries win 21 Medals at the 2021 North American Beer Awards (NABA)
Washington breweries won 21 medals at the North American Beer Awards (NABA) last weekend, the international beer competition is considered one of the most prestigious in the US. Produced by the non-profit North American Brewers Association foundation and held every year in Idaho since 1997, NABA is one of the largest and most competitive professional beer competitions in the world.
Grains of Wrath Brewing won more medals than any other Washington brewery by coming home with 5 total, that includes a Gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze. The 3 year-old Camas, WA brewery is known for IPA’s and took a home a gold at last years GABF for Built for Speed IPA, but not-so-secretly they want to be known just as much for their lagers. That argument now has added weight with a shiny new Gold medal for their Frost Hammer Helles tipping the scales.
Following closely behind is another SW Washington operation - Vancouver’s Fortside Brewing must now be the most-award winning in the city with 3 medals this year, and 2 of them were Gold! Fortside is clearly showing interest in producing a broad spectrum of styles since their Night King Imperial Stout won gold, and the other two were in the sour/wild ale categories for Flanders Red and Brett Beer.
Reuben’s Brews and Silver City Brewing also each added 3 medals to Washington’s total. Interestingly, one of Reuben’s medals wasn’t even for a beer, it was a Silver for their burgeoning hard seltzer line Fruitfuzz for the Grapefruit flavor. Both Reuben’s and Silver City had the English-style Barleywine category on lockdown, the former won Silver for Three Ryes Men and the latter won a Gold for their Old Scrooge.
Washington breweries are making some of the best Stouts. The state completely swept the Imperial Stout category with Fortside Brewing winning Gold, Fremont Brewing with Silver, and Black Raven Brewing with a Bronze. And then in the American-style Stout category Elysian’s Dragonstooth won Gold, and Grains of Wrath’s Nightime Stories won Bronze. Then you have Elysian Brewing’s The Fix hybrid coffee/chocolate stout with a Gold, and Silver City’s Kwik Stout with a bronze in the chocolate beer category.
Also of note:
Seattle area breweries know how to make a great Pilsner. Ravenna Brewing got a Gold in the increasingly competitive and white hot American Pilsner/Hoppy Lager category for Rubicon and Black Raven Brewing also won a Gold for Pilsner but in the distinctly different American-Style Standard or Premium Lager category.
Both Gold and Silver medals in the Flanders-Style Red or Brown Ale category went to Washington breweries (Fortside and Silver City)
Chuckanut Brewing was strangely nowhere to be found at the 2021 NABA. The perennially most acclaimed brewery of lagers may not have entered?
WASHINGTON 2021 NABA WINNERS BY BREWERY:
Black Raven Brewing, Woodinville WA
Gold: Pilsner
Category: American-Style Standard or Premium Lager
Bronze: Grandfather Raven
Category: Imperial Stout
Elysian Brewing Company, Seattle, WA
Gold: THE FIX
Category: Hybrid Style Beers (two or more style traditions)
Gold: Dragonstooth Stout
Category: American-Style Stout
Fortside Brewing Company, Vancouver, WA USA
Gold: Night King
Category: Imperial Stout
Gold: Oude AF
Category: Flanders-Style Red or Brown Ale
Silver: Palisade 3
Category: Brett Beer, Classic Gose
Fremont Brewing, Seattle, WA. USA
Silver: Dark Star
Category: Imperial Stout
Grains of Wrath Brewing, Camas, WA
Silver: Vienna Lager
Category: Vienna-Style Lager
Gold: Frost Hammer
Category: Helles Lager
Bronze: Ticklish Warrior
Category: Session-Style India Pale Ale
Bronze: Chainsaws n Boomsticks IIPA
Category: Double or Imperial India Pale Ale
Bronze: Nighttime Stories
Category: American-Style Stout
Haywire Brewing Co., Snohomish Washington
Bronze: pig sty
Category: Rye Beer
Ravenna Brewing, Seattle, WA
Gold: Rubicon
Category: American-Style Pilsner or Hoppy Lager
Reuben's Brews, Seattle, WA, USA
Silver: Three Ryes Men
Category: English-Style Barley Wine
Silver: Fruitfizz - Grapefruit
Category: Hard Seltzers
Bronze: Robust Porter
Category: Robust Porter
Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA, USA
Gold: Old Scrooge
Category: English-Style Barley Wine
Silver: Foxy Lady
Category: Flanders-Style Red or Brown Ale
Bronze: Kwik Stout
Category: Chocolate/Cocoa Beers
NABA holds an annual, prestigious brewing competition. Judges at the annual NABA sanctioned beer awards include brew masters from major national breweries as well as experts from small, independent breweries. Also judging are beer journalists and certified judges. Evaluation and judging of beers are conducted in sessions which lead to the award of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. Since 1997, hundreds of competitors have participated.
Judging is performed in a blind format competition with beers poured in a separate room and provided to the judges in style flights. Judging in teams of four, minimum, the judges rank order the top three beers and in some instances award honorable mentions.
The North American Brewers Association TM was founded in late 1996. Since that date, NABA has undertaken the organizational development of corporate policies, procedures, memberships, as well as the sanctioning of beer awards, beer festivals, and a beer judging and evaluation course. NABA has over 40 members.