Yankee Brew News Archive

GABF Medal Drought Leaves New England Brewers Leery

Originally Published: 02/97

By: Kerry J. Byrne

Does the Great American Beer Festival, held each year in Colorado, discriminate against East Coast breweries?

Many New England brewers think so, following the announcement this fall of the winners at the largest brewing event in the land.

"It's hometown advantage," said Chris Lohring of Atlantic Coast Brewing Company in Charlestown, Massachusetts. "The GABF has been in Denver every year except the one year it was in Boulder. That's a detriment to East Coast brewers. They'll always be at a disadvantage."

At the 1996 GABF, 103 medals were awarded in 37 categories. The states of Colorado and California were disproportionately represented in the winners' circles with 23 and 19 medals, respectively.

Just two New England brewers won medals. Brew Moon's Munich Gold earned top honors in the Munchener Helles and Export category, while Samuel Adams Double Bock took a bronze in the Bock category. Brew Moon's Munich Gold was the only beer made in New England to win a medal.

Lohring and other local brewers cite no wrongdoing on the part of GABF organizers, and they believe the event is a great boon to the craft brew industry, but they all agree the distance New England beers have to travel for the event is a problem.

"All the tasting is blind, so I really doubt that there is any underhanded judging going on," said brewer Darryl Goss of Cambridge Brewing Company. "I like to think it's just a matter of distance. Most small brewers don't have the quality control to send their beer that far." (Cambridge's Belgian Tripple, by the way, won a gold in 1992.)

"Freshness is definitely a factor," said brewer Tod Mott of Back Bay Brewing Company. "We'd have to send our beer out a month before the festival. Colorado breweries can bring their beer two days before the show. It's kind of a drag. Especially if you want to win an award."

Tim Morse, master brewer for the John Harvard brewpubs and Union Station Brewery and a GABF judge, said those few weeks "can be very crucial for small producers."

Sheri Winter, marketing director for the GABF, said she's aware that the event comes with inherent problems. But she says organizers from the Colorado-based Institute for Brewing Studies are looking at ways to improve it.

"Our goal is to recognize the best beers in the country. We don't care where they're from. We do want to make the playing field as level as possible," said Winter. "Beer is a food product that is at its best when you drink it locally. So that's a concern for us," she said.

Some New England brewers have suggested moving the event each year, or holding it at multiple locations. Winter said those ideas are being looked at, but are not immediate possibilities.

"We would love to move it each year," said Winter. "But our biggest challenge with that is our volunteer pool. Right now we have built up a database with over 1,000 volunteers that we can tap into. It would be tough to build that up in each city," she observed. "We also have local businesses which donate their services each year. That would also be tough do in each city," she added.

The more likely option, said Winter, would be choosing a city on the East Coast where they could hold a festival each year at the same time as the Denver event. "It won't happen in 1997, but possibly in the future."

By holding it in the same East Coast city each year, festival organizers would be able to develop regular volunteer pools and business relationships, said Winter.

"The GABF is a great event, but there's such great potential for it to do more if it goes on the road," said Atlantic Coast's Lohring.

Distance not only affects beer freshness, it also weighs heavily in the decision to enter beers into the festival. The proportion of medals won by Colorado and California breweries is not so staggering when you consider the number of entries from those two states. Seventy-six Colorado breweries entered beers into the festival, while 72 California breweries were represented.

"A lot of (New England) breweries just aren't taking part anymore, so we're under-represented," said Goss.

Massachusetts led all New England states with just 11 participating breweries. The local numbers dwindled from there: Maine and Vermont were represented by three breweries each; two breweries from both Connecticut and Rhode Island sent beer; while only one New Hampshire brewery sent beer. There are currently 98 breweries in New England.

"We have up to 80 breweries now in Colorado," said Winter. "They all fill out their paperwork right when they get it. They all want to be here (at the GABF)."

Morse said he "doesn't envy" the process of putting the event together, but feels an East Coast show would "greatly improve the quality of the beer being judged." He added that the quality of the judging and the competition have improved considerably over the years, though he still said judging is a "crap shoot."

"I've had winners when I was with Hope (Brewing Company) that I was pleased with. But other winners I've had left me scratching my head," said Morse.

Others wonder if regional bias may in fact play a part in the judging. One brewer, who asked that his name not be used, cited what he called "the Ringwood factor.'' Many New England brewers use Ringwood ale yeast, known for its ability to ferment quickly as well as the distinctive buttery notes it leaves in beers. The brewer said beer judges from the west are not partial to the easily recognized flavors of Ringwood beers.

"I think each region has its own identity," said Lohring. "It's pretty easy to ID where beers come from. I think there's more diversity in New England within each style. There's very little variation (among western beers). They all taste like they're trying to do the same thing."

Brewers like Atlantic Coast, which produce only non-pasteurized beers, are at another disadvantage because they don't pasteurize. "You have to ship your beer across country. That won't work for us," said Lohring.

Winter said she and other GABF organizers want to do everything they can to make the event fair for everyone. "If brewers have ideas about what would make a difference, we encourage them to let us know," said Winter.