American breweries claimed 27 medals in the 2008 European Beer Star Awards, second only to host Germany, whose brewers took home 61.
The winners of the competition, judged in October, were announced at BRAU-Beviele, the giant brewing trade show in Nuremberg.
High Falls Brewing in Rochester, N.Y. grabbed two golds, with Genesee winning for “Bottom fermented beer with alternatives cereals or field crops” and Dundee Honey Brown for Specialty Honey.
Oregon breweries Deschutes Brewery and BridgePort Brewing both won gold with English-style beers. Deschutes’ Mirror Pond Pale Ale was top English Pale Ale, and BridgePort ESP won English-Style Best Bitter. California’s Firestone Walker captured gold for Union Jack IPA, repeating its recent triumph at the Great American Beer Festival. And Left Hand Brewing of Colorado took gold in Sweet Stout with Lefthand Milk Stout, which had won the silver in 2007.