Lone Tree Brewing 10th Annual Hop Zombie Day Is October 29

LONE TREE, CO— Hop Zombie will make its tenth annual appearance at Lone Tree Brewing on October 29. 

Hop Zombie Imperial Red IPA is deep red in color, with bold hop and rich malt flavors. In 2017, the beer was awarded a silver medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival® in the Imperial Red Ale category. It typically sells out in (less than) one day. 

Hop Zombie will tap at Lone Tree Brewing on Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 11am. Cases, 6-packs, and individual cans will also be available for purchase at the tasting room while supplies last. This year, Lone Tree Brewing Mug Club members get 25 percent off cans. 

Hop Zombie’s tenth anniversary artwork sports a ‘Back to the Future’ motif, with custom glassware, t-shirts, and even golf polos available for purchase. The first ten devoted souls who arrive in the wee hours of the morning to get in line for this release will receive a free limited edition Hop Zombie glass.

Media interested in attending, or inquiring about the last decade of Hop Zombie Day traditions can contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com. 

ABOUT LONE TREE BREWING COMPANY

Lone Tree Brewing Company was the first brewery in Lone Tree, Colorado that opened near Park Meadows Mall in 2011. The neighborhood-focused, family-friendly brewery and tasting room regularly hosts community events that gather around a stylistically diverse lineup of flagship, seasonal, and limited release beers. Lone Tree’s cans are sold across the state of Colorado, and in select locations in Kansas. Its draft beer is poured at many bars and restaurants across its distribution footprint as well. Find the brewery online at lonetreebrewingco.com.

What Lone Tree Brewing Company's GABF Win Means For Craft

Photos by Colin Bridge, Words by Brody Leonard

Since its genesis in 1987, the Great American Beer Festival’s “American-Style Lager” category has been dominated by the goliaths of the beer industry. Pabst Blue Ribbon, Coors Banquet and other such frat party fodder took home the gold year after year. That is until 2017, when the little guys brought out the big guns. This year, Lone Tree Brewing Co. took gold with one well-placed missile: their Mexican Lager.

Straight out of Lone Tree, CO, this small brewery is serving up some game-changing beers. Formerly known as their Summer Siesta Mexican Lager, this brew’s medal marks the first time an independently owned brewery has come out on top in this style category. With movements such as Take Back Craft gaining momentum, this is big news in the brewing community.

That said, it’s not the first time a craft brewery has come close to dethroning the likes of Pabst, Coors and Miller. Lone Tree’s Mexican Lager (under its previous name) earned a silver medal at GABF 2015.

North Carolina-based Sycamore Brewing has also had success in this style category. Their Sun Grown Fresh Craft Lager earned bronze this year, as did their Southern Girl Lager in 2015. In fact, their 2015 bronze medal prompted them to collaborate with Lone Tree Brewing on an Imperial Pale Lager. The result, Breakthrough IPL, was a celebration of the two breweries almost unseating Pabst that year.

This year, almost is no longer. While Lone Tree’s head brewer, Josh West, humbly attributes the win to a “lucky alignment of the judges’ tastes that day,” happenstance seems unlikely.  

Crisp and crushable, Mexican Lagers have been a trending style in the craft beer world. There is no specific Mexican Lager category at GABF— yet— and accordingly, this style is judged under the umbrella of American-Style Lager.

This broad category attracted 75 entries this year. Lone Tree’s victory amounts to more than the gustatory whims of a panel of beer-drinking experts.

After all, the judging process at GABF is an intensive process. Without knowing the beer’s brand or brewery, judges sit down and taste brews to determine three world-class beers in each category. The GABF Awards Philosophy states that a beer must display “the proper balance of taste, aroma and appearance” in order to be awarded a gold medal.

According to the U.S. Brewers Association, an exemplary American-Style Lager should boast a straw or golden hue. Malt sweetness should be very low, as should hop aroma and overall bitterness. In short, “American Lagers [should be] very clean and crisp, and aggressively carbonated.”

Given GABF’s rigorous judging process and the competition-heavy category, Mexican Lager’s performance stands as a testament to the passion and prowess of Josh West and the rest of Lone Tree’s team.

“We were one medal away from winning Small Brewery of the Year,” remarked West. “This year’s medals are immensely motivating — we’re very excited to see what we can do at next year’s Great American Beer Festival.”

Karl Strauss Wins Gold At The Great American Beer Festival

Photo © 2017 Jason E. Kaplan

SAN DIEGO, CA — Karl Strauss Brewing Company added more bling to their trophy case with a gold medal at this year’s Great American Beer Festival (“GABF”), the premier U.S. beer festival and competition. 

The company won gold in the Honey Beer category for their Orange Blossom Common. The beer is a small batch release from their satellite brewery in Carlsbad.

“We are delighted to win again at this year’s GABF. The beer that won is a unique California Common Ale brewed with Orange Blossom Honey. Props to our brewer Mickail Murawski for this medal-winning recipe. We were also stoked to see many of our independent, San Diego brewery friends also taking home medals!” says Matt Johnson, Brewmaster, Karl Strauss Brewing Company.

To learn more about Karl Strauss Brewing Company’s award-winning prowess visit www.karlstrauss.com.

 About Karl Strauss Brewing Company

Karl Strauss Brewing Company has been proudly independent since 1989, pioneering the craft beer scene with innovative beer releases like Aurora Hoppyalis IPA, Queen of Tarts Dark Sour, and Wreck Alley Imperial Stout. The brewery has won 105 medals since 2009 and was recently honored with the 2016 “Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year” award at the Great American Beer Festival. For more information visit www.karlstrauss.com or call the brewery at (858) 273-2739. Share it. Cheers.

Media Contact

Kiersten Winant— kiersten.winant@karlstrauss.com;  619.396.5105

Lone Tree Brewing Wins Two Great American Beer Festival Medals for Mexican Lager and Hop Zombie IPA

Photos by Colin Bridge

LONE TREE, CO — Lone Tree Brewing Company was awarded a gold medal for its Mexican Lager and a silver medal for its Hop Zombie IPA at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival® in the American Style Lager or Light Lager category and the Imperial Red Ale categories, respectively.  

When Lone Tree’s Mexican Lager, formerly known as Summer Siesta, won a silver medal in the American Style Lager category in 2015, Lone Tree became the first independently owned craft brewery to win in the style category (followed closely by Sycamore Brewing who won a bronze medal in the category). “Our gold medal is a monumental achievement. It speaks to our quality, consistency and flavor,” says Lone Tree Head Brewer Josh West. 

Mexican Lager is distributed year-round in canned 6-packs across Colorado and in select locations in Kansas and Nebraska. 

The cult-followed Hop Zombie IPA comes out just once each year, during which time it has only been available on-draft and in limited bombers out of the brewery’s tasting room in Lone Tree, Colorado.

“These medals express to the beer world that we are relevant, passionate and committed to producing the highest quality craft beer possible,” adds West. 

“The Mexican Lager was our way to prove to the beer consumer that sometimes less is more,” says Lone Tree Sales Director Bridgette Geiger. “The Hop Zombie was our way of saying if you take quality ingredients and craft them just right— and have a little fun in the process— good things happen.” 

For more information about the winning beers or with any other media inquiries about Lone Tree Brewing Co., contact Emily Hutto at coop@radcraftbeer.com. 

ABOUT LONE TREE BREWING COMPANY

Lone Tree Brewing Company was the first brewery in Lone Tree, Colorado that opened near Park Meadows Mall in 2011. The neighborhood-focused, family-friendly brewery and tasting room regularly hosts community events that gather around a stylistically diverse lineup of flagship, seasonal, and limited release beers. Lone Tree's cans and 22-ounce bombers are sold across the state of Colorado, as well as Kansas and Nebraska. Its draft beer is poured at many bars and restaurants in its distribution footprint as well. Find the brewery online at lonetreebrewingco.com.