Brink Brewing Brings Home Four Awards From 2018 U.S. Open Beer Championship

CINCINNATI, OH— Brink Brewing Company proudly took home four medals last week from the 2018 U.S. Open Beer Championship. Dow Scoggins, director of the U.S. Open Beer and Cider Championships, presented these medals to the brewery last week at their tasting room in College Hill. Brink received three gold medals and one silver, earning them second place in the competition’s Top Breweries of 2018.

Professional breweries and award-winning home-brewers from all over the world sent in 6,300 beers representing more than 110 different styles for the 2018 U.S. Open Beer Championship. Brink Brewing placed first in the English Mild Ale, Brown Ale, and Strong Scottish Ale categories for Hold the Reins, Father G’s Bees, and Duncan Clan, respectively. Additionally, the brewery placed second for their Moozie in the Cream Stout Category.

Hold the Reins is an English Mild, a classic “Session Ale” while still full flavored. Moderate sweetness, a bit nutty with a touch of caramel. Chocolate and roast notes give way to a dry finish. Hold the Reins also recently won Gold at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival®.

Named after the brewery’s College Hill neighbor, Father George, of Saint Clare Parish who also happens to be a beekeeper; Father G’s Bees features 40 pounds of honey from his harvest. The combination of Maris Otter, chocolate, and caramel malts provide a richness while the honey gives a touch of boozy sweetness to this delectable Brown Ale.

Duncan Clan is a Scottish Ale featuring rich, malty flavors of caramel and toffee balanced by roastiness and a subtle rye spiciness. This true-to-style brew is all about featuring the malt, leaving a very subtle hop presence.

Moozie is a rich Milk Stout. Like a chocolate milkshake without the straw, it features chocolate and coffee notes and is almost chewy thanks to the addition of lactose and flaked oats. This beer also boasts a bronze medal from the 2018 World Beer Cup®, a bronze from the 2017 Denver International Beer Competition and a gold medal from the 2017 U.S. Open Beer Championship after only being open for four months (one of the youngest breweries to place that year).

“Any win at this competition is a great achievement for our team, let alone four medals,” says Co-Founder Founder John McGarry. “We take great pride in our ability to brew high-quality beers across a variety of styles and these U.S. Open medals really validates that. Our Co-Founder and Head Brewer Kelly and his team have shown that dedication to their craft can have results, even though we've only been a business for a short time."

If you have questions about Brink Brewing’s recent U.S. Open Beer Championship win or any other media inquiries, contact Emily Hutto at coop@radcraftbeer.com.

Kelly Montgomery (left) and Dow Scoggins.

ABOUT BRINK BREWING

Brink Brewing Co is neighborhood Craft Brewery in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati. Providing quality beers in a welcoming, comfortable taproom. In their one year of operation, they have accumulated an impressive amount of awards including a Gold at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival®, a Bronze at the 2018 World Beer Cup®, seven U.S. Open Beer Competition medals, and two Denver International Beer Competition awards. For more information visit brinkbrewing.com.

Four Styles of Stout to Track Down This Stout Month

Emily Hutto and Dan Rabin, photo by The Brewtography Project

Beer and travel author Dan Rabin and RadCraft founder Emily Hutto, gave a talk at the Denver Press Club in November about the variety among styles of the beloved Stout beer style. Thanks again to The Press Club for having us, and thanks to Dan for this great idea. He wanted to convey the true spectrum that is Stout styles, and he's largely responsible for choosing the beer list below.

It should be noted that Dan was one of the first contributors to the #DailyStout campaign for Water for Good, too! 

Here are four varieties of Stouts, with examples of each style to boot. Happy Stout Month!

Dry Irish Stout: Carlow Brewing Co. (aka O’Hara’s Brewery) O’Hara’s Irish Stout, 4.3% ABV 40 IBU

This family-owned brewery began operating in 1996 as a pioneer in Irish craft brewing. While the Dry Irish Stout style is generally synonymous with Guinness, there’s a perception among many that the Guinness brewed today by the Irish corporate giant lacks the robust character of the Guinness of old. O’Hara’s Irish Stout is often described as “authentic,” “traditional,“ and “how stouts used to taste.” Indeed, the beer hits all the right notes stylistically with a smooth malt base, coffee-like roastiness, dry finish and low alcohol content conducive to partaking in multiple pints. Its flavors are best expressed when served cool, not cold.

Sweet Stout: Finkel & Garf Brewing Co. Oatmeal Milk Stout, 5.5% ABV, 36 IBU

Stylistically, this Boulder-brewed stout represents a hybrid of Sweet Stout and Oatmeal Stout. F&G is committed to subtlety and approachability in its beers, and this one in particular is brewed to debunk assumptions that dark and “sweet” beers are scary, chewy, or cloying. It has just the right roundness of roast, dark chocolate, and malt sweetness that washes down smooth and slightly sweet. The silky mouthfeel of this stout is created through the use of about 10 percent oats in its grain bill. F&G Oatmeal Milk Stout is the 2017 GABF gold medal winner in the Sweet or Cream Stout category.

Foreign Export Stout: Left Hand Brewing Co. Fade to Black Vol. 1, 8.5% ABV 30 IBU

Longmont’s Left Hand Brewing may be best known for its smooth milk stout, but the brewery’s seasonal Fade to Black Vol. 1 Foreign Export Stout has garnered its own collection of prestigious awards including three gold medals and one silver at the Great American Beer Festival, and a gold medal at the 2016 World Beer Cup. The beer is big, bold, complex and highly satisfying. As it warms, a variety of flavors emerge including coffee, chocolate, licorice and dark fruits. At 8.5%, it toes the line, but doesn’t quite enter the terrain of Imperial Stouts.

Imperial Stout: Great Divide Brewing Co. Yeti Imperial Stout, 9.5% ABV, 75 IBU

This beer is big in every way. Made by the home of Colorado’s original strong ale (Hibernation Ale, first brewed in in 1995), Great Divide’s infamous Yeti is a classic example of the Imperial Stout style, winner of three Great American Beer Festival awards in the Imperial Stout category. It’s a liquid balancing act between big, roasty malt flavor and bold hop flavor and aroma. Stout in general and specifically Yeti has been a great canvas for brewing creations, which at Great Divide have been an array of Yeti varietals including Espresso Oak-Aged and Oatmeal Yeti.

Spice Trade Brewing Debuts Cans of Chai Milk Stout and Sun Temple IPA, Announces Production Facility and New Brewpub in Planning

ARVADA, CO —  Brand new cans of Spice Trade Brewing’s Chai Milk Stout and Sun Temple IPA are now available at liquor stores and bars across Denver’s metro area. With their debut comes the announcement of the brewery’s production facility and new brewpub in planning, slated for completion in 2018.

Chai Milk Stout epitomizes Spice Trade’s culinary and cultural style of brewing. This beer, awarded a silver medal at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival® in the Herb and Spice Beer category, is brewed with a secret family recipe blend of chai spices made in-house at Yak & Yeti Restaurants. The result is a chocolate and roast-forward stout that’s bursting with fresh chai tea aroma and flavor.

The Sun Temple IPA is the newest addition to Spice Trade’s core beer lineup. It’s a classic example of a juicy, hazy New England-style IPA fermented with a yeast strain that has evolved in Northern Vermont breweries. This IPA explodes with mango, peach, and citrus flavors but still finishes smooth and dry. 

Spice Trade Brewing has acquired a 15 barrel brewhouse for the brewery’s new production facility (location TBD) that will set up shop in a separate location from the Yak & Yeti restaurant in Arvada. Plans also include a communal tasting room and beer garden, and a full kitchen to serve eclectic street food from around the world. Spice Trade’s beers will continue to fill the taps at all three of Yak & Yeti’s restaurant locations. 

For more information about Spice Trade Brewing’s new cans or production facility, or with any other media inquiries, contact Emily Hutto at coop@radcraftbeer.com.

ABOUT SPICE TRADE BREWING CO.

Spice Trade Brewing Co. produces unique beer styles inspired by culinary ingredients and traditions from around the world. Formerly Yak & Yeti Brewpub, Spice Trade is now a stand-alone brewery operating out of Yak & Yeti Restaurant in Arvada, Colorado under the direction of Head Brewer Jeff Tyler who joined the company in summer 2016. The brewery hand-crafts a wide variety of beer in small batches on a 7 barrel brewhouse with a focus on high quality, ingredient centered beer. Find Spice Trade online at spicetradebrewing.com.