Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath

Spaceman
Brewfist

Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.

Midwest Medal Winners At The 2007 GABF

A rundown of Midwest brewery medal winners at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival.
by Eddie Glick

I like my beer like my women: pale, strong, full-bodied, and extremely bitter.
Contact Eddie»

The Great American Beer Fest in Denver, Colorado, organized by the Brewers Association, is a weird beast. On the one hand, it is the largest and probably most prestigous beer festival in the country with highly anticipated awards going to the world’s great beers, be they well-known national brands or offerings from tiny, otherwise unknown brewpubs.

But on the other hand, not only do they take the time to judge (and give medals to) shit beers like Hamm’s, but they somehow make a distinction of unbelievable minutiae between styles like “American-Style Cream Ale or Lager” (Old Style), “American Style Specialty Lager” (Icehouse), and “American-Style Lager” (Miller Genuine Draft). I’m not sure we really need to differentiate these beers from each other based on sub-sub-sub-style, but, hey, I’m not part of the Brewers Association.

Another aspect of the fest is that you have these incredibly influential awards—ones that can make the difference in a brewery’s survival—being decided upon by a handful of judges whose individual tastes can vary greatly. This process can yield some great diamond-out-of-the-rough picks like Surly Brewing’s gold medal for their Bender coffee stout or Great Lakes’ silver for their Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, while others are absolutely inexplicable, even (and sometimes especially) when style guidelines are taken into account, like Goose Island’s gold for the gaggingly bland 312 Urban Wheat, or their silver for their IPA, which I think is too hoppy for an English-style IPA but not nearly hoppy enough for the American version.

Still, it’s greatly entertaining to see who won what. I’m glad to see small but great breweries like Dark Horse, Millstream and Surly get some recognition. The irony of Three Floyd’s winning for a non-hoppy, relatively uncomplex style like a helles is pretty heavy. I’ve been to the Piece brewpub in Chicago several times, and every time I must be getting the crap that went bad, because I’ve been completely underwhelmed by their stuff. And note Goose Island’s wins, two from their main brewery and two from their brewpub—how is that distinction made? Almost getting shut out was Capital Brewing, whose seemingly perennial winners Autumnal Fire and Blonde Doppelbock did not make the cut. Two Baltic-style porter medals come from the Midwest: Grumpy Troll in tiny Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, and Flossmoor Station in south-suburban Chicago. Bell’s banged out two medals, one for their Batch 8000.

I could go on and on. So take a look at the list of Midwest winners below. The complete, sortable database of winners can be found at the fest’s web site, as well as an exhaustive explanation of all the judged beer styles.

Brewery	State	Beer	Medal	Style
Millstream Brewing Co.	IA	John’s Generations White Ale	Silver	Belgian-Style White (or Wit)/Belgian-Style Wheat
Bent River Brewing Co.	IL	Mississippi Blonde	Bronze	Golden or Blonde Ale
Emmett’s Tavern & Brewing Co.	IL	McCarthy Red	Bronze	American Style Amber/Red Ale
Flossmoor Station Brewing Co.	IL	Killer Kowalski	Gold	Baltic-Style Porter
Goose Island Beer Co.	IL	“312” Urban Wheat Ale	Gold	English-Style Summer Ale
Goose Island Beer Co.	IL	India Pale Ale	Silver	English-Style India Pale Ale
Goose Island Brewpub	IL	Bourbon Wheatmiser	Gold	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
Goose Island Brewpub	IL	Wheatmiser	Bronze	American-Style Wheat Wine Ale
Pabst Brewing Co.	IL	Lone Star	Gold	American-Style Cream Ale or Lager
Pabst Brewing Co.	IL	Old Milwaukee Light	Gold	American Style Light Lager
Pabst Brewing Co.	IL	Pabst Blue Ribbon Light	Silver	American Style Light Lager
Pabst Brewing Co.	IL	Old Style	Silver	American-Style Cream Ale or Lager
Piece Brewery	IL	Dark ’n’ Curvy	Silver	German-Style Wheat Ale
Piece Brewery	IL	Top Heavy Hefeweizen	Bronze	South German Style Hefeweizen/Hefeweissbier
Piece Brewery	IL	Full Frontal Pale Ale	Bronze	American Style Pale Ale
Rock Bottom Brewery Chicago	IL	Terminal Stout	Bronze	American-Style Stout
Two Brothers Brewing Co.	IL	Domaine Dupage	Bronze	Belgian and French-Style Ale
Ram Restaurant & Brewery (Indianapolis)	IN	Buffalo Bock	Bronze	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer
Three Floyds Brewing Co.	IN	Gorch Foch	Silver	Münchner (Munich) Style Helles
Arcadia Brewing Co.	MI	Cereal Killer Barley Wine	Silver	Barley Wine Style Ale
Beer Co’s - Detroit (The)	MI	Detroit Lager	Bronze	Bohemian Style Pilsener
Bell’s Brewery, Inc	MI	Batch 8000	Bronze	Belgian Style Strong Specialty Ale
Bell’s Brewery, Inc	MI	Double Cream Stout	Silver	Sweet Stout
Dark Horse Brewing Co.	MI	3 Guy Off the Scale Barley Wine	Bronze	Barley Wine Style Ale
Dark Horse Brewing Co.	MI	Scotty Karate Scotch Ale	Silver	Strong Scotch Ale
Michigan Brewing Co.	MI	Celis Grand Cru	Gold	Belgian Style Strong Specialty Ale
New Holland Brewing Co.	MI	2003 Pilgrim’s Dole	Silver	Aged Beer (Ale or Lager)
Olde Peninsula Brewpub & Restaurant	MI	Bourbon Barrel Anniversary Ale	Silver	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
Herkimer Pub and Brewery	MN	Alt	Gold	German Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf Style Altbier
Pig’s Eye Brewing Co.	MN	Pig’s Eye Pilsner Beer	Bronze	International-Style Pilsener
Summit Brewing Co.	MN	Summit Extra Pale Ale	Bronze	Classic English Style Pale Ale
Surly Brewing Co.	MN	Coffee Bender	Gold	Coffee Flavored Beer
Elevator Brewing Co.	OH	Elevator Dark Horse	Bronze	American-Style Dark Lager
Great Lakes Brewing Co.	OH	Edmund Fitzgerald Porter	Silver	Robust Porter
Capital Brewery Co., Inc.	WI	Capital Munich Dark	Silver	European Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.	WI	Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss	Gold	Fruit Beer or Vegetable Beer
Lakefront Brewery	WI	New Grist	Silver	Gluten Free Beer
Miller Brewing Co.	WI	Mickey’s Malt Liquor	Bronze	American Style Specialty Lager
Miller Brewing Co.	WI	Frederick Miller Classic Chocolate Lager	Bronze	Herb and Spice Beer
Miller Brewing Co.	WI	Henry Weinhard’s Classic Dark	Silver	American-Style Dark Lager
Miller Brewing Co.	WI	Mickey’s Ice	Silver	American Style Specialty Lager
Miller Brewing Co.	WI	Miller Genuine Draft	Silver	American-Style Lager
Miller Brewing Co.	WI	Hamm’s	Gold	American-Style Lager
Miller Brewing Co.	WI	Icehouse	Gold	American Style Specialty Lager
New Glarus Brewing Co.	WI	Raspberry Tart	Bronze	Fruit Beer or Vegetable Beer
Sprecher Brewing Co.	WI	Shakparo Ale	Bronze	Gluten Free Beer
The Grumpy Troll Restaurant & Brewery	WI	Amnesia	Bronze	Baltic-Style Porter