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New York State Craft Beer Competition

2021 WINNERS

The largest state-level competition in the U.S.

2021 Governor’s Excelsior Craft Beer Cup

Eli Fish Brewing Co. (Batavia, NY)

Heavy Maple | Fruit and Spice Beer (non-sour) Category

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Competition Highlights

Most Medals Won

  • Nine (9) awards were won by Grimm Artisanal Ales, including the "2021 Brewery of the Year" award.

  • Five (5) awards were won by Eli Fish Brewing Company, including the "New York State Craft Beer" award and the 2021 Governor's Cup.

Style Categories

The most-entered category in 2021 was Hazy IPA with 115 entries. The top five entered categories were:

  • Hazy IPA (115 entries)

  • Light Lagers (110 entries)

  • Fruit and Spice Beer - sour  (88 entries)

  • Fruit and Spice Beer – non-sour (79 entries)

  • American IPA (63 entries)

Summary: 2021 New York Craft Brewers Competition and Governor’s Craft Beer Cup (5th year)

  • 182 breweries submitted 1,143 entries

  • 50 award-winning breweries

  • 87 total medals awarded

  • 27 style categories judged, plus Governor’s Excelsior Cup

  • Judging took place over 2-days (June 12 & 13) in Rochester, NY.

  • The Awards Ceremony took place in-person at Big aLICe Brewing FLX, Geneva NY. The ceremony was also streamed on YouTube live, 9 breweries throughout the state hosted remote watch parties.

WATCH: 2021 Awards Ceremony

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AWARDS CEREMONY PRESENTED BY

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Winners by Category

Category 1: Wheat Beer (American, Wit, Hefe) – 45 entries

  • Gold: Grimm Weisse - Grimm Artisanal Ales

  • Silver: Mise en Place Wit - Brewery at the CIA

  • Bronze: Water Mill -  DESTINATION UNKNOWN BEER COMPANY

Category 2: Amber and Dark Lagers – 59 entries

  • Gold: Cross Stitch - Grimm Artisanal Ales

  • Silver: Sad Devotion – Prison City Brewing

  • Bronze: Equinox Amber - Brewery at the CIA

Category 3: Golden/Blonde Ales  (American, Kolsch, Cream Ales) - 63 entries

  • Gold: Regional Dialek - Threes Brewing

  • Silver: Geiler Kolsch - Secatogue Brewing Co

  • Bronze: Breakout - Willow Rock Brewing Company

  • Bronze: Golden Ratio Pale Ale - Upward Brewing Co.

 

Category 4: Amber/Red Ales (British, American, Irish, Scottish) – 46 entries

  • Gold: No gold awarded

  • Silver: End of the Line Scotch Ale - Twisted Rail Brewing Company

  • Bronze: Live Edge Irish Red - Rusty Nickel Brewing Co.

 

Category 5: Pale Ales – 31 entries

  • Gold: PK Pale - Mill House Brewing Company

  • Silver: Exit 40 Pale Ale - Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.

  • Bronze: Tools of the Trade - Industrial Arts Brewing Company

Category 6: American IPA – 63 entries

  • Gold: Gun Hill IPA - Gun Hill Brewing

  • Silver: Sticky Trees - Pressure Drop Brewing

  • Bronze: Power Tools - Industrial Arts Brewing Company

Category 7: Hazy Pale Ale – 52 entries

  • Gold: Lumen - Grimm Artisanal Ales

  • Gold: 4 Piece Citra – Prison City Brewing

  • Silver: Defies Logic Hazy Pale Ale - Underground Beer Lab

  • Bronze: Kaaterskill - West Kill Brewing

 

Category 8: American IPA Variations – 27 entries

  • Gold: Grass Wagon IPA - Catskill Brewery

  • Silver: Skydancer -Woodcock Brothers Brewery

  • Bronze: Collectivity I Farmhouse IPA - Underground Beer Lab

Category 9: American DIPA – 37 entries

  • Gold: Skull Frog DIPA - Frog Alley Brewing

  • Silver: Opiate Sun - Upward Brewing Co.

  • Bronze: Double IPA - Young Lion Brewing

Category 10: Barrel Aged Sour – 16 entries

  • Gold: Rule of Honor - Big Alice Brewing Company

  • Silver: Gin Barrel Mixed Fermentation Pillow Talk - Eli Fish Brewing

  • Bronze: The Dictator Is the People - Threes Brewing

Category 11: Barrel Aged Non-Sour – 53 entries

  • Gold: Barrel Aged Golden Ale - Heritage Hill Brewhouse

  • Silver: Bourbon Barrel Aged Jenkins - Thin Man Brewery

  • Bronze: Chevy to the Levee - New York Beer Project

Category 12: Belgian Farmhouse – 36 entries

  • Gold: Tra La La - Grimm Artisanal Ales

  • Silver: Leona - West Kill Brewing

  • Bronze: Come What May Late Spring Saison - Unified Beerworks

Category 13: Belgian Other (Trappist, Strong, etc.) - 25 entries

  • Gold: Three Philosophers - Brewery Ommegang

  • Silver: Soulstice - Soul Brewing Company LLC

  • Bronze: Jorts - Willow Rock Brewing Company

Category 14: Experimental – 37 entries

  • Gold: Tiga Queen - Eli Fish Brewing

  • Silver: Tropical Moon Cake - Aurora Brewing Co.

  • Bronze: Peanut Butter Habanero Brown Ale - Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.

Category 15: Fruit & Spice Beer (non-sour) – 79 entries

  • Gold: Heavy Maple - Eli Fish Brewing (Governor's Cup Winner)

  • Silver: Pumpkin Ale - Horseheads Brewing

  • Bronze: Vanilla Chai Tea Milk Stout - Rusty Nickel Brewing Co.

Category 16: Fruit & Spice Beer (sour) – 88 entries

  • Gold: Lilt - Grimm Artisanal Ales

  • Silver: Gathering Tart Cherries - Grimm Artisanal Ales

  • Bronze: Wimmelbilder - Grimm Artisanal Ales

Category 17: Brown Ale (American & British) – 22 entries

  • Gold: Windsor Nut Brown Ale - LyonSmith Brewing Co.

  • Gold: American Brown Ale – Good Nature Brewing Company

  • Silver: Limited Series Honey Brown Ale - Woodcock Brothers Brewery

  • Bronze: Brown Ale - Stumblin' Monkey Brewing

Category 18: Porter (non-imperial) – 23 entries

  • Gold: David’s Porter - Valcour Brewing company

  • Silver: Thousand Year Porter - Water Street Brewing Co.

  • Bronze: Porter - Laurentide Beer Company

Category 19: Stout (non-imperial) – 35 entries

  • Gold: Void of Light - Gun Hill Brewing

  • Silver: Whiteface Stout - Great Adirondak Brewing Company

  • Bronze: Steamship Stout - Seneca Lake Brewing Company

Category 20: Imperial Stouts and Porters – 26 entries

  • Gold: Boris the Spider Russian Imperial Stout - Spider Bite Beer Co.

  • Silver: Collusion - Seneca St Brew Pub

  • Bronze: Lagerkoller - Thin Man Brewery

Category 21: Strong Ales (non-Belgian) – 15 entries

  • Gold: Trippelbock Reserve - Wagner Valley Brewing Company

  • Silver: Barleywine - Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.

  • Bronze: S.O.S. (Scotch on Seneca) - WeBe Brewing

Category 22: Kettle and Simple Sours – 24 entries

  • Gold: Creekside - West Kill Brewing

  • Silver: Bunny and Bear Crew Sour Porter - Bridge and Tunnel Brewery

  • Bronze: No bronze awarded

Category 23: Wild and Sour Ales – 16 entries

  • Gold: Contour Interval No. 2 - Wild East Brewing Co

  • Silver: Jackie II - Good Nature Brewing Company

  • Bronze: Brooklyn to Tokyo Yuzu Sour – Brooklyn Brewery

Category 24: Light Lagers – 110 entries

  • Gold: Base Camp LagerBier - Upward Brewing Co.

  • Silver: Counterflow - Zeus Brewing Co.

  • Bronze: Haus Pils - Greenport Harbor Brewing Co.

 

Category 25: Hazy IPA – 115 entries

  • Gold: Citra Double Dan - War Horse Brewing Company

  • Silver: Terps On 20 - Heritage Hill Brewhouse

  • Silver: 2021 Burning the Ships IPA - Full Boar Craft Brewery

  • Bronze: Flower Record - Grimm Artisanal Ales

Best Collaboration Beer:

  • Friends from Other Places #1 - Unified Beerworks with Bound By Fate Brewing

2021 Best New York State Beer - At least 60% NYS hops & NYS Malt 

  • Tiga Queen - Eli Fish Brewing Company

  • Gailer Kolsch, Secatogue Brewing Company

2021 Brewery of the Year

  • Grimm Artisanal Ales

2021 Governor’s Cup

  • Heavy Maple – Eli Fish Brewing Company

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COMPETITION PRESENTED BY

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