New York State Craft Beer Competition
2021 WINNERS
The largest state-level competition in the U.S.
Competition Highlights
Most Medals Won
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Nine (9) awards were won by Grimm Artisanal Ales, including the "2021 Brewery of the Year" award.
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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:
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Hazy IPA (115 entries)
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Light Lagers (110 entries)
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Fruit and Spice Beer - sour (88 entries)
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Fruit and Spice Beer – non-sour (79 entries)
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American IPA (63 entries)
Summary: 2021 New York Craft Brewers Competition and Governor’s Craft Beer Cup (5th year)
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182 breweries submitted 1,143 entries
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50 award-winning breweries
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87 total medals awarded
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27 style categories judged, plus Governor’s Excelsior Cup
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Judging took place over 2-days (June 12 & 13) in Rochester, NY.
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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
Winners by Category
Category 1: Wheat Beer (American, Wit, Hefe) – 45 entries
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Gold: Grimm Weisse - Grimm Artisanal Ales
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Silver: Mise en Place Wit - Brewery at the CIA
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Bronze: Water Mill - DESTINATION UNKNOWN BEER COMPANY
Category 2: Amber and Dark Lagers – 59 entries
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Gold: Cross Stitch - Grimm Artisanal Ales
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Silver: Sad Devotion – Prison City Brewing
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Bronze: Equinox Amber - Brewery at the CIA
Category 3: Golden/Blonde Ales (American, Kolsch, Cream Ales) - 63 entries
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Gold: Regional Dialek - Threes Brewing
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Silver: Geiler Kolsch - Secatogue Brewing Co
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Bronze: Breakout - Willow Rock Brewing Company
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Bronze: Golden Ratio Pale Ale - Upward Brewing Co.
Category 4: Amber/Red Ales (British, American, Irish, Scottish) – 46 entries
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Gold: No gold awarded
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Silver: End of the Line Scotch Ale - Twisted Rail Brewing Company
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Bronze: Live Edge Irish Red - Rusty Nickel Brewing Co.
Category 5: Pale Ales – 31 entries
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Gold: PK Pale - Mill House Brewing Company
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Silver: Exit 40 Pale Ale - Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.
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Bronze: Tools of the Trade - Industrial Arts Brewing Company
Category 6: American IPA – 63 entries
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Gold: Gun Hill IPA - Gun Hill Brewing
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Silver: Sticky Trees - Pressure Drop Brewing
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Bronze: Power Tools - Industrial Arts Brewing Company
Category 7: Hazy Pale Ale – 52 entries
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Gold: Lumen - Grimm Artisanal Ales
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Gold: 4 Piece Citra – Prison City Brewing
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Silver: Defies Logic Hazy Pale Ale - Underground Beer Lab
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Bronze: Kaaterskill - West Kill Brewing
Category 8: American IPA Variations – 27 entries
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Gold: Grass Wagon IPA - Catskill Brewery
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Silver: Skydancer -Woodcock Brothers Brewery
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Bronze: Collectivity I Farmhouse IPA - Underground Beer Lab
Category 9: American DIPA – 37 entries
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Gold: Skull Frog DIPA - Frog Alley Brewing
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Silver: Opiate Sun - Upward Brewing Co.
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Bronze: Double IPA - Young Lion Brewing
Category 10: Barrel Aged Sour – 16 entries
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Gold: Rule of Honor - Big Alice Brewing Company
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Silver: Gin Barrel Mixed Fermentation Pillow Talk - Eli Fish Brewing
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Bronze: The Dictator Is the People - Threes Brewing
Category 11: Barrel Aged Non-Sour – 53 entries
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Gold: Barrel Aged Golden Ale - Heritage Hill Brewhouse
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Silver: Bourbon Barrel Aged Jenkins - Thin Man Brewery
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Bronze: Chevy to the Levee - New York Beer Project
Category 12: Belgian Farmhouse – 36 entries
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Gold: Tra La La - Grimm Artisanal Ales
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Silver: Leona - West Kill Brewing
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Bronze: Come What May Late Spring Saison - Unified Beerworks
Category 13: Belgian Other (Trappist, Strong, etc.) - 25 entries
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Gold: Three Philosophers - Brewery Ommegang
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Silver: Soulstice - Soul Brewing Company LLC
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Bronze: Jorts - Willow Rock Brewing Company
Category 14: Experimental – 37 entries
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Gold: Tiga Queen - Eli Fish Brewing
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Silver: Tropical Moon Cake - Aurora Brewing Co.
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Bronze: Peanut Butter Habanero Brown Ale - Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.
Category 15: Fruit & Spice Beer (non-sour) – 79 entries
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Gold: Heavy Maple - Eli Fish Brewing (Governor's Cup Winner)
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Silver: Pumpkin Ale - Horseheads Brewing
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Bronze: Vanilla Chai Tea Milk Stout - Rusty Nickel Brewing Co.
Category 16: Fruit & Spice Beer (sour) – 88 entries
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Gold: Lilt - Grimm Artisanal Ales
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Silver: Gathering Tart Cherries - Grimm Artisanal Ales
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Bronze: Wimmelbilder - Grimm Artisanal Ales
Category 17: Brown Ale (American & British) – 22 entries
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Gold: Windsor Nut Brown Ale - LyonSmith Brewing Co.
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Gold: American Brown Ale – Good Nature Brewing Company
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Silver: Limited Series Honey Brown Ale - Woodcock Brothers Brewery
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Bronze: Brown Ale - Stumblin' Monkey Brewing
Category 18: Porter (non-imperial) – 23 entries
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Gold: David’s Porter - Valcour Brewing company
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Silver: Thousand Year Porter - Water Street Brewing Co.
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Bronze: Porter - Laurentide Beer Company
Category 19: Stout (non-imperial) – 35 entries
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Gold: Void of Light - Gun Hill Brewing
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Silver: Whiteface Stout - Great Adirondak Brewing Company
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Bronze: Steamship Stout - Seneca Lake Brewing Company
Category 20: Imperial Stouts and Porters – 26 entries
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Gold: Boris the Spider Russian Imperial Stout - Spider Bite Beer Co.
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Silver: Collusion - Seneca St Brew Pub
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Bronze: Lagerkoller - Thin Man Brewery
Category 21: Strong Ales (non-Belgian) – 15 entries
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Gold: Trippelbock Reserve - Wagner Valley Brewing Company
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Silver: Barleywine - Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.
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Bronze: S.O.S. (Scotch on Seneca) - WeBe Brewing
Category 22: Kettle and Simple Sours – 24 entries
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Gold: Creekside - West Kill Brewing
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Silver: Bunny and Bear Crew Sour Porter - Bridge and Tunnel Brewery
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Bronze: No bronze awarded
Category 23: Wild and Sour Ales – 16 entries
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Gold: Contour Interval No. 2 - Wild East Brewing Co
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Silver: Jackie II - Good Nature Brewing Company
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Bronze: Brooklyn to Tokyo Yuzu Sour – Brooklyn Brewery
Category 24: Light Lagers – 110 entries
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Gold: Base Camp LagerBier - Upward Brewing Co.
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Silver: Counterflow - Zeus Brewing Co.
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Bronze: Haus Pils - Greenport Harbor Brewing Co.
Category 25: Hazy IPA – 115 entries
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Gold: Citra Double Dan - War Horse Brewing Company
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Silver: Terps On 20 - Heritage Hill Brewhouse
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Silver: 2021 Burning the Ships IPA - Full Boar Craft Brewery
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Bronze: Flower Record - Grimm Artisanal Ales
Best Collaboration Beer:
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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
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Tiga Queen - Eli Fish Brewing Company
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Gailer Kolsch, Secatogue Brewing Company
2021 Brewery of the Year
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Grimm Artisanal Ales
2021 Governor’s Cup
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Heavy Maple – Eli Fish Brewing Company