New York State Craft Beer Competition

New York State Craft Beer Competition

2024 WINNERS

presented by Ultimate Brew Service

2024 Governor’s Excelsior Craft Beer Cup

Kingston Standard Brewing Co. (Kingston, NY)

"“Love Is Overtaking Me”

Category: Barrel Aged (Sour)

*Get “Love is Overtaking Me” delivered to your doorstep - ORDER HERE.

2024 Brewery of the Year

The Brewery of the Year Award is given to the brewery who earns the highest number of points in the competition. Points are determined by number of medals won. Point system: Gold = 3pts, Silver = 2pts, Bronze = 1pt

Grimm Artisanal Ales (Brooklyn, NY)

3rd “NYS Brewery of the Year” win (2021, 2022, 2024)
3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze (12 points total)

Gold: Strong Ale (non-Belgian) - "XXXXX"

Gold: Wheat Beer - "Grimm Weisse"

Gold: Wild and Sour Ale - "Ambient Fizz Koyo Berries"
Silver: Pale Ale - "Lighter than Air"

Bronze: Imperial Stouts and Porters - "Double Negative"

points

Best New York Farm Beer

"Coconut Cluster"

Category: Specialty Beer: Stouts & Porters

Heritage Hill Brewhouse (Pompey, NY)

Competition Highlights

Top 5 Style Categories Entered

Hazy IPA (78)
Light Lager - Modern & Contemporary (77)
American IPA (69)
Light Lager - Traditional (66)
Fruit and Vegetable Beer - Sour (59)

2024 Competition Summary

1421 beers were entered by 232 breweries - the highest # of entries in the Competition's 8 years of history.
96 Medals Awarded.
Beers were judged in 30 style categories.
2 new categories this year, “Cream Ales” and “Dark Lagers”.
Grimm Artisanal Ales won the “NYS Brewery of the Year” title for the 3rd time (2021, 2022, 2024).
Judging took place over 2-days March 2-3, 2024 in Rochester, NY
The industry-member-only Awards Celebration presented by Malteurop took place in-person at the Albany Capital Center and was the closing event of the NYS Brewers Conference.
Enthusiasts tuned-into the awards ceremony via the New York State Craft Beer YouTube Channel. Breweries throughout the state hosted remote watch parties.

Watch Ceremony

WATCH CEREMONY

Winners by Category

Light Lagers (Traditional) - 66 entries

Gold: Eleven - Strong Rope Brewery
Silver: Bezucha Brothers - West Kill Brewing
Bronze: Brook & Reed - Drowned Lands

Light Lagers (Modern and Contemporary) - 77 entries

Gold: Contiguity - Threes Brewing
Silver: UN1 Basmati Rice Lager - Transmitter Brewing
Bronze: There & Back Helles - Bright Eye Beer Company

Amber Lagers - 34 entries

Gold: PleasantbrÃ¤u Oktoberfest - Soul Brewing Company
Silver: Fly In Any Weather - Rising Storm Brewing Company
Bronze: PolotmavÃ½ Peka? - Wayward Lane Brewing

Dark Lagers (NEW!) - 51 entries

Gold: Dark Encounter Druthers - Brewing Company
Silver: Nightfall - Wagner Valley Brewing Company
Bronze: Heavy Handed - Kills Boro Brewing Company

Wheat Beers (American, Wit, Hefe) - 33 entries

Gold: Grimm Weisse - Grimm Artisanal Ales
Silver: Gather House - Drowned Lands
Bronze: Lit Wit - Shep's Brewing Company

Golden & Blonde Ales - 32 entries

Gold: Prototype - Kings County Brewers Collective
Silver: Freudian Sips - Active Ingredient Brewing Company
Bronze: KOLSCH NO.2 - EBBS Brewing Company

Cream Ales (NEW!) - 43 entries

Gold: Cream Ale - Prison City Brewing
Silver: Premium Cream Ale 18th Ward Brewing
Bronze: Wolves Den Cream Ale 1812 Brewing Company

Amber & Red Ales - 54 entries

Gold: NYS Celtic Red Ale K2 Bros. Brewing
Silver: Altbier Swiftwater Brewing
Bronze: Prince Sager-Heimer Sager Beer Works

Pale Ale - 27 entries

Gold: Moderance - Wild East Brewing Company
Silver: Lighter Than Air - Grimm Artisanal Ales
Bronze: RIP Pale Ale - Wood Kettle Brewing

Hazy Pale Ale - 32 entries

Gold: Future Memory - 18th Ward Brewing
Silver: Kaaterskill - West Kill Brewing
Bronze: Particle - UNDERGROUND BEER LAB

American IPA - 69 entries

Gold: Golden Hour - Long Island Farm Brewery
Silver: Frisco Kid - Okay Beer Company
Bronze: Venomous Villains - Kings County Brewers Collective

Hazy IPA - 78 entries

Gold: Variable - UNDERGROUND BEER LAB
Silver (tie): Spectral Mass - UNDERGROUND BEER LAB
Citmo IPA (tie) - Resurgence Brewing Company
Bronze: The One V-56 - New York Beer Project

Experimental IPA - 36 entries

Gold: Island Addition - New York Beer Project
Silver: Forever Ever - Other Half
Bronze: River Swell - Drowned Lands

American DIPA - 24 entries

Gold: 5 Cent Deposit Double IPA - Bright Eye Beer Company
Silver: Pacific Dawn - Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Bronze: Lean To - West Kill Brewing

Hazy DIPA - 44 entries

Gold: FaultLine - Barrier Brewing Company
Silver: Jasper - Fidens Brewing Company
Bronze: Over and Out - Wayward Lane Brewing

Barrel Aged (Sour) - 17 entries

Gold: Love Is Overtaking Me - Kingston Standard
Silver: Something Something Something - Prison City Brewing
Bronze: Brewers Reserve BA Sour Blend - New York Beer Project

Barrel Aged (Non-Sour) - 40 entries

Gold: Portuguese Squeeze - Strangebird
Silver (tie): Bourbon-Barrel Aged Dormancy - Grow Brewing Company
Silver (tie): Oak Aged Aeon - Aurora Brewing Company
Bronze: Double Barrel Aqueduct 2023 - Big Ditch Brewing Company

Belgian Farmhouse - 22 entries

Gold: Saison Blend One - ONCO Fermentations, Inc
Silver: Wandering Bine - Threes Brewing
Bronze: Starling - Arrowood Farm Brewery

Belgian Other - 28 entries

Gold: Trappist at the Track Belgian Tripel - Artisanal Brew Works
Silver: Man's Best Friend - New York Beer Project
Bronze: Duncan's Quadrupel - Duncan's Abbey

Experimental - 29 entries

Gold: Shadowtricks - Wayward Lane Brewing
Silver: States Of Being - Threes Brewing
Bronze: El Tepache Loco - Talking Cursive Brewing Company

Fruit & Vegetable Beers (Non-Sour) - 32 entries

Gold: Crispy Boys Blood Orange - Prison City Brewing
Silver: Blackberry Kolsch - Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.
Bronze: Kettle Lakes Coconut Cream Ale - ONCO Fermentations

Fruit & Vegetable Beers (Sour) - 59 entries

Gold: Mimosa Sour - Valcour Brewing Company
Silver: Collaborations: Carmenere - Greenport Harbor Brewing
Bronze: Key Lime Pie Sour - No BS Brew Company

Specialty Beer: Stouts & Porters - 52 entries

Gold: Coconut Cluster - Heritage Hill Brewhouse
Irish Coffee Stout - New York Beer Project
Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter - Horseheads Brewing

Specialty Beer: Light & Amber Ales, Lagers - 21 entries

Gold: Holiday Ale - No BS Brew Company
Silver: Lavel Up - Druthers Brewing Company
Bronze: Pumpkin Cream Ale - Keuka Brewing Company

Brown Ale - 32 entries

Gold (tie): Lithology Brown Ale - Lithology Brewing Company
Gold (tie): Brown Ale - Watershed Brewing Company
Silver: Brooklyn Brown - Brooklyn Brewery
Bronze: Alternator - Wood Kettle Brewing

Porters (Non-Imperial) - 36 entries

Gold: Hold Fire - Weiss Ferments LLC
Silver: Portmanteau - Wayward Lane Brewing
Bronze: McNally Porter - 18th Ward Brewing

Stout (Non-Imperial) - 37 entries

Gold: Carlow - Drowned Lands
Silver: Velvet Panda - Mill House Brewing Company
Bronze: STOUT NO.1 - EBBS Brewing Company

Imperial Stouts & Porters - 25 entries

Gold: EB Baltic Porter - Take Two Brewery
Silver: Belgian Stout - Brewery Ardennes
Bronze: Double Negative - Grimm Artisanal Ales

Strong Ales - 33 entries

Gold: XXXXX - Grimm Artisanal Ales
Silver: Biteanator - Spider Bite Beer Co.
Bronze: Nicnevin - Crafty Ales and Lagers

Kettle and Simple Sours - 12 entries

Gold: There Gose the Watermelon Farm. - Good Nature Brewing Company
Silver: Incandenza - Hudson Valley Brewery
Bronze: Leipzig Gose - Big Slide Brewery & Public House

Wild & Sour Ales - 13 entries

Gold: Ambient Fizz Koyo Berries - Grimm Artisanal Ales
Silver: Breaking Bird - Strangebird
Bronze: Family Tree 13 - Rare Form Brewing Company

Best Collaboration Beer
BreakingBird - Wild & Sour Ale
Strangebird (Rochester, NY) + Breakside Brewery (Portland, OR)

Best New York State Farm Beer (at least 60% NYS Hops & NYS Malt)
Coconut Cluster - Heritage Hill Brewhouse (Pompey, NY)

2024 NYS Brewery of the Year

Grimm Artisanal Ales (Brooklyn, NY)