Thursday, May 19, 2011

Cleveland International Beer Fest Wows the Crowd First Year Out, Official Winners List (2 News Releases)

News Release #1
For Immediate Release
Cheers to a Great Event!
International Beer Fest Wows the Crowd First Year Out

(Cleveland, OH) The I-X Center can cheerfully raise a glass to another successful event. International Beer Fest, the largest showcase and competition of world beers in the Midwest, lived up to the hype. The festival and beer competition featuring 200 stellar breweries and upwards of 800 beers drew 8,567 visitors to its three tasting sessions, gaining instant fan loyalty from both brewers and attendees alike.

“For a first-year show, we were thrilled with the attendance and overall positive comments about the International Beer Fest,” said Robert Peterson, president of the I-X Center. “We will definitely hold the event in May 2012 - dates will be announced soon.”

Show organizers noticed right away that the attendance seemed to grow with each session. Many patrons that had planned to attend only one session soon found themselves purchasing tickets for the next. The site’s Facebook page became flooded with positive comments and “can’t wait until next year” postings. Fans have already been asking for dates and tickets for 2012!

The judged competition was easily a crowd favorite. “Best in Show” went to The Brew Kettle Production Works from Strongsville, Ohio. The brewer’s White Rajah wowed a panel of beer experts and garnered the brewery top recognition. As the ceremony ended, the Beer Kettle crew happily walked away with a total of nine medallions that graced their booth until the end of the show.

Other Northeast Ohio brewers also faired well in the judging, giving the Buckeye State plenty to brag about with a grand total of 36 medals earned between them. Hoppin’ Frog Brewery of Akron, Ohio, and Fat Heads Brewery & Saloon of North Olmsted, Ohio, both walked away with five and four medallions respectively, including two golds for each. Great Lakes Brewing Company and Buckeye Brewing Company from Cleveland, Ohio, and the Thirsty Dog Brewing Company out of Akron, Ohio, each won three medals in various categories. The Willoughby Brewing Co. of Willoughby, Ohio, went home with two, including a bronze for their Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Porter. A complete list of winners may be viewed on the International Beer Fest website, www.ixbeerfest.com.

International Beer Fest will be held next May, 2012 at the I-X Center in Cleveland, Ohio. For more information call 216.265.7468 or visit us online at www.ixbeerfest.com, or http://www.facebook.com/internationalbeerfest.

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News Release #2
For Immediate Release
International Beer Fest
May 13 & 14, 2011
Judged Competition Official Winner’s List

(Cleveland, OH) International Beer Fest’s judged competition is sanctioned by AHA/BJCP, a recognized certification program that promotes beer literacy and evaluation skills. Using the AHA/BJCP standardized judging protocols and the 2011 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines with permission of the Brewer’s Association, a representative cross-section of brewers, beer experts and ranked judges from around the country came to the I-X Center on April 29 and 30 to judge hundreds of beer submissions. Based on submissions received, similar styles were combined into 24 categories that were used for judging and determining first, second, and third place within each category. Gold medal winners for each category were then judged to identify the Best of Show. Medals for all categories and Best of Show were awarded at 2pm on Saturday, May 14. A complete listing of winners may be found on www.ixbeerfest.com.

Judged Competition Medals

CATEGORY 1: ENGLISH PALE ALES
Gold: Shoals Pale Ale, Smuttynose Brewing Co.
Silver: 312 Urban Wheat Ale, Goose Island Beer Company
Bronze: Brooklyn IPA, Brooklyn Brewery

CATEGORY 2: IRISH, SCOTTISH AND ENGLISH BROWN ALES
Gold: Turbodog, Abita Brewing Company
Silver: Bed Head Red, Lager Heads Brewing Company
Bronze: Engine Mild, Buckeye Brewing Company

CATEGORY 3: PORTERS AND STOUTS
Gold: Robust Porter, Smuttynose Brewing Co.
Silver: Steel Valley Stout, Ohio Brewing Company
Bronze: Black Jack, The Brew Kettle Production Works

CATEGORY 4: IMPERIAL STOUTS AND STRONG ALES
Gold: D.O.R.I.S. Double Imperial Stout, Hoppin’ Frog Brewery
Silver: B.O.R.I.S. Imperial Stout, Hoppin’ Frog Brewery
Bronze: Tunguska, The Brew Kettle Production Works

CATEGORY 5: AMERICAN PALE ALES
Gold: Headwaters Pale Ale, Victory Brewing Company
Silver: Burning River, Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Bronze: Four C’s, The Brew Kettle Production Works

CATEGORY 6: AMERICAN ALES
Gold: Ithaca Nut Brown Ale, Ithaca Beer Co.
Silver: Hoppus Maximus, The Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.
Bronze: Nut Brown Ale, Mt. Carmel Brewing Company

CATEGORY 7: AMERICAN IPAs
Gold: White Rajah, The Brew Kettle Production Works
Silver: Moonshadow IPA, Willoughby Brewing Company
Bronze: Head Hunter IPA, Fat Heads

CATEGORY 8: IMPERIAL IPAs
Gold: Old 21, The Brew Kettle Production Works
Silver: Hop Juju, Fat Heads
Bronze: Imperial IPA, Anderson Valley Brewing Company

CATEGORY 9: HYBRID AND INTERNATIONAL ALES
Gold: Alt-ernative Amber Ale, Ohio Brewing Company
Silver: Genesee Cream Ale, North American Breweries
Bronze: Madison, Buckeye Brewing Company

CATEGORY 10: BELGIAN ABBEY ALES
Gold: Rochefort 10, Rochefort Monastery
Silver: Merry Monks, Weyerbacher Brewing
Bronze: Cerberus, The Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.

CATEGORY 11: BELGIAN ALES
Gold: Leffe Blonde, InBev
Silver: Brooklyn Local 1, Brooklyn Brewery
Bronze: Brooklyn Local 2, Brooklyn Brewery

CATEGORY 12: BELGIAN FARMHOUSE ALES
Gold: White Cap Wit, Big Rock Chop House & Brewery
Silver: Samuel Adams Rustic Saison, Samuel Adams
Bronze: Holy Moses, Great Lakes Brewing Co.

CATEGORY 13: WILD AND SOUR ALES
Gold: Lambic, The Rivertown Brewing Company LLC
Silver: Timmermans Framboise Lambic, Timmermans Brewery
Bronze: Quick Kriek, The Brew Kettle Production Works

CATEGORY 14: GERMAN WHEAT AND RYE ALES
Gold: Brau Weisse, Ayinger Brewery
Silver: Wheat Cloud, Buckeye Brewing Company
Bronze: Konig Ludwig Weissbier, Warsteiner USA

CATEGORY 15: LIGHT EUROPEAN LAGERS
Gold: Keller Helles, Fat Heads
Silver: Organic Lager, Sam Smith
Bronze: Warsteiner, Warsteiner USA

CATEGORY 16: VIENNA LAGERS
Gold: Brooklyn Lager, Brooklyn Brewery
Silver: Lomza, Lomza
Bronze: Stawski Premium Lager, Stawski

CATEGORY 17: DARK EUROPEAN LAGERS
Gold: Shiner Bohemian Black, Spoet’zl Brewery
Silver: Dortmunder Gold, Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Bronze: Barn Burner, Lager Heads Brewing Company

CATEGORY 18: BOCKS
Gold: Samuel Adams Double Bock, Samuel Adams
Silver: Celebrator, Ayinger Brewery
Bronze: Andy Gator, Abita Brewing Company

CATEGORY 19: AMERICAN LAGERS
Gold: Stella Artois, InBev
Silver: Michelob AmberBock, Anheuser Busch
Bronze: Budweiser, Anheuser Busch

CATEGORY 20: AMERICAN WHEAT AND RYE BEERS
Gold: Chief’s Rye, The Brew Kettle Production Works
Silver: Dundee Summer Wheat, North American Breweries
Bronze: Samuel Adams Summer Ale, Samuel Adams

CATEGORY 21: FRUIT, VEGETABLE AND HONEY BEERS
Gold: Turbo Shandy Citrus Ale, Hoppin’ Frog Brewery
Silver: Wild Blue, Anheuser Busch
Bronze: Shiner Ruby Redbird, Spoet’zl Brewery

CATEGORY 22: CHOCOLATE, COFFEE AND SPICE BEERS
Gold: Mean Joe Bean, Fat Heads
Silver: CafĂ© B.O.R.I.S. Stout, Hoppin’ Frog Brewery
Bronze: Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Porter, Willoughby Brewing Company

CATEGORY 23: WOOD- AND BARREL-AGED BEERS
Gold: 4TH Dementia Olde Ale, Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
Silver: Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. Stout, Hoppin’ Frog Brewery
Bronze: Barrel Aged Wee Heavy, The Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.

CATEGORY 24: SPECIALTY AND EXPERIMENTAL BEERS
Gold: Dark Helmet, The Brew Kettle Production Works
Silver: Ithaca 13th Anniversary, Ithaca Beer Co.
Bronze: Dad’s Little Helper Black IPA, Rogue Ales

BEST OF SHOW
Gold: White Rajah, The Brew Kettle Production Works
Silver: Lambic, The Rivertown Brewing Company LLC
Bronze: Leffe Blonde, InBev

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Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
All Things Cleveland Ohio.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A Foggy Morning In Cleveland (Time Lapse)

It was a very foggy morning in downtown Cleveland today, and what better time for an Innerbelt Bridge time lapse video. Keep an eye out for the faint fog bow that quickly appears at 52 seconds in, toward the center and upper right of the screen.





Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information,
All Things Cleveland Ohio.