2021 New York State Craft Beer Competition Winners

Now in its fifth year, the New York State Craft Beer Competition has become the largest state-level competition in the country.

Sponsored by the New York State Brewers Association, this year’s competition featured 1,143 beer entries from 182 breweries across 25 different categories.

Already considered one of the best breweries in New York State, Brooklyn’s Grimm Artisanal Ales ruled this year’s competition being named Brewery of the Year after winning eight medals.

The Governor’s Cup, which awards the best beer in the state, went to Batavia, NY’s Eli Fish Brewing for its 10% ABV Heavy Maple Strong Ale.

And here are all of this year’s big winners….

2021 New York State Craft Beer Competition Medal winners 

 

Amber and dark lagers (59 entries):

• Gold, Grimm Artisanal Ales Cross Stitch
• Silver. Prison City Brewing Sad Devotion
• Bronze, Brewery at the CIA Equinox Amber

Amber/red ales (British, American, Irish, Scottish) (46 entries):

• Gold, none awarded
• Silver, Twisted Rail Brewing End of the Line Scotch Ale
• Bronze, Rusty Nickel Brewing Live Edge Irish Red Ale

American DIPA (37 entries):

• Gold, Frog Alley Brewing Skull Frog DIPA
• Silver, Upward Brewing Opiate Sun
• Bronze, Young Lion Brewing DIPA

American IPA (63 entries):

• Gold, Gun Hill Brewing Gun Hill IPA
• Silver, Pressure Drop Brewing Sticky Trees
• Bronze, Industrial Arts Brewing Power Tools

American IPA Variations (27 entries):

• Gold, Catskill Brewery Grass Wagon IPA
• Silver, Woodcock Brothers Skydancer
• Bronze, Underground Beer Lab Collectivity I Farmhouse IPA

Barrel-aged (non-sour) (53 entries):

• Gold, Heritage Hill Brewhouse Barrel Aged Golden Ale
• Silver, Thin Man Brewery Bourbon Barrel Aged Awesome Jenkins
• Bronze, New York Beer Project Chevy to the Levee

Barrel-aged sour (16 entries): 

• Gold, Big aLICe Brewing Rule of Honor
• Silver, Eli Fish Brewing Gin Barrel Mixed Fermentation Pillow Talk
• Bronze, Threes Brewing The Dictator is the People

Belgian farmhouse (36 entries): 

• Gold, Grimm Artisanal Ales Tra La La
• Silver, West Kill Brewing Leona;
• Bronze. Unified Beerworks Come What May Late Spring Saison

Belgian other (Trappist, Strong, etc.) (25 entries): 

• Gold, Brewery Ommegang Three Philosophers
• Silver, Soul Brewing Soulstice
• Bronze, Willow Rock Brewing Jorts

Brown Ale (American and British) (22 entries): 

• Gold (tie), LyonSmith Brewing Windsor Nut Brown Ale and Good Nature Brewing American Brown Ale
• Silver, Woodcock Brothers Honey Brown Ale
• Bronze, Stumblin’ Monkey Brewing Brown Ale

Experimental (37 entries): 

• Gold, Eli Fish Brewing Tiga Queen
• Silver, Aurora Brewing Tropical Moon Cake
• Bronze, Lunkenheimer Peanut Butter Habanero Brown Ale

Fruit and spice (sour) (88 entries): 

• Gold, Grimm Artisanal Ales Lilt
• Silver, Grimm Artisanal Ales Gathering Tart Cherries
• Bronze, Grimm Artisanal Ales Wimmelbilder

Fruit and spice (non-sour) (79 entries): 

• Gold, Eli Fish Brewing Heavy Maple
• Silver, Horseheads Brewing Pumpkin Ale
• Bronze, Rusty Nickel Brewing Vanilla Chai Tea Milk Stout

Golden/Blonde Ale (American, Kölsch, Cream Ale) (63 entries): 

• Gold, Threes Brewing Regional Dialekt
• Silver, Secatogue Brewing Geiler Kölsch
• Bronze (tie), Willow Rock Brewing Breakout and Upward Brewing Golden Ratio Pale Ale

Hazy IPA (115 entries): 

• Gold, War Horse Brewing Citra Double Dan IPA
• Silver (tie), Full Boar Craft Brewery 2021 Burning the Ships IPA and Heritage Hill Brewhouse Terps on the 20
• Bronze, Grimm Artisanal Ales Flower Record

Hazy Pale Ale (52 entries):

• Gold (tie), Grimm Artisanal Ales Lumen and Prison City Brewing 4 Piece Citra
• Silver, Underground Beer Lab Defies Logic Hazy Pale Ale
• Bronze, West Kill Brewing Kaaterskill

Imperial stout and porter (26 entries):

• Gold, Spider Bite Boris the Spider Russian Imperial Stout
• Silver, Seneca St. Brew Pub Collusion
• Bronze, Thin Man Brewery Lagerkoller

Kettle and simple sours (24 entries):

• Gold, West Kill Brewing Creekside
• Silver, Bridge and Tunnel Brewery Bunny and Bear Crew Sour Porter
• Bronze, none awarded

Light lagers (110 entries):

• Gold, Upward Brewing Base Camp Lagerbier
• Silver, Zeus Brewing Counterflow
• Bronze, Greenport Harbor Brewing Haus

Pale ale (31 entries): 

• Gold, Mill House Brewing PK Pale
• Silver, Lunkenkeimer Craft Brewing Exit 40 Pale Ale
• Bronze, Industrial Arts Tools of the Trade

Porter (non-imperial) (23 entries):

• Gold, Valcour Brewing David’s Porter
• Silver, Water Street Brewing Thousand Year Porter
• Bronze, Laurentide Brewing Porter

Stout (non-imperial) (35 entries):

• Gold, Gun Hill Brewing Void of Light
• Silver, Great Adirondack Brewing Whiteface Stout
• Bronze, Seneca Lake Brewing Steamship Stout

Strong Ale (non-Belgian) (15 entries):

• Gold, Wagner Valley Brewing Trippelbock Reserve
• Silver, Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Barleywine
• Bronze, WeBe Brewing S.O.S. (Scotch on Seneca)

Wheat beer (American, wit, Hefeweizen) (45 entries): 

• Gold, Grimm Artisanal Ales Grimm Weise
• Silver, Brewery at the CIA Mise en Place Wit
• Bronze, Destination Unknown Beer Water Mill

Wild and sour ale (16 entries):

• Gold, Wild East Brewing Contour Interval No. 2
• Silver, Good Nature Brewing Jackie II
• Bronze, Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn to Tokyo Yuzu Sour

Governor’s Cup (Best beer in New York State):

• Gold, Eli Fish Brewing Heavy Maple
• Silver, Gun Hill Void of Light
• Bronze, War Horse Brewing Citra Double Dan

New York state beer

• Eli Fish Brewing Tiga Queen and Secatogue Brewing Geiler Kölsch

Collaboration

• Unified Beer Works and Bound by Fate Friends from Other Places #1

Brewery of the year:

• Grimm Artisanal Ales, Brooklyn

“Each year the New York State Craft Beer Competition continues to grow — both in the number of entries and in the quality of submissions,” said Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association. “We are incredibly proud of the beer being produced by our members. This competition showcases the amazing and diverse craft beer of New York State and elevates New York as a foremost craft beer state.”

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Congratulations to all this year’s winners….Live long and prosper!