New York’s biggest beer competition, the 2019 New York State Craft Beer Competition and Governor’s Cup has announced this year’s winners and we’ve got them all for you!
Sponsored by the New York State Brewers Association, this year’s competition was its largest ever with some 420 breweries, entering 813 beers in 25 style categories plus the Governor’s Excelsior Cup.
This year’s judging panel was comprised of 56 New York State beer experts…who clearly had plenty of serious beers to consider.
Produced in conjunction with Raise a Glass Foundation, this year’s New York State Craft Beer Competition and Governor’s Cup awards were announced and presented as part of the New York State Craft Brewers Conference held at the Desmond Hotel in Albany on March 8th.
The 2019 New York State Craft Beer Competition Highlights
- Governor’s Craft Beer Cup was awarded to Prison City Pub & Brewery (Auburn) for their Wham Whams in the experimental beer category.
- Brewery of the Year was awarded to the Brewery at the CIA for the brewery with the highest cumulative of all beers entered.
Most Medals Won
- (3) medals were won by Prison City Pub & Brewery, Auburn NY, Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing, Weedsport NY, and Threes Brewing Brooklyn, NY
- Two (2) medals were won by 11 breweries
Style Categories
The Hazy IPA style led this year the most-entered categories with 82 entries. The top five entered categories were:
- Hazy IPA (82 entries)
- Fruit and Spice Beer – non-sour (68 entries)
- Light Lagers (66 entries)
- American IPA (52 entries)
- Barrel Aged (non-Sour) (42 entries)
The 2019 New York Craft Brewers Competition and Governor’s Craft Beer Cup Winners
Category 1: Amber and Dark Lagers – 35 Entries
Gold: Ice Book Bock, Resurgence Brewing Company, Buffalo
Silver: Toasted Lager, Blue Point Brewing Company, Patchogue
Silver: Fall Black, Big Ditch Brewing Company, Buffalo
Bronze: No Bronze Awarded
Category 2: Amber/Red Ale (British, American, Irish, Scottish) – 28 Entries
Gold: Better Red Than Dead, Dublin Corners Farm Brewery, Linwood
Silver: Jessica’s Red Ale, Red Shed Brewery, Cherry Valley
Bronze: Aviator Red, Flying Bison Brewing Company, Buffalo
Category 3: American DIPA – 32 Entries
Gold: Cannon Call, Big Ditch Brewing Company, Buffalo
Silver: Hopnami, Greenport Harbor brewing Company, Peconic
Bronze: 3XIPA, Southern Tier Brewing Co., Lakewood
Bronze: 12 Legs, Spider Bite Beer Co., Holbrook
Category 4: American IPA – 52 Entries
Gold: No Gold Awarded
Silver: DUBCO IPA, Destination Unknown Beer Co, Bay Shore
Bronze: Sticky Trees, Pressure Drop Brewing, Buffalo
Category 5: American IPA Variations– 38 Entries
Gold: True love in an arranged marriage, Arrowood Farms and Brewery, Accord
Silver: Seshquatch, Empire Farm Brewery, Cazenovia
Bronze: COASTAL IPA, Destinatination Unknown Beer Co, Bay Shore
Category 6: Barrel Aged (non-Sour)– 42 Entries
Gold: Demons on the Dance Floor, Kings County Brewers Collective (KCBC), Brooklyn
Silver: FOUR, Swiftwater Brewing, Rochester
Bronze: Bourbon Barrel Aged The Newburgh Conspiracy, Newburgh Brewing Company, Newburgh
Category 7: Barrel Aged Sour – 14 Entries
Gold: Corvid, The Brewers Collective Beer Company, Bay Shore
Silver: Superfunk, New York Beer Project, Lockport
Bronze: Barrel Aged Grissette with Raspberries, Local 315 Brewing Company, Warners
Category 8: Belgian Farmhouse– 15 Entries
Gold: Freak Tractor 100% Brett Beer, Catskill Brewery, Livingston Manor
Silver: F4 3 x Brett Farmhouse, Transmitter Brewing, Long Island City
Bronze: Tender Moments, Thin Man Brewery, Buffalo
Category 9: Belgian Other (Trappist, Strong, etc.)– 17 Entries
Gold: Elixir, Crafty Ales and Lagers, Phelps
Silver: Good Reef, Blue Point Brewing Company, Patchogue
Bronze: Three Philosophers, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown
Category 10: Brown Ale (American & British) – 25 Entries
Gold: Class Project Br-Br-Br-Brown, Brewery at the CIA, Hyde Park
Silver: Blinding Brown, Kings Court Brewing Company, Poughkeepsie
Silver: Messiah Brown Ale, Shmaltz Brewing Company, Clifton Park
Bronze: No Bronze Awarded
Category 11: Experimental – 32 Entries
Gold: Wham Whams, Prison City Pub & Brewery, Auburn *Governors Craft Beer Cup Winner
Silver: Love is a Soul Sucking Demon Stout, WT Brews, Baldwinsville
Bronze: Mimosa Wit, Genesee Brew House, Rochester
Category 12: Fruit and Spice Beer – sour – 38 Entries
Gold: Eternal Return: Apricot, Threes Brewing, Brooklyn
Silver: Frutetto, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., Elmsford
Bronze: H7 Summer Berry Harvest Ale, H7 Summer Berry Harvest Ale, Long Island City
Category 13: Fruit and Spice Beer – non-sour – 68 Entries
Gold: Jalapeno Rye (Rye Whiskey Barrels), Big Alice Brewing Company, Long Island City
Silver: Chai Tea Milk Stout,Rusty Nickel Brewing Co., West Seneca
Bronze: Toasted Coconut Porter, Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co., Weedsport
Bronze: Kacey’s Kristmas Ale,Rohrbach Brewing Company, Rochester
Category 14: Golden/Blonde Ale (American, Kolsch, Cream Ale) – 30 Entries
Gold: No Gold Awarded
Silver: Kold One, Mill House Brewing Company, Poughkeepsie
Bronze: Brunette’s Revenge, Wolf Hollow Brewing, Schenectady
Category 15: Hazy IPA – 82 Entries
Gold: Logical Conclusion, Threes Brewing, Brooklyn
Silver: Ellsworth, Stoneyard Brewing Company, Brockport
Bronze: CitMo IPA, Resurgence Brewing Company, Buffalo
Category 16: Imperial Stout and Porter – 39 Entries
Gold: The Majestic Imperial Stout 2018, Three Heads Brewing Inc., Rochester
Silver: Boris the Spider, Spider Bite Beer Co., Holbrook
Silver: Russian Imperial Stout, WT Brews, Baldwinsville
Bronze: No Medal Awarded
Category 17: Kettle and Simple Sours – 12 Entries
Gold: No Gold Awarded
Silver: Franc-in-Weizen, Wagner Valley Brewing Company, Lodi
Bronze: Pun Intended, Community Beer Works, Buffalo
Category 18: Light Lagers – 39 Entries
Gold: Skills Pils, The Peekskill Brewery, Peekskill
Silver: Metric Pils, Industrial Arts Brewing Co., Garnerville
Bronze: Utica Club pilsener, Saranac brewery/FX Matt Brewing Co., Utica
Category 19: Pale Ale – 36 Entries
Gold: Whatsis #4, Naked Dove Brewing Company, Canandaigua
Silver: Illusion of Knowledge, Prison City Pub & Brewery, Auburn
Bronze: All Night IPA, Kings Court Brewing Company, Poughkeepsie
Category 20: Porter (Non Imperial) – 17 Entries
Gold: Davids Porter, Valcour Brewing Company, Plattsburgh
Silver: Naked Dove 45 Fathoms Porter, Naked Dove Brewing Company, Canandaigua
Bronze: Captain Ellis Porter, Frog Alley Brewing, Schenectady
Category 21: Stout (Non Imperial) – 27 Entries
Gold: Smugtown Stout, Sager Beer Works, Rochester
Silver: Ol Gilmartin Milk and Oatmeal Stout, Bridge and Tunnel Brewery, Ridgewood
Bronze: So You’re Wild, The Brewery of Broken Dreams, Hammondsport
Category 22: Strong Ale (non-Belgian)) – 20 Entries
Gold: Barleywine 2018, Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co., Weedsport
Silver: S.O.S. (Scotch on Seneca), WeBe Brewing, Geneva
Bronze: Reserve Tripplebock, Wagner Valley Brewing, Lodi
Category 23: Wheat Beer (American, Wit, Hefe) – 21 Entries
Gold: Mise en Place Wit – Brewery at the CIA, Hyde Park
Silver: No Medal Awarded
Bronze: Witte, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown
Category 24: Wild and Sour Ale – 16 Entries
Gold: No Gold Awarded
Silver: Eternal Return: Sauvignon Blanc (2016 Harvest), Threes Brewing, Brooklyn
Bronze: Laser Brain, Prison City Pub & Brewery, Auburn
Category 24: New York State Beer (At least 20% NYS hops, NYS Malt and other NYS ingredients) – 353 Qualified Entries
Gold: Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co., Weedsport
Silver: Valcour Brewing company, Plattsburgh
Bronze: Dublin Corners Farm Brewery, Linwood
Congratulations to all this year’s winners….Live long and prosper!