Last week, winners of the California State Fair’s annual professional brewing competition were announced. Local breweries performed very well, more than tripling the seven awards earned at last year’s contest with a total of 23. Of those, eight were first-place awards, five were second-place and ten were third-place.
All but two of the ten companies that brought home hardware earned multiple awards. The local operations that collected the most ribbons were small Ramona interest, Smoking Cannon Brewery, with two first- and two third-place beers, and North Park-based Mike Hess Brewing, with a first, a second and two third-place ribbons.
Brewpubs fared particularly well, with San Marcos’ My Yard Live Beer Co. and University Heights’ Kairoa Brewing taking two firsts apiece. Mission Valley’s Puesto Cerveceria nabbed a second-place and two awards for the same beer, Puesto Negra, which came in third in both the Czech-style Lager and International Amber/Dark Lager categories. Meanwhile, North Park’s TapRoom Beer Co. notched second- and third-place wins, while beers from Pizza Port’s Ocean Beach and Carlsbad Village brewpubs earned a first- and second-place ribbon, respectively.
Of all the winners, Carlsbad-based Burgeon Beer Co. was the only local company that also earned a ribbon at last year’s competition.
The following are all of the local winners from this year’s event…
FIRST PLACE
- American-style India Pale Ale: Flight of the Kiwis, My Yard Live Beer Co. (San Marcos)
- Belgian-style Blond/Pale Ale: Cheeky Buggah Belgian Blonde Ale, Kairoa Brewing (University Heights)
- Berliner-style Weisse: Kerr Cactus Apple Sour, Smoking Cannon Brewery (Ramona)
- Chocolate Beer: Jocelyn German Chocolate Cake Milk Stout, Smoking Cannon Brewery (Ramona)
- Double India Pale Ale: Lawn Darts, My Yard Live Beer Co. (San Marcos)
- Fruit Beer: Apricot Hop Cloud Hazy IPA, Mike Hess Brewing (North Park)
- Session Beer: Guillaume, Pizza Port Brewing (Ocean Beach)
- Weissbier: Hasselhef Hefeweizen, Kairoa Brewing (University Heights)
SECOND PLACE
- American-style Lager: Puesto Clara, Puesto Cerveceria (Mission Valley)
- American-style Pale Ale: Collective Minds, Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)
- Belgian-style Strong Ale: Le Village Belgian-style Pale Strong Ale, Pizza Port Brewing (Carlsbad)
- English-style Dark Ale: How Original English-style Mild Ale, TapRoom Beer Co. (North Park)
- Imperial Stout: Umbrix, Mike Hess Brewing (North Park)
THIRD PLACE
- Berliner-style Weisse: Peachy My Other Vice, Mike Hess Brewing (North Park)
- Coffee Beer: Vietnamese Pastry Stout, Mike Hess Brewing (North Park)
- Czech-style Lager: Puesto Negra, Puesto Cerveceria (Mission Valley)
- Experimental Beer: Fuse Smoked Rye Amber Ale, Smoking Cannon Brewery (Ramona)
- Historical Styles: Smoking Longhorn Finnish-style Sahti, Smoking Cannon Brewery (Ramona)
- International Amber / Dark Lager: Puesto Negra, Puesto Cerveceria (Mission Valley)
- International Pale Lager: Invita, Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)
- Scottis / Irish Ales: Red Chevrons Irish-style Red Ale, El Cid Brewing (North Park)
- Specialty Saison: Hillside Rendezvous, Julian Beer Co. (Julian)
- Vienna-style / Märzen Lager: Vienna Lager, TapRoom Beer Co. (North Park)