2005 Georgia Craft Brew
Challenge
CELEBRATE GREAT BEER IN
GEORGIA!
Held on...
Saturday,
November 5,
2005
5
Seasons Brewing Company
Prado Shopping Center
I-285 at Roswell Road, Atlanta,
GA
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Kevin McNerney (left)
is brewer for Sweetwater. Spike Buckowski (center)
brews for Terrapin Beer Company. Photo by Owen Ogletree.
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Saturday, November 5 was a great
night
to be a beer lover in
Georgia. Over 200 beer fans from around the Southeast
gathered at Atlanta's 5 Seasons
Brewing
Company to taste the best beers made in Georgia. 35 delicious
beers from Georgia's craft breweries were evaluated by a team of almost
25 beer judges in the morning blind judging session. The public tasting
event started at 5 PM, and the winners of the competition were
announced at 6 PM. Owen Ogletree filled the role of head judge
and would like to thank all the great volunteers, stewards, and
judges. We were especially pleased to have in our fine panel of
judges Fred Scheer (head brewer from Bosco's in Nashville), Keith Klemp
(writer for All About Beer magazine), and Dieter Kuhn (brewer for
Heinzelmannchen in Sylva, NC). Jacob Johnston (from Ale Atlanta)
was our head pouring steward, and Gail Graves served as head awards
steward. The event was organized by Ted
Hull and Mark Nelson of Georgians for World Class Beer. Ted and
Mark are the beer guys who drove through the recent law that allows for
the sale of strong beers in Georgia. Thanks, Ted and Mark, for
all your great work and devotion to quality beer in Georgia! And
finally, Dave, Dennis, and Glen at 5 Seasons really made the event
special with their overwhelming hospitality. Proceeds from the
event benefit Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross.
Bob Townsend (left) is
beer writer for the AJC and editor of Southern Brew News. Kevin
McNerney (right) is owner/brewer for Sweetwater Brewing Company.
Photo by Owen Ogletree.
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PARTICIPATING
BREWERIES
The Craft
Brew Challenge
judges were extremely impressed with all the
fine beers entered in the competition. Beers at the Craft Brew
Challenge were from: 5 Seasons Brewing, Atlanta Brewing Company,
New River Brewing, Cannon
Brewpub, Copper Creek Brewing, Dahlonega Brewing Company, Gordon
Biersch, Moon River Brewing,
Sweetwater, Terrapin, and Zuma/Cancun.
The crew at 5 Seasons knows how to throw a party!
Photo by Owen Ogletree.
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2005
GEORGIA CRAFT BREW CHALLENGE WINNERS...
(Each beer was judged
against the guidelines for the BJCP style
identified by the brewery
on the entry form. For the purposes of awards, we
grouped the entries into
the following “GCBC” styles.)
American
Ale
1st
Place – Swamp Fox IPA , Moon River Brewing Company, Savannah.
2nd
Place – Red Brick Winter Brew, Atlanta Brewing Company, Atlanta
3rd
Place – Steamroller Ale, Cannon Brewpub, Columbus
UK-Style
Ale
1st
Place – Oatmeal Stout, Copper Creek Brewing Company, Athens
2nd
Place – Exodus Porter, Sweetwater Brewing Company, Atlanta
3rd
Place – The Bomb, Moon River Brewing Company, Savannah
Belgian-Style
Ale
1st
Place – Wild Wacky Wit - Moon River Brewing Company, Savannah
2nd
Place – Belgian Abbey - Copper Creek Brewing Company, Athens
3rd
Place – Dahlonega Golden, Dahlonega Brewing Company/Caruso’s, Dahlonega
European-Style
Lager
1st
Place – Morena, Cancun Brewery / Zuma Brewing, Atlanta
2nd
Place – FestBier, Gordon Biersch, Atlanta
3rd
Place – Seven Sisters Munchener, 5 Seasons Brewing Company, Atlanta
Golden/Wheat/Specialty
1st
Place – Cream Ale, Terrapin Beer Company, Athens
2nd
Place – All American Imperial Pilsner, Terrapin Beer Company, Athens
3rd
Place – Premium Light Lager, Gordon Biersch, Atlanta
High
Gravity
1st
Place – Imperial IPA, Copper Creek Brewing Company, Athens
2nd
Place – UberWeisse Weizenbock, 5 Seasons Brewing Company, Atlanta
3rd
Place – Festive Ale, Sweetwater Brewing Company, Atlanta
BEST
OF SHOW
1st
Place – Cream Ale, Terrapin Beer Company, Athens
2nd
Place – Swamp Fox IPA , Moon River Brewing Company, Savannah
3rd
Place – Morena, Cancun Brewery / Zuma Brewing, Atlanta