Hey craft beer aficionados, some of the country’s best beer is brewed right here in area.
NJ.com reports three New Jersey-based breweries received high praise at a recent beer festival in Colorado that featured thousands of breweries all over the country. Beers from Spellbound Brewing in Mount Holly, Eight & Sand Beer Co. in Woodbury and River Horse Brewing Co. in Ewing all won awards in the Great American Beer Festival.
Spellbound Brewing’s Porter Aged on Palo Santo Wood beer won the top medal in the category of best wood and barrel-aged beer, which had 70 entries, NJ.com reports. Eight & Sand Beer Co.’s Bad Hombre won silver in the category of Chili Beer, which had 98 entries, and River Horse Brewing Co. earned the bronze in the Belgian-style Tripel category for its Tripel Horse beer. That category had 77 entries.
Four beers from four different breweries in New York also won awards as well as four beers from three different Connecticut breweries, according to the festival's official list of winners.
For the Empire State, Bay Shore’s Great South Bay Brewery’s Jetty Ale claimed the silver in honey beer, a category that had 69 entries. Bloomfield’s Nedloh Brewing Co.’s 5 & 20 IPA won the bronze for American-Belgo-Style Ale that had 53 entries. Cooperstown’s Brewery Ommegang’s Witte Ale claimed the bronze in the Belgian-Style Witbier. Athens’ Crossroads Brewing Co.’s Black Rock Stout took home the bronze in the Export Stout category.
Branford, Connecticut’s Stony Creek Brewery took home two awards. Its Stony Joe won bronze in the coffee beer category, which had 89 entries and its Dock Time beer also took home the bronze in the Vienna-Style Lager category, which had 87 entries. Stamford’s Half Full Brewery's Bright Ale won bronze in the English-Style Summer Ale category that had 41 entries. Bloomfield’s Back East Brewing’s Porter beer took home the gold out of 57 entries in the brown porter category.
NJ.com reports the beers were judged by nearly 300 experts and the festival is the world’s largest commercial beer competition.
