VICTOR, ID — Grand Teton Brewing Company, known for their exceptional microbrews, has won three top honors at the 2011 Los Angeles International Commercial Beer Competition. These accolades follow a four medal performance at the North American Brewers Awards just two weeks prior.
Bitch Creek ESB (Extra Special Brown) won the gold medal in the American-Style Brown Ale category. This gold medal represents a lifetime achievement of 8 gold medals for Bitch Creek ESB. The last gold medal was awarded as recently as June 4th at the North American Brewers Awards. Bitch Creek ESB is a full-bodied brown ale, balancing roasted malt sweetness with a robust hop flavor.
Two medals were won for releases from Grand Teton Brewing Company’s renowned Cellar Reserve Series. The Grand Saison, released June 1st, won gold in the French-Belgian-Style Saison category. The Grand Saison follows centuries of tradition using European hop varieties — Hallertauer Magnum, Styrian Goldings and Strissespalt. The beer was designed with very light base malts and accentuated by a touch of Wheat and Munich malts. Fermentation was done at very warm temperatures with a Belgian yeast strain to bring out the spicy flavors that are common to the saison style.
Persephone Imperial Pilsner, the spring Cellar Reserve release, received the silver medal in the American-Style Specialty Lager. This was top honor in this category with no gold medal being awarded. Created in the German style, Persephone Imperial Pilsner is lighter and crisper than its Czech counterparts. A blend of Idaho 2-row malted barley was used along German malts and German Hersbrucker hops for flavor and aroma. This beer was brewed at twice the strength and matched with a bold hop flavor. After fermentation, it was lagered at near freezing temperatures for over two months to mature and smooth the brew.
The quality of the beers has not gone un-noticed. Grand Teton Brewing Company is growing rapidly. This spring, heavy capital investments were made to increase efficiency, quality, safety and fermentation capacity. Popularity of the beers like Bitch Creek ESB and the number-one-selling Sweetgrass APA are already taxing the additional 60% fermentation capacity additions.