Point Brewery Medals at U.S. Open Beer Championship

STEVENS POINT, WIS. — Stevens Point Brewery poured two gold medals, a silver and a bronze into its trophy case at the 2014 U.S. Open Beer Championship.

Point St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, the brewery’s winter seasonal, earned gold in the Bock/Maibock category. Ciderboys Peach County Apple Peach hard cider, a summer “fruitful pairing” from Point’s Ciderboys Cider Co. division, grabbed the gold for the specialty cider/perry category in the U.S. Open Beer Championship’s first-ever hard cider judging while Ciderboys First Press traditional hard cider snagged silver in the English Cider category. Point Premium Root Beer brought home the bronze for Non-Alcoholic Root Beers in the competition, sponsored by BeerInfo.com, a popular craft brewing website.

Despite its name, the championship held every Fourth of July in Atlanta is an international event featuring dozens of breweries from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Iceland, Australia, England, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Finland. Judges from the United States, Canada, England and Finland conducted blind tastings of more than 3,000 beers and ciders entered in 81 categories, up from just 700 beers in 50 categories four years ago. This year’s competition included three styles of hard cider for the first time.

“The U.S. Open Beer Championship has become one of the world’s most prestigious beer competitions and it’s truly an honor for our brewery to be recognized with these medals,” said Joe Martino, Stevens Point Brewery Operating Partner. “We are especially pleased that Ciderboys Peach County and First Press stood out in the championship’s inaugural hard cider judging. We had a hunch they would do well because the popularity of Ciderboys’ hand-crafted hard ciders is absolutely exploding across the country.”

2014 Medal Winners

Ciderboys Peach County is a fruity amber-colored summer refresher combining pure peach flavor with crisp apple cider available until the end of summer. Ciderboys First Press is a sweet, crisp and tart traditional hard cider available year round. Both flavors are available in six-packs of 12-ounce non-returnable bottles, 12-packs of aluminum cans and on draft in select bars, taverns and restaurants. In addition, Ciderboys First Press is sold in 12-packs of 12-ounce non-returnable bottles.

St. Benedict’s Winter Ale is inspired by the dark abbey ales of Belgium. Brewed with dark-roasted malts and noble hops for a rich, malty flavor, St. Benedict’s is available at retail in six-packs and 12-packs of 12-ounce non-returnable bottles, 12-packs of 12-ounce cans and on draft from November 1 (All Saints Day) through January.

Point Premium Root Beer, made with pure Wisconsin water, cane sugar, natural vanilla and Wisconsin honey, is available in four-packs of 12-ounce non-returnable bottles and on draft.

Stevens Point Brewery

Stevens Point Brewery, founded in 1857, uses only the highest-grade barley malts, specialty malts, grains and the choicest hops to brew their hand-crafted beers. In addition to St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, the brewery’s seasonal beers include Point Coast Radler, a thirst-quenching mix of beer and natural citrus flavors for the summer; Point Three Kings Ale, a K├Âlsch-style ale for the spring; Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat, a refreshing, award-winning unfiltered wheat ale; and Point Oktoberfest, a Bavarian-style M├ñrzen beer for the fall.

Year-round hand-crafted beers include flagship Point Special Lager, a premium American lager; Point Onyx Black Ale, a robust dark ale; Point Belgian White, a Belgian-style wheat ale; Point Cascade Pale Ale, an American-style pale ale; Point Drop Dead Blonde Ale, a golden ale; Point Amber Classic, an American-style amber lager; and Point Beyond the Pale IPA, a robust, hoppy India Pale Ale. Point also brews four year-round IPAs available only in its IPA variety 12-pack: Point Spruce Tip IPA, sweetened with Colorado blue spruce tips; Point Peach Mango IPA, a lively, fruity ale; Point White IPA, a golden brew flavored with Japanese Sorachi Ace hops; and Point One Shot IPA, a series of limited-edition brews featuring different hop varieties and malts in each batch.

The brewery’s year-round products include the Whole Hog Limited Edition “big beers:” Whole Hog Six-Hop India Pale Ale, Whole Hog Raspberry Saison, Whole Hog Russian Imperial Stout, Whole Hog Barley Wine Ale and Whole Hog Scotch Ale. Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale is a fall seasonal. Point also brews four unique and flavorful James Page specialty beers available only in convenient 12-ounce cans: A Cappella Gluten-free Pale Ale, Casper White Stout, Yhaba Dhaba Chai Tea Porter and Ould Sod Irish Red Ale.

In addition to Point Premium Root Beer, Point’s gourmet soda lineup also produces Point Premium Diet Root Beer, Point Premium Orange Cream, Point Premium Vanilla Cream and Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda.

For more information about the Stevens Point Brewery, founded in 1857, visit www.pointbeer.com or call (715) 344-9310. Tours of the brewery are available, with schedules listed on the Web site.

About Ciderboys Cider Co.

Ciderboys Cider Co., a division of Stevens Point Brewery founded in 2012, makes its carbonated hard ciders with natural fruit flavors and apple juice from fresh Washington State apples.

Ciderboys uses a special hard-cider yeast imported from France, where hard ciders have quenched thirsts since the Middle Ages. The fermentation process is cool and slow, taking approximately two weeks for each batch. When fermentation is complete, the cider goes through a filtration process that renders a clear, sparkling liquid. No sugar is added to Ciderboys products, which are naturally gluten free.

For more information and where to find Ciderboys products, visit www.ciderboys.com.