Del Mar CA– Experienced, highly competent palates chose 46 gold medal beers across 46 different categories during the San Diego International Beer Festival June 20-22, at the San Diego County Fair, presented by Albertson/Sav-on. And the big winner for 2014, Shark Attack Double Red Ale from Port Brewing Company of San Marcos, Calif. The beer is a classic west coast-style Imperial Red Ale brewed with Crystal Malts, Centennial and Cascade Hops. A smooth malty beer with a generous hop character, Shark Attack finishes out with sweet caramel hints and spicy hops. The main ingredient for such a winning brew is that it stands out amongst the standouts with a complete lack of negatives.
On Saturday, June 21, at 12:30 p.m., the San Diego International Beer Competition announced Shark Attack as, “the best they tried of the more than 900 entries,” says Tom Nickel, competition coordinator. More than 12,000 “beer-vangelists” and just plain beer lovers attended the 8th Annual San Diego International Beer Festival, and enjoyed tasting more than 408 beer selections from 22 countries around the world.
San Diego County breweries entered a total of 53 award-winning brews, of which 19 received a Gold medal. Pizza Port Carlsbad was named “Champion Brewery” by raising their steins the highest and bagging the most awards. Their “17th Anniversary Strong Ale,” “Carlsbad Raceway IPA” and “Poorman’s IPA” took top honors and they were named “Champion Brewery.”
Other San Diego Gold winning brews include: “Catcher in the Rye” and “Longboard Brown” from Rock Bottom Brewery La Jolla; “Calico” and “Piper” from Ballast Point Breweries; “Pale Ale” and “White Ale” from Saint Archer Brewing Co.; “Shark Attack” from Port Brewing Company; “Clan Ross Scotch Ale” from Legacy Brewing; “Rabiscus Mead” from Breakwater Brewing Company; “Bacon and Eggs” from Pizza Port Ocean Beach Brewing Company; “Low and Slow” from Monkey Paw Brewing; “Shake Your Money Maker” from Acoustic Ales Brewing Experiment; “Jurata” from Coronado Brewing Company; “Alesmith Speedway Stout” from Alesmith Brewing Company; “Sin Tax” from Mother Earth Brew Co., and “Aztec Amber” from Aztec Brewing Co.
Judged by their hops-and-barley-loving peers, the competition awards the best of the best. For the entire list of results at the 2014 San Diego International Beer Festival, go to http://sandiegobeerfestival.com/beer-competition/winners.