Saturday in Colorado, the Great American Beer Festival and competition took place and a total of five medals were awarded to Utah breweries.
Amy Coady, the director of development for the Salt Lake Brewing Company, says the competition is enormous.
“Hell’s Keep won a gold medal which is huge," Coady said. "There were 5,689 beers judged this year. It was the very biggest competition in the world. In the Belgian style strong, specialty ale category, Hells Keep won a gold medal. We’re really fortunate. This is the second GABF medal that Hell’s Keep has won in that category so it’s really nice.”
Utah’s beers are popular throughout the country and the imaginations of the brewers are vast. Jon Lee, the head brewer for Salt Lake Brewing says their Jalapeno Cream Ale was the most requested beer on the festival floor.
Salt Lake Brewing Company is comprised of two brands- Wasatch Brewery and Squatters, both of which had an award-winning beer. Squatter’s Hell’s Keep won gold, and Wasatch’s Apricot Hefeweizen took bronze.
“Any medal in this day and age is a tremendous accomplishment," Lee said. "It’s a very competitive arena right now. So to get two of those is a tremendous opportunity for us.”
Other Utah winners were Red Rock Brewing, Uinta Brewing, and Moab Brewery.
Lee said the biggest misconception about brewers is that they have a big bellies and people are always surprised how fit he and his fellow brewers are.