The Commonwealth of Virginia did well at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival, taking home thirteen medals, with especially strong showings in some of the lager categories, where eight state breweries won awards. These victories were capped by Alexandria’s Port City bringing home a gold medal in the “Kellerbier or Zwicklebier” category for their German-style Pilsner, a draft-only part of their rotating lager series.
Northern Virginia wasn’t done there, with Lost Rhino taking silver for their Classic Irish-style Dry Stout, Shooter McMunn’s (it won gold in 2018). Down Interstate 95, 6 Bears and a Goat Brewery won bronze in this category. Further afield, Harrisonburg’s Pale Fire took bronze in the Irish-style Red Ale category and did so with yeast from Sterling’s Jasper Yeast Laboratory. All in all, Virginia won three golds, three silvers, and six bronzes. Congrats to the Commonwealth!
In perhaps slightly sadder news, no breweries from the District or Maryland medaled, but… ya gotta be in it to win it. Entering beers in the competition isn’t free, and plenty of big-name breweries don’t submit beers for judging.
