70 breweries submitted a total of 460 entries for the Washington Beer Awards competition, which was recently judge at Elliot Bay Public House & Brewery in Lake City. This was the second year of the competition, and the winners will be announced during the Saturday, June 14 session of the upcoming Washington Brewers Festival. Medals will be awarded in 33 categories along with special recognition for small & large breweries of the year.

In last year’s competition, Black Raven Brewing in Redmond won the award for Large Brewery of the year and Old Schoolhouse Brewery in Winthrop won for Small Brewery of the year. The two breweries are collaborating on a session IPA that they will be releasing at the Washington Brewers Festival. According to Jeannie McWilliams of the Northwest Brewing News, “The beer they decided to make will be a session IPA with Palisade, HBC344 and Equinox hops. HBC344, which is an experimental, currently unnamed hop, is a daughter of the Warrior hop and is described as having an exceptionally unique green apple/tropical aroma. Its relatively high alpha acid content and unique aroma make it a great choice for hop forward beers.”

Here is the full press release for this year’s Washington Beer Awards:

On May 10^th Specialty Competitions LLC held the state’s second Washington Beer Awards, a professional beer competition open to all of Washington’s breweries.  This competition drew 460 entries from more than 70 breweries spread all over the state.  The competition was held at Elliott Bay Public House & Brewery with around 40 trained beer judges evaluating beers spanning nearly 100 styles from the Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines.

The competition was held with the endorsement of the Washington Beer Commission as a way to celebrate Washington’s growing brewing culture and recognize excellence in the craft.  All of Washington’s craft breweries were invited to submit entries to the competition held in a similar format to other craft beer competitions like the Great American Beer Festival® and World Beer Cup®.

The results of the competition will be announced at the Washington Brewers Festival on Saturday, June 14^th at Marymoor Park in Redmond.  Medals will be awarded in 33 categories along with special recognition for small and large breweries of the year.  The Washington Agricultural Commission will also recognize the Best Washington Agricultural Product Inspired Beer at the awards announcements.  Beer lovers are encouraged to attend the festival to celebrate the best of Washington’s fine craft breweries.

More information on the competition can be found at wabeerawards.com.  Results from the competition will be posted on the website shortly after the festival announcement.  Watch for Washington’s award winning beers marked at the festival as well as at your local craft beer bars and beer stores.