Last year, more than 460 WA beers competed for 100+ medals in the inaugural Washington Beer Awards. As the event returns for a third year, the competition is again expected to grow. This is a great way for local WA breweries to gain some recognition; the winners will be announced at the Washington Brewers Festival in June. Interested breweries can register for the competition from now until March 30. Actual submission of beer for the competition won’t take place until early May. More info can be found below and at www.wabeerawards.com.

Press Release:

Specialty Competitions LLC is proud to announce the return of the Washington Beer Awards®, the craft beer competition designed specifically to support Washington’s professional brewers. This is the third year for the Washington-only competition that provides an opportunity for all of Washington’s craft brewers to compete in a blind judging format and fosters recognition of brewing excellence in Washington.

Only Washington breweries with beers produced and sold in Washington can enter the competition. The event is endorsed by the Washington Beer Commission as a way to help promote our excellent Washington brews and raise awareness of our rich brewing culture.

In 2014 more than 70 breweries submitted over 460 beers to the competition spanning nearly 100 styles from the Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines. Judging was conducted by dozens of trained judges who assessed the technical and stylistic accuracy of the entries. More than 100 gold, silver, and bronze medals were presented recognizing brewing excellence in the state.

The 2015 competition is expected to grow with additional entries and award categories. The competition will also recognize “Breweries of the Year” who receive multiple awards in various categories and also feature a “Best Washington Agricultural Product Inspired Beer” special award. This year’s competition will include a “Pro-Am” category recognizing collaborations of homebrewers and professional brewers who have scaled up homebrewer recipes for production on a commercial scale.

Breweries can register entries from March 1 through March 30th. The 2015 judging will be conducted in May with the winners being announced at the Washington Brewers Festival in mid-June. Details on the competition (including rules and registration information) as well as a list of the previous winners can be found at www.wabeerawards.com.

We look forward to recognizing another great year of Washington beers! Cheers!