Austin Area U.S. Open Beer Championship Results
By James Lipari
The results are in! Austin area breweries take home 10 medals in this year’s U.S. Open Beer Championships with three gold, five silver, and two bronze. Across the state, Texas breweries earned a total of 53 medals with 11 gold, 26 silver, and 16 bronze.
The 16th annual competition was held in an Amish-style pole barn in Oxford, OH on June 21-23, and received more than 9000 entries spanning over 170 style categories.
The U.S. Open Beer Championship was founded in 2009 in Ohio by brewer Dow Scoggins and is one of the most prestigious brewery festivals in the world along with notable festivals such as the World Beer Cup and The Great American Beer Festival.
Save The World Brewing in Marble Falls took both the gold and bronze medals in the New England / Juicy IPA category, which is always a highly competitive and popular style. Chasing Broncos and Hunt For Hazy were the winners respectively.
Flix Brewhouse in Round Rock also took home two medals with a gold for their Foreign Stout and silver in American Fruit Wheat – Orange.
St Elmo Brewing in Austin won two silvers in both the German Pilsner (a personal favorite) and the Barrel Aged American Barleywine categories.
Other local winners include:
Infamous Brewing with a gold for Dye-It-Pils
Aldstadt Brewing gets a silver for Altstadt Radler
Old 290 Brewing grabbed a silver for All Ryte All Ryte in the Rye Beer category
Vista Brewing scooped a bronze for Dark Skies
Big Country Organic Brewing Co earned a bronze for their Honey Wheat
The judging of this competition is slightly different from GABF and WBC in that the beers were not compared so strictly to style guidelines. In a more hedonistic method, judges were asked to evaluate them as to which one tastes the best. The samples are still presented blind, but this is much more how you and your friends would decide on your favorites.
It was truly an honor for me to be selected as a judge for this year’s competition, and I am definitely looking forward to next year’s road trip!
Complete list of Texas medal winners:
American Strong Pale Ale
BRONZE – I-40 IPA – Pondaseta Brewing – TX
Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale
GOLD – The Fast & The Hazy – Pondaseta Brewing – TX
Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale
BRONZE – Nebulas ELP – Flix Brewhouse El Paso – Texas
American Single Hop Pale Ale
SILVER – Hop Solo – No Label Brewing Co – TX
New Zealand IPA
GOLD – Shoot The Moon – ODD Muse Brewing Company – TX
BRONZE – 2 Live & Die in LA – False Idol Brewing – TX
New England/Juicy IPA
GOLD – Chasing Broncos – Save the World Brewing – Texas
BRONZE – Hunt for Hazy – Save the World Brewing – Texas
Foreign Stout
GOLD – Kutia – Flix Brewhouse – Round Rock – TX
American Stout
SILVER – Stout – Union Bear Brewing Co. – TX
American Imperial Stout
SILVER – Secretary of Stout – Senate Avenue Brewing Company – TX
English Barleywine
BRONZE – It’s All Happening – Celestial Beerworks – TX
BRONZE – Battle of Britain – Maple Branch Craft Brewery – TX
American Barley Wine Ale
SILVER – Lion Share XI – Lakewood Brewing Company – Texas
American Amber/Red Ale
GOLD – Sunrise – Pondaseta Brewing Co. – TX
German Wheat Beer – South German Weizenbock/Weissbock
SILVER – Ultimus – Alamo Beer Company – Texas
French and Belgian Saison
SILVER – Saison 2024 – Vallensons’ Brewing Company – TX
Belgian Tripel
SILVER – Stay Golden – Flix Brewhouse-SAT – TX
Belgian Quadrupel
SILVER – Sun, Moons & Stars – Maple Branch Craft Brewery – TX
Berliner Weisse
SILVER – Pink – Vallensons’ Brewing Company – TX
Fruited Gose
SILVER – Blood Orange Gose – Armor Brewing Company – Texas
American Light Lager
SILVER – Satellite – Celestial Beerworks – TX
German Leichtbier
GOLD – Dye-It Pils – Infamous Brewing Company – TX
American-Style Lager
SILVER – Sherpa’s Secret – Bankhead Brewing Co. – Texas
California Common Beer
GOLD – Lynx – Flix Brewhouse El Paso – Texas
German-Style Pilsner
SILVER – Vaughn – St Elmo Brewing Co – TX
Italian Pilsner
GOLD – Italian Stallion – Flix Brewhouse-SAT – TX
New Zealand Lager
BRONZE – Coopa Troopa – Project Halo Brewing – Texas
Munich Style Helles
GOLD – Helles Fury – Flix Brewhouse-SAT – TX
Munchner Dunkel
SILVER – Eight One Seven – False Idol Brewing – TX
German-Style Oktoberfest/Wiesn
BRONZE – Festbier – Oak Highlands Brewery – Texas
Vienna-Style Lager
BRONZE – Vienna Lager – 8th Wonder Brewery – Texas
American Style Dark Lager
SILVER – Chill Brah – Project Halo Brewing – Texas
BRONZE – Dark Skies – Vista Brewing – TX
European Dark Lager
BRONZE – Tmave Pivo 13 – Flix Brewhouse Mansfield – Texas
American Specialty Wheat
BRONZE – Honey Wheat – Big Country Organic Brewing Co – Texas
American Fruit – Peach
SILVER – Altstadt Radler – Altstadt Brewery – TX
American Fruit Wheat – Orange
SILVER – RR Luna Rosa – Flix Brewhouse – Round Rock – TX
American Fruit Wheat – Mixed
SILVER – Berry Optimistic – Three Wide Brewing – TX
Field Beer
BRONZE – Overgrown Frenzy – False Idol Brewing – TX
Rye Beer
SILVER – All Ryte All Ryte – Old 290 Brewery – TX
Smoke Beer
SILVER – Back to Bamberg – Buckstin Brewing Company – Texas
Wood/Barrel-Aged- Fruit Beer
SILVER – Barrel Aged Vanilla Porter with Tart Cherries – Oak Highlands Brewery – TX
Barrel Aged American Barleywine
SILVER – Baby – St Elmo Brewing Co – TX
Foeder & Cask Aged Beer
SILVER – Wild Dreams- Chapter 1 – Wild Barley Kitchen and Brewery – TX
Mixed Culture Brett Beer
GOLD – Kashmir – Celestial Beerworks – TX
Nut Beer
SILVER – Tejano Pecano – Oak Highlands Brewery – TX
Tea Beer
BRONZE – CrafTEA Berry – Vallensons’ Brewing Company – TX
Historical Beer
GOLD – Enigma – Armor Brewing Company – Texas
Pink Boots Hop Blend
SILVER – Sally Skull – Infamous Brewing Company – Texas
BRONZE – Pink Side of the Moon 2024 – Vallensons’ Brewing Company – Texas
Collaboration Beer – IPL
SILVER: Bipartisan Beach – Senate Avenue Brewing Co w/ No Label Brewing Co
Texas
Gold: 11
Silver: 26
Bronze: 16
Austin area
Gold: 3
New England/Juicy IPA
GOLD – Chasing Broncos – Save the World Brewing – Texas
Foreign Stout
GOLD – Kutia – Flix Brewhouse – Round Rock – TX
GOLD – Dye-It Pils – Infamous Brewing Company – TX
Silver: 5
American Fruit – Peach
SILVER – Altstadt Radler – Altstadt Brewery – TX
German-Style Pilsner
SILVER – Vaughn – St Elmo Brewing Co – TX
American Fruit Wheat – Orange
SILVER – RR Luna Rosa – Flix Brewhouse – Round Rock – TX
Barrel Aged American Barleywine
SILVER – Baby – St Elmo Brewing Co – TX
Rye Beer
SILVER – All Ryte All Ryte – Old 290 Brewery – TX
Bronze: 2
New England/Juicy IPA
BRONZE – Hunt for Hazy – Save the World Brewing – Texas
American Specialty Wheat
BRONZE – Honey Wheat – Big Country Organic Brewing Co – Texas
