I had the opportunity to judge beer for the Colorado State Fair this last weekend. This year there were 485 homebrew entries and 183 craft entries from Colorado breweries for judging. It took about 35 judges two full days to get through the beers and declare the winners. On Saturday night, Foamfest was held at the state fair where 20 breweries came to pour their beers, and the winners were announced. I met a lot of great people, drank some amazing beers, and saw some incredible sites at the state fair. A special shout out to Jesisca Wilcox, organizer of the beer judging competition, and Kristin Taylor, orgainizer of Foamfest, for an incredible experience! You can check out the homebrew competition results here (a good amount from Colorado Springs and Manitou!) and the craft beer results here.
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| Welcome to the Colorado State Fair |
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Each bottle was meticulously numbered and labelled
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| My seating assignment for Day 1 of judging |
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A flight of beers ready to be judged
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| You can always tell an experienced judge by the number of flair on his judging vest |
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| Brad Darnell, a Colorado Springs resident, about to judge for mini best of show for IPAs |
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| My judging partner, Tom Gardner, gold medal winner of this years NHC with his old ale |
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Day 1 complete. Time to bust out some beers courtesy of Grimm Brothers
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| The end of judging Day 2 with craft brewers Best of Show |
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| We had some time to check out the other competitions. These sheep were the most stylish |
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| Sisters with Mario Brothers tattoos. Don't see that everyday. |
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This doll won best of show. I'll stick to judging beer
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| Jonathan Aronson, Don Blake, and Tom Gardner celebrating their medal victories. |
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| Chis Wright, Pikes Peak Brewing, took home three medals including all around best in show for his mild ale |
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| Danny from Caution, Chris from Pikes Peak, and Tony from Pagosa Brewing |
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| Time to celebrate beer at Foam Fest |
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| Joe from Equinox and Jessica Wilcox, beer judging coordinator |
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| Paradox, a new brewery from Woodland Park, brought four beers including a cask beer. |
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| Betty Fey, brewer at Caution, celebrating her medal |
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| Pueblo's own Shamrock Brewing representing at the state fair |
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| Jason Leeman from Rock Bottom in Colorado Springs celebrated his medal by opening up a bottle of 2002 La Folie. Wow! |
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| Kristin Taylor organized the beer judging for 11 years before she handed the reigns over to Jessica. Kristin still organized Foam Fest this year. Awesome job! |
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| Thanks Colorado State Fair for a great time! |
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