GABF from a Regional Perspective

<editor's note>
Following is a report from the Beer Bwana, the BeerSouthBuzz newsletter. It looks at the GABF winners from our part of the country. 
</editor's note>

Greetings,

Congratulations to all the medal recipients in this year's Great 
American Beer Festival. By all accounts, the event was again the place 
to see and be seen. While awards are indeed nice, the vast majority of 
(Southern) brewers do not enter the competition,
and thus no national recognition of their products can be bestowed. 
Fortunately, no brewery needs an award to make great beer, and many, 
many brewers put out top notch brews all across the South and the 
country. So, kudos to those who competed, and to those who didn't. What 
matters is the beer - and that's where we all get to be the judge.  
...The Beer Bwana

Here's a list of GABF winners from the South.

Category: 5 Herb and Spice Beer - 35 Entries
Bronze : Lemongrass Wheat, Outer Banks Brewing Co. - Kill Devil Hills, 
NC

Category: 8 Rye Beer - 14 Entries
Bronze : Catcher in the Rye, Rock Bottom Brewery - Arlington, VA

Category: 9 Specialty Honey Beer - 20 Entries
Gold : Star Spangled Ale, Hops Restaurant, Bar and Brewery - Tampa, FL
Bronze : Ray's Honey Rye, Boscos Brewing Company - Memphis, TN

Category: 13 German-Style Pilsener - 35 Entries
Gold : Hops Pilsener, Hops Restaurant, Bar and Brewery - Tampa, FL

Category: 22 American-Style Amber Lager - 34 Entries
Silver : Wilhelm Sebald's Oktoberfest Bier, Spanish Springs Brewing - 
The Villages, FL

Category: 29 Golden or Blonde Ale - 47 Entries
Silver : Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale, Sweetwater Brewing Company - 
Atlanta, GA

Category: 33 American-Style Pale Ale - 93 Entries
Gold : Rye Pale Ale, Terrapin Beer Company - Athens, GA

Category: 37 (Extra Special) Strong Bitter - 46 Entries
Bronze : Sweetwater Tavern Pale Ale, Sweetwater Tavern & Brewery - 
Centreville, VA

Category: 46 Belgian-Style Abbey Ale - 33 Entries
Gold : Double 02 Bear, Big Bear Brewing Company - Coral Springs, FL

Category: 49 Brown Porter - 33 Entries
Gold : Sweetwater Exodus Porter, Sweetwater Brewing Company - Atlanta, 
GA

Category: 56 Strong Scotch Ale - 18 Entries
Bronze : Wee Heavy Ale, Capitol City Brewing Company - Arlington, VA

Small Brewing Company of the Year: Sweetwater Brewing Company
Small Brewing Company Brewmaster of the Year: Kevin McNerney

For the complete winner's list:
http://beertown.org/GABF/02winners.htm
For a review of past Southern winners from the GABF and World Cup:
http://beersouth.homestead.com/News.html

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