Silver Medal: From left to right: Henry Rusch, co-founder of Launch Pad Brewery; Paul Mahoney, co-owner and Head Brewer; Casey Bloyer, Distribution Manager; David Levesque, Founder and Brewmaster; and Ryan Allen, Cellar Master, celebrate their silver medal win at the World Beer Cup held on April 24, 2024.
Happy Owner: David Levesque, Founder and Brewmaster, was thrilled to win a silver medal for their Falltoberfest, a German Festbier.
Known as “the Olympics of Beer,” the World Beer Cup is the most prestigious beer competition in the world, held annually in conjunction with the Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America. This year, two Chamber members won big at the competion: Bull & Bush Brewery in Glendale, and Launch Pad Brewery in Aurora.
Launch Pad Brewery won a silver medal for its Falltoberfest, in the category of German-Style Maerzen or Franconian-Style Rotbier. “We were having a watch party at the brewery for the World Beer cup and our category came up, bronze Weyermann Malt Company, a German malt company,” said David Levesque. “Paul, my co-owner and head brewer said, ‘Well there goes our chance to win a medal,’ then silver was announced. We won over a German malt company. I looked at Paul and said ‘Stop doubting yourself and the brewery, we make great beer and we won a silver in a German category.’ ”
Launch Pad does, in fact, make great beer with more than 30 on tap at any given
Gold Medal: The Bull & Bush Brewery celebrated their gold medal for Kauai Pie, in the category of Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout at The Venetian in Las Vegas on April 24, 2024.
time at their taproom in Aurora. They won medals at the World Beer Cup in 2018, 2022 (two medals), and now 2024.
Bull & Bush Brewery is no stranger to winning awards. They have racked up 12 World Beer Cup awards dating back to 1998. This year, they won a gold medal for Kauai Pie, in the category of Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout. It’s a Imperial / Double Pastry stout. brewed with chocolate, toasted coconut, espresso, vanilla, and Hawaiian grown macadamia nuts from Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company in Waimea.
Developed in 1996 to celebrate the art and science of brewing, this global competition continues to create greater consumer awareness about different beer styles and flavor profiles, while promoting international brewing excellence.
“When industry professionals acknowledge the excellence in products from around the market, the beer drinker can be sure that those brands are the finest available,” says Chris Williams, World Beer Cup competition director.
The World Beer Cup recognizes brewing excellence in more
Award Winning Beer: Miranda Tillinghast, Miranda Tillinghast Photography (left); and Marlena Carson, Marlena Design Group, pose with the gold medal winning beer from the Bull & Bush Brewery, Kauai Pie, a dessert pastry stout.
than 100 categories but does not automatically award the top three entries in a particular category. When judges determine that a category contains three excellent examples of the style, they present gold, silver, and bronze awards for the first, second, and third place beers, respectively.
“Evaluating beer happens on many levels,” says Williams. “On a professional level, beer evaluation is a form of peer review. The results are public, so consumers can learn what beers meet a high level of quality and what beers exemplify certain styles as interpreted by the judges.”
Judges may grant an award in any one or more of the three award places without granting awards in all three places. For example, judges may recognize a beer as a silver or bronze award winner yet not grant a gold award.