It was a solid showing for Western New York breweries once again this year at the New York State Craft Beer Competition as, just as it has been in recent years, craft beer from the region was well represented at this year’s awards, which took place Friday night (March 22) at the Albany Capital Center as part of the New York State Brewers Conference.
This year, 1,421 beers were judged – the highest in the competition’s history – from 236 breweries, and 95 medals were awarded in 30 categories. The top five categories entered were Hazy IPA (78); Light lager (modern and contemporary) (77); American IPA (69); Light lager (traditional) (66); and Fruit and vegetable beer (sour) (59). Cream ales and dark lagers were added as categories this year.
New York Beer Project built upon the three medals they won last year, amassing a total of five. They won Bronze for Brewers Reserve BA Sour Blend in the Barrel Aged Sour category, Silver for Man’s Best Friend in Belgian Other, Bronze for The One V.56 in Hazy IPA, Silver for Irish Coffee Stout in Specialty Beers – Stouts & Porters, and capped off their night with a Gold for Island Edition: Hazy IPA in the Experimental IPA category. This was one of our favorite beers from this year’s Brewer’s Invitational.
Additionally, Resurgence Brewing won a Silver medal for Citmo IPA in the Hazy IPA category and Big Ditch Brewing took home a Bronze for Double Barrel Aqueduct in the Barrel Aged (Non Sour) category.
Grimm Artisanal Ales won 2024 Brewery of the Year, their third time winning the award in eight years and the third time in the last four years.
The 2024 Governor’s Cup given out each year to the beer that is deemed the best in the state, was awarded to Kingston Standard Brewing (Kingston, Ulster County) Love is Overtaking Me barrel-aged wild ale.
Last year, six local breweries combined to win nine medals in 10 different categories, including New York Beer Project, who won three medals, and Community Beer Works, who picked up two. The 2023 Governor’s Cup was awarded to Genesee Brewing for their Genesee Brew House Helles. The 2023 NY Brewery of the Year Award was won by Schoharie’s Wayward Lane Brewing.
There is remarkable beer being brewed on the daily right here in our backyard – all you have to do is look. These awards are simply further proof of that.
Click here to view all of the winners.
Brian Campbell is co-founder and Brand Manager of the Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column. If you have beer news that should be included in the Beer Buzz, Brian can be reached at brian@buffalobeerleague.com, on Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram (@buffalobeerleague), and Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague).
