The NYS Craft Beer Competition, produced by the New York State Brewers Association and Raise a Glass Foundation, is the largest state-level competition in the US and a celebration of the New York State craft beer community. Judging took place in Rochester, NY over the course of 2 days in February. This year 1,350 entries from 189 breweries were judged in 29 categories by qualified industry professionals.
On Friday, March 24, the New York State Brewers Association (NYSBA) announced the winners of its 7th annual New York State Craft Beer Competition, presented New York Craft Malt and Coldbreak. The awards ceremony took place in-person at the Albany Capital Center as the closing event of the New York State Brewers Conference. The ceremony was also live streamed, enthusiasts were invited to tune-in from home or join the celebration from watch party locations held at breweries throughout the state.
A total of 90 medals were awarded at the Awards Ceremony, in addition to the Governor’s Craft Beer Cups and the “Brewery of the Year” award.
“With over 1300 entries the New York Craft Beer Competition brings the very best beers brewed in our state together for the largest state-run beer competition in the country!” said Hutch Kugeman, vice president of the New York State Brewers Association. “This competition showcases the broad range and outstanding quality that beer lovers in New York get to experience every time they visit their local brewery. I can’t wait to see who brings home the medals this year and raise a pint with them!”
The 2023 Governor’s Cup was awarded to Genesee Brewing Company for their “Genesee Brew House Helles.”
“31 years, from World Cup Beer Cup Awards to the Great American Beer Festival, but you know what, my home state of New York is where I love. This is just amazing, GO NEW YORK BEER!” said an ecstatic Dean Jones, craft beer legend and Brewmaster at Genesee Brewhouse.
The 2023 “NY Brewery of the Year” Award was won by Wayward Lane Brewing, a less than 2-year-old brewery out of Schoharie, NY.
“New York Craft Beer is as diverse and unique as the regions and parts of our state. The number of entries and level of skill in craftsmanship continues to keep NYS Craft beer at the top of any discussion on passion, effort and excellence,” said Rich Vandenburgh, president of the New York State Brewers Association. “This year is another amazing example of that passion and effort our brewers put into their work and into their beers every day. I can’t wait to celebrate with each and every one them.”
“It’s so exciting to see this year’s winners which represent a wide spectrum of breweries from every region of the state. From the most well-known breweries to breweries many may have never heard of before today. One thing they all have in common, they are all brewing award winning beer which is some of the best in the country,” said Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association.
Winners of the 2023 New York State Craft Beer Competition:
2023 NYS Brewery of the Year
- Wayward Lane Brewing (Schoharie, NY)
2023 Governor’s Cup
- Genesee Brew House Helles – Genesee Brewing Company
Best Collaboration Beer:
- Pearl to Pine – Wood Kettle Brewing & Nine Spot Brewing
Best New York State Beer (at least 60% NYS Hops & NYS Malt)
- Genesee Brew House Helles – Genesee Brewing Company
Category 1: Wheat Beer (American, Wit, Hefe) – 39 entries
- Gold: Pearl to Pine – Wood Kettle Brewing
- Silver: Gather House – Drowned Lands
- Bronze: HOLZNOT HEFEWEIZEN – McGraw Box Brewing Co.
Category 2: Amber and Dark Lagers – 97 entries
- Gold: Exposinator Doppelbock – Naked Dove Brewing Company
- Silver: Tmave Pivo – Swiftwater Brewing Company
- Bronze: Doppelbock – Rohrbach Brewing Company
Category 3: Golden/Blonde Ales (American, Kolsch, Cream Ales) – 54 entries
- Gold: La Crema – Aurora Brewing Co.
- Silver: Kolsch No. 2 – EBBS Brewing Co
- Bronze: Freudian Sips – Active Ingredient Brewing Company
Category 4: Amber/Red Ales (British, American, Irish, Scottish) – 67 entries
- Gold: Irish Red Ale – Seneca Street Brew Pub
- Silver: Sleepy Pants Hoppy Amber – 18th Ward Brewing
- Bronze: ESB – Laurentide Beer Company
Category 5: Pale Ales – 33 entries
- Gold: Wayne Legitzky – Ausable Brewing Company
- Silver: Bay Bridge Pale Ale – Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.
- Bronze: Builders Brew American Pale Ale – Heroes Brewing Company
Category 6: American IPA – 45 entries
- Gold: Cross Section IPA – Wagner Valley Brewing Company
- Silver: Venomous Villains – Kings County Brewers Collective
- Bronze: Derailleur – Artisanal Brew Works
- Bronze: Explosible IPA – Bright Eye Beer Co.
Category 7: Hazy Pale Ale – 50 entries
- Gold: Cultivar: Motueka – Wayward Lane Brewing
- Silver: Cosmic Juice – Great South Bay Brewery
- Bronze: Defies Logic Hazy Pale Ale – Underground Beer Lab
Category 8: American IPA Variations – 36 entries
- Gold: 8 Legged RyePA – Spider Bite Beer Co.
- Gold: Hyphen – ONCO Fermentations, Inc
- Silver: Prizm – Wayward Lane Brewing
- Bronze: Grass Wagon – Catskill Brewery
Category 9: American DIPA – 21 entries
- Gold: Saber’s Edge – Pearl Street Grill and Brewery
- Silver: Lean To – West Kill Brewing
- Bronze: Pacific Dawn – Captain Lawrence Brewing Co
Category 10: Barrel Aged Sour – 19 entries
- Gold: Something, Something, Something 2022 – Prison City Brewing
- Silver: Valley Beer Vintage 2020 – Hudson Valley Brewery
- Bronze: No Bronze Awarded
Category 11: Barrel Aged Non-Sour – 77 entries
- Gold: Double Barrel Aqueduct – Big Ditch Brewing Company
- Silver: Last of the Steam-Powered Trains – Grimm Artisanal Ales
- Bronze: Barrel-Aged Cast Iron Lager – Brewery at the CIA
Category 12: Belgian Farmhouse – 34 entries
- Gold: Thirst Aid Kit – Community Beer Works
- Silver: Sweet Potato Farmhouse – Big aLICe
- Bronze: Daypack Saison – Liquid State Brewing Company
Category 13: Belgian Other (Trappist, Strong, etc.) – 37 entries
- Gold: Rophenia – Spider Bite Beer Co.
- Silver: Single – Brewery Ardennes
- Bronze: Cloud Swing Belgian-Style Tripel – Liquid State Brewing Company
Category 14: Experimental – 41 entries
- Gold: Dionysus – Seven Points Brewing Company
- Silver: We Made It – Willow Rock Brewing Company
- Bronze: Yule Lad – Rare Form Brewing Company
Category 15: Fruit & Vegetable (Non-Sour) – 44 entries
- Gold: Buy The Berries Blueberry Wheat – Steelbound Brewery
- Silver: S2 Lemongrass & Ginger Saison – Transmitter Brewing
- Bronze: The One V-43: Island Edition – New York Beer Project
Category 16: Fruit & Vegetable Beer (Sour) – 80 entries
- Gold: Delta pH – Bartlett Pear – Active Ingredient Brewing Company
- Silver: Desert Rose – Roc Brewing Co.
- Bronze: Tropical Sour – Valcour Brewing Company
Category 17: Brown Ale (American & British) – 33 entries
- Gold: Major Trail Brown Ale – Skaneateles Brewery
- Silver: The Whale – Community Beer Works
- Silver: Brownstone Revival – Sixpoint Brewery
- Bronze: Oh, Bother – Riseform Brewing Co.
- Bronze: Bluff Point Brown – Keuka Brewing Company
Category 18: Porter (Non-Imperial) – 30 entries
- Gold: Dark Portal – Blue Point Brewing
- Silver: Thacher – The Warbler Brewery
- Bronze: Genesee Brew House Robust Porter – Genesee Brewing Company
Category 19: Stout (Non-Imperial) – 28 entries
- Gold: Present Absence – WT Brews LLC
- Silver: Chocolate Milk Stout – Slate Town Brewing Company
- Bronze: Bodega Cat – Kings County Brewers Collective
Category 20: Imperial Stouts and Porters – 35 entries
- Gold: Russian Imperial Stout – Naked Dove Brewing Company
- Silver: Baltic Porter – Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.
- Bronze: Bear Fight Stout – Strangebird
Category 21: Strong Ales (Non-Belgian) – 28 entries
- Gold: Imperial Red Rye – K2 Brewing
- Silver: Cabin Fever – Drowned Lands
- Bronze: Winter Warmer – West Shore Brewing Company
Category 22: Kettle and Simple Sours – 11 entries
- Gold: Creekside – West Kill Brewing
- Silver: Leipzig Gose – Big Slide Brewery & Public House
- Bronze: Berliner Style Weisse – Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co.
Category 23: Wild and Sour Ales – 25 entries
- Gold: J’adoube – Grimm Artisanal Ales
- Silver: Abbot’s Reserve – Duncan’s Abbey
- Bronze: Yellowstone Wild Ale – New York Beer Project
Category 24: Light Lagers – Modern & Contemporary – 62 entries
- Gold: Pilsner No. 2 – EBBS Brewing Co.
- Silver: L’ultima Moda – Wild East Brewing Co.
- Bronze: 4AM PILS – Kings County Brewers Collective
Category 25: Light Lagers – Traditional – 73 entries
- Gold: Genesee Brew House Helles – Genesee Brewing Company
- Silver: Lockport Lager – New York Beer Project
- Bronze: Infinite Machine – Kings County Brewers Collective
Category 26: Hazy IPA – 89 entries
- Gold: Pigeon Camera – Fidens Brewing Company
- Silver: Haze On – Prison City Brewing
- Bronze: Crooked Soul – Peacemaker Brewing Company
Category 27: Hazy DIPA – 47 entries
- Gold: Ratface Macdougall – Catskill Brewery
- Silver: Simcoe Super Fresh to Death – Aurora Brewing Co.
- Silver: Cloud Generator – Wayward Lane Brewing
- Bronze: Bright Lights, Big Kitty – Kings County Brewers Collective
- Bronze: Topology Double NEIPA – Underground Beer Lab
Category 28: Coffee, Chocolate, Spice & Other Adjunct Beer (non-sour) – 90 entries
- Gold: Xylem – Wayward Lane Brewing
- Silver: Drink yourself a Jacket – Valcour Brewing Company
- Bronze: Neapolitan Ice Cream Stout – Blue Point Brewing
Category 29: Coffee, Chocolate, Spice & Other Adjunct Beer (sour) – 9 entries
- Gold: No Gold Awarded
- Silver: Super Spruce – Grimm Artisanal Ales
- Bronze: No Bronze Awarded
For additional information about the New York State Craft Beer Competition, visit: http://www.NYSCBC.com
About New York State Brewers Association
The New York State Brewers Association (NYSBA) is a non-profit organization that supports the craft beer industry through advocacy, education, and promotion. Today, there are more licensed breweries in NYS than at any other point in history. The NYSBA works to unify the industry to have continued success legislatively, ensuring a positive economic environment for breweries to thrive. With more than 500 breweries, New York is 2nd in the United States. The NYSBA produces the New York Craft Brewers Festivals, BriteVibes Beer & Music Festival, NYS Virtual Tasting Experiences, NYS Craft Beer Competition and the PEACE LOVE BEER & Music. www.NewYorkCraftBeer.com. www.thinkNYdrinkNY.com’
About Raise a Glass Foundation
The NYSBA partnered with the Raise a Glass Foundation for their expertise producing competitions held to the highest level of integrity. It is only with their support that the New York State Craft Beer Competition has grown to become the largest state-level competition in the US. The Raise A Glass Foundation™ is a registered NY 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created to help save and improve the lives of adults and children around the world. They accomplish their mission by collecting and donating to deserving charities a valuable asset – thousands of award-winning bottles of wine, beer and spirits – which they use in their fundraising galas, dinners, auctions and other events.
