State Agencies Partner to Announce Results of Third Annual New York State Craft Beer Competition

Empire State Development, the Department of Agriculture and Markets, and the State Liquor Authority today announced the results of the third annual New York State Craft Beer Competition, which featured a record number of New York State-brewed beers. Auburn-based Prison City Pub and Brewery’s experimental beer, Wham Whams, took home top honors, winning the Governor's Cup and emerging as the number one pick among a total of 813 entries. Gold medals were awarded to 21 beers from breweries across the state.

Seventy-four medals were awarded to 53 breweries. The Culinary Institute of America’s classroom lab, The Brewery at the CIA, won Brewery of the Year. Medal winners were awarded in 25 categories, such as IPAs and lagers, as well as niche or emerging styles like sours or fruit and spice beers.

Gold medal winners are:

• Amber and Dark Lagers: Resurgence Brewing Company, Ice Book Bock – Buffalo
• Amber/Red Ale: Dublin Corners Farm Brewery, Better Than Dead – Linwood
• American DIPA: Big Ditch Brewing Company, Cannon Call – Buffalo
• American IPA Variations: Arrowood Farms, True Love in an Arranged Marriage – Accord
• Barrel Aged (Non-Sour): Kings County Brewers Collective, Demons on the Dance Floor – Brooklyn
• Barrel Aged Sour: The Brewers Collective Beer Company, Corvid – Bay Shore
• Belgian Farmhouse: Catskill Brewery, Freak Tractor 100% Brett Beer – Livingston Manor
• Belgian Other: Crafty Ales and Lagers, Elixir – Phelps
• Brown Ale: Brewery at the CIA, Class Project Br-Br-Br-Brown – Hyde Park
• Experimental: Prison City Pub and Brewery, Wham Whams – Auburn
• Fruit and Spice Beer (Sour): Threes Brewing, Eternal Return Apricot – Brooklyn
• Fruit and Spice Beer (Non-sour): Big Alice Brewing Company, Jalapeno Rye – Long Island City
• Hazy IPA: Threes Brewing, Logical Conclusion – Brooklyn
• Imperial Stout and Porter: Three Heads Brewing, The Majestic Imperial Stout 2018 – Rochester
• Light Lager: The Peekskill Brewery, Skills Pils – Peekskill
• Pale Ale: Naked Dove Brewing Company, Naked Dove What is #4 – Canandaigua
• Porter (Non-Imperial): Valcour Brewing Company, David’s Porter – Plattsburgh
• Stout (Non-Imperial): Sager Beer Works, Smugtown Stout – Rochester
• Strong Ale (Non-Belgian): Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Company, Barleywine 2018 – Weedsport
• Wheat Beer (American, Wit, Hefe): Brewery at the CIA – Mis en Place Wit – Hyde Park
• New York State Beer: Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Company – Weedsport

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Howard Zemsky said, "New York State’s craft beer industry continues to grow and thrive, supporting communities by encouraging tourism, creating jobs and distributing world-class products that help to promote the state. I offer my congratulations to this year’s winners, who exemplify New York’s creative spirit and showcase the best of all we have to offer."

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, "Governor Cuomo’s support of the craft beverage industry has helped propel our state to the forefront nationally as producers of top-quality craft beverages. Since our Craft Beverage Summit in 2012, we’ve seen a 166 percent increase in the number of craft beverage manufacturers in New York State and this competition highlights the best craft beers produced right here at home."

New York State Liquor Authority Chairman Vincent Bradley said, "Craft brewing in New York has experienced a renaissance thanks Governor Cuomo’s effort to revitalize and transform the industry. As this competition demonstrates, new laws, policies and relaxed regulations have paved the way for our manufacturers to produce world renowned beer and drive job creation and economic development in their local communities and throughout the state.”

New York State Brewers Association Executive Director Paul Leone said, "In our third year of this competition, we had a record number of New York State breweries enter  with Auburn’s Prison City Pub and Brewery wrestling away the Governor’s Craft Beer Cup from Brooklyn’s Threes Brewing to take home the top prize with their experimental beer Wham Whams. The diversity of this year’s winners is a clear example of the high-quality craft beer being brewed all over the state."

The New York State Craft Beer Competition, sponsored by the New York State Brewers Association, was open to any New York State craft brewer. The competition featured 56 uniquely qualified judges sampling 813 entries from more than 160 breweries in the largest professionally-judged craft beer competition held in New York State. Complete competition results and additional information can be found here.

Under Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's leadership, the state continues to drive the growth of craft brewing industry throughout New York. In February 2018, Governor Cuomo announced that New York had reached a new milestone of 400 breweries statewide, surpassing the previous record of 393 breweries set in 1876. Today, New York is home to 438 breweries, with beer being brewed in 58 of the state's 62 counties. This includes 12 large breweries, 45 restaurant breweries, 152 farm breweries, 149 microbreweries, and 80 breweries that hold both farm and micro-brewery licenses. In addition, 38 breweries have opened off-site taprooms by obtaining no-fee branch office permits under a provision of the Governor’s 2013 Farm Brewery law.