2 GOLD MEDALS

Atlanta, GA – Breweries and home brewers worldwide have another reason to say "cheers!" WHY? The 2009 US Beer Open Beer Championship What is the U.S. Open Beer Championships? The competition will include professional brewers AND award winning home brewers. It’s open to more than 1,000 breweries from 30 countries, as well as the 29 National Homebrewing Champions from the United States and Canada. Fifty categories were judged. Winners will receive a medal in the shape of a beer stein for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Beers placing in the top 10 of each category and top 10 breweries overall will be featured in America’s Best and Top 10 as well as BeerInfo.com.
Silverton Brewery has won again! This is the second GOLD medal for the Ice Pick Ale brewed by the Silverton Brewery and the first GOLD medal for t he new Bear Ass Brown. The Bear Ass Brown just became available in cans at the local brewery. The IPA is available in 1/2 gallon growlers and will soon be available in cans as well. No other brewery in the four corners won a medal at the 2009 U.S. Open Beer Championships this year. A little about these GOLD medal beers:

BEAR ASS BROWN
Our English style Mild Brown Ale is the lightest of British styles: it features a lower alcohol content and is lightly hopped. Being ou r least alcoholic brew and slightly hooped, the Bear Ass Brown is very true to the Engish Mild style. It is an ideal beer when having more than one. It has a light amber hue accentuated by a lacy white head. One notices its clean, crisp malt profile that pleasantly lingers in your mouth and ever-so-slight hints of chocolate, biscuit, and caramel malts can be detected. High noon is high time to sit down and enjoy one of these tasty session beers. Whether you need a little nerve calmer before you drive over Red Mountain Pass, a little hydration before you hike a 14er, or just a beer before you get on the train, this style will satisfy your needs without putting you over the edge. ABV 4.9% IBU 14.2

Ice Pick Ale (I.P.A.)
I.P.A. India Pale Ale is a style from across the pond that came about when British brewers needed to find a way to send beer around the horn of Africa to British soldiers in India without having it go bad. Their solution was to use the natural preservative attributes of hops. They brewed with twice the amount of hops and then packed the barrels with even more hops (a.k.a. dry hopping). Our version of this style is more of an American I.P.A., which means even more hops. Caramel malts give this beer a bit of sweetness to complement the floral and bitter flavors. ABV 6.5% IBU 73