2016 Oregon Beer Awards Now Accepting Submissions

PORTLAND, ORE.– The call for beer submissions to the 2016 Oregon Beer Awards, Oregon’s only statewide craft beer competition is now live. Brewers may apply with up to eight beers in 14 categories that closely reflect the state’s current market trends, including Sessionable Hoppy Beers, Stout/Porter, Sour/Wild, Pils/Helles/Kolsch and more.

“We recognized the need for an in-state competition to celebrate the world-class beers being brewed in Oregon,” said Martin Cizmar, Willamette Week’s arts and culture editor and OBA’s editorial director.

“We hope to draw somewhere between 400 and 650 entries from across the state,” added Ben Edmunds, brewmaster at Breakside Brewery and OBA’s competition director. “If successful, this will be the only competition of its kind, and (in my opinion) it is the sort of competition that Oregon Beer deserves.”

Forty-eight qualified industry insiders will participate in a blind tasting judging weekend, January 16-17, 2016 in Portland, with the goal of selecting gold, silver and broze medalists in 14 beer categories. Addi- tionally, a Voting Academy of more than 200 industry experts from a wide variety of beer-related profes- sions across the state will vote on Best New Brewery, Best Beer Festival, Best Brewpub Experience, Best Beer Bar and Brewery of the Year.

Winners will be announced, celebrated and sampled at a gala ceremony at Revolution Hall (1300 SE Stark Street, Portland) onTuesday, February 23, 2016. The ticketed event is open to the public and tickets will be on sale in January.

Ezra Johnson-Greenough, of The New School (newschoolbeer.com), and Steph Barnhart, events and mar- keting manager at Willamette Week join Cizmar and Edmunds on the OBA Executive Committee.