Steven’s Point Wins Two GABF Gold Medals

STEVENS POINT, WI (October 15, 2012/mbb/) – Point Oktoberfest and Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, the Stevens Point Brewery’s fall seasonal craft beers, are the toast of the season after winning gold medals at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival in Denver on Saturday, October 13.

Point Oktoberfest, a Marzen-style lager, won the gold medal in the American-style Amber Lager category (45 entries), while Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, a unique and extra bold spiced ale, was judged the best in the Field Beer or Pumpkin Beer category (63 entries).

“A gold medal from the Great American Beer Festival represents true brewing excellence, and to win gold medals for both our fall seasonal beers is doubly exciting for our brewery,” said Stevens Point Brewmaster Gabe Hopkins.

Point beers have now been honored with 18 beer-competition medals and awards this year alone, according to Joe Martino, Stevens Point Brewery Operating Partner, who noted Point Oktoberfest also won the bronze medal in the Marzen/Oktoberfest category in the 2012 U.S. Open Beer Championships. “These awards are a testament to the quality of our hand-crafted beers,” he said.

American-Style Amber Lager and Field Beer or Pumpkin Beer were two of 84 categories judged at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival (GABF), America’s largest and most prestigious beer competition. This year’s GABF featured 4,338 beers from 666 U.S. breweries judged by an international panel of 188 experts who conducted an extensive blind tasting of the beers by category.

“Both Point Oktoberfest and Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale are very successful in the marketplace each fall, so the GABF gold medals are not a complete surprise,” Martino said. “In 2012, the Stevens Point Brewery significantly increased production of Point Oktoberfest to meet demand. As for Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, the brewery doubled this year’s production. We are grateful to our loyal consumers who continue to support our craft beers. ”
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