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Brewery earns three medals at beer expo
Sean Harkins
POSTED: May 1, 2008
Last weekend, the Fletcher Street Brewery proved production numbers can’t trump quality.
The brewery took home three awards at the World Beer Expo in Frankenmuth.
Lumber Lager Red won gold in the European Amber Lager category, Fletcher Helles won silver in the Light Lager category, and Pioneer Maple Porter won gold in the Porter category.
The three brews edged out competition with much larger production numbers. Lumber Lager Red beat out two Samuel Adams beers, and Fletcher Helles topped big-name brews Budweiser, Miller, Coors and Labatt.
Brewer Nicholas Fairbanks said the quality and consistency of the big operations in the Light Lager category is respected by brewers.
“To be able to get a silver in that category should say a lot about the quality of our beer,” Fairbanks said.
Overall, Fairbanks said he was very pleased with the results, but may be most proud of the Pioneer Maple Porter. The beer contributes to the local economy as it is made with local maple syrup, he said.
“It has a Northeast Michigan feel to it,” he said.
Pioneer Maple Porter improved over a silver medal last year. Lumber Lager Red also won gold in 2007, after winning bronze in 2006 and Fletcher Helles won its second consecutive silver medal.
Fairbanks said the improved results with the porter may have came from adding more maple syrup to the beer.
“Things got changed up a little bit from last year,” he said.
He also said the beer can change slightly from batch to batch, and judges scoring can vary from year to year.
Aside from the major breweries, many of the Michigan breweries had much larger production numbers than Fletcher Street.
Bell’s Brewery produced more beer than any micro-brewery in Michigan in 2007, nearly 57,000 barrels. Second in production was New Holland Brewing Company, producing about 4,500 barrels. Fletcher Street ranked 38th in production in Michigan, produced 399.8 barrels in 2007.
The World Beer Expo is in its 13th year and attracts brewers from around the world. This year there were 365 entries to the event.
Although the judging took place last weekend, the expo isn’t held until May 15-16. Fairbanks said Fletcher Street Brewery will have a booth at the event and be offering samples of its beers.
He said the brewery also will participate in the Great American Beer Festival located in Denver in September. In February 2009 it likely will compete in the World Beer Cup.
Sean Harkins can be reached via e-mail at sharkins@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688.
The brewery took home three awards at the World Beer Expo in Frankenmuth.
Lumber Lager Red won gold in the European Amber Lager category, Fletcher Helles won silver in the Light Lager category, and Pioneer Maple Porter won gold in the Porter category.
The three brews edged out competition with much larger production numbers. Lumber Lager Red beat out two Samuel Adams beers, and Fletcher Helles topped big-name brews Budweiser, Miller, Coors and Labatt.
Brewer Nicholas Fairbanks said the quality and consistency of the big operations in the Light Lager category is respected by brewers.
“To be able to get a silver in that category should say a lot about the quality of our beer,” Fairbanks said.
Overall, Fairbanks said he was very pleased with the results, but may be most proud of the Pioneer Maple Porter. The beer contributes to the local economy as it is made with local maple syrup, he said.
“It has a Northeast Michigan feel to it,” he said.
Pioneer Maple Porter improved over a silver medal last year. Lumber Lager Red also won gold in 2007, after winning bronze in 2006 and Fletcher Helles won its second consecutive silver medal.
Fairbanks said the improved results with the porter may have came from adding more maple syrup to the beer.
“Things got changed up a little bit from last year,” he said.
He also said the beer can change slightly from batch to batch, and judges scoring can vary from year to year.
Aside from the major breweries, many of the Michigan breweries had much larger production numbers than Fletcher Street.
Bell’s Brewery produced more beer than any micro-brewery in Michigan in 2007, nearly 57,000 barrels. Second in production was New Holland Brewing Company, producing about 4,500 barrels. Fletcher Street ranked 38th in production in Michigan, produced 399.8 barrels in 2007.
The World Beer Expo is in its 13th year and attracts brewers from around the world. This year there were 365 entries to the event.
Although the judging took place last weekend, the expo isn’t held until May 15-16. Fairbanks said Fletcher Street Brewery will have a booth at the event and be offering samples of its beers.
He said the brewery also will participate in the Great American Beer Festival located in Denver in September. In February 2009 it likely will compete in the World Beer Cup.
Sean Harkins can be reached via e-mail at sharkins@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688.
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