Every year on the first weekend of October, the Brewers Association (BA) hosts the Great American Beer Festival® (GABF) in Denver, Colorado. The BA is one of the largest member-based craft beer organizations boasting over 2,300 brewery members. It is therefore no surprise that “GABF is the largest commercial beer competition in the world,” according to a BA press release following the event. The same press release reports that a total of 1,309 breweries submitted 5,507 different beers across 90 different style categories for judgment by 222 beer-tasting experts. Of all the beers entered, 268 (less than 5%) received medals, two of which went to The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery!
Early Saturday afternoon on the 4th of October, the Duck-Rabbit twitter feed was ablaze with news that the Duck-Rabbit Märzen had won the Silver Medal for the German-Style Märzen category. Not long after (four category-announcements later, to be precise), word spread about the Duck-Rabbit Schwarzbier claiming a Bronze Medal for the German-Style Schwarzbier category. That’s two of the three lagers Duck-Rabbit produces!
Some people believe that a beer that is dark in color equates to that which is also thick, heavy, and strong. While one can hardly consider our GABF 2014 medal-winning beers light in color, both of them are in fact light in body with crisp, clean flavors. These German-style lagers are two of the lightest beers that brewers at The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery produce. The dark-gold Märzen is malt-forward without imparting heavy sweetness and only suggests – rather than forces – upon the presence of caramel and toasted flavors. The Schwarzbier is as black as any stout, and though it is unmistakably roasty, it has a light body and bright finish. Many Duck-Rabbit fans consider these two dark lagers their ‘summer favorites.’
The Silver Medal for The Duck-Rabbit Märzen and Bronze for The Duck-Rabbit Schwarzbier are The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery’s 4th and 5th total GABF medals. In 2009, Duck-Rabbit acquired a Gold Medal for the Baltic Porter and a Bronze Medal for the Barrel-Aged Baltic Porter. The first GABF accolade, a Bronze Medal, was awarded to The Duck-Rabbit Brewery in 2006 for the Milk Stout.
We at the Duck-Rabbit Brewery are pleased to have achieved this honor alongside of so many fantastic breweries, with special mention to North Carolina’s other GABF medal winners: Mystery Brewing, Wicked Weed Brewing, Fonta Flora Brewery, and Pisgah Brewing companies.
This is a very exciting time for The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, and more broadly, for the craft beer industry at large!
Cheers!
Katie Cooper