FATE Brewing Company teams with Ryan Lotter to Win Pro-Am Medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival®
Pictured here FATE Brewing Company Head Brewer Jeff Griffith with GABF Pro-Am Category Bronze Medal taken in the Meet the Brewer Hall at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. Photo © Brewers Association
The Great American Beer Festival is for real. For a brewery it’s a marathon. And this year marked our official 4th GABF as a team. Three years repping the brand with a booth (and brewing our own beer). The first year, before we had a booth or had brewed a beer in our facility, we printed FATE Brewing Company t-shirts and sported them around the fest. The 2012 GABF was my first time meeting our Head Brewer, Jeff Griffith. I followed him around and we tasted as many Goses as we could find and at that time there were very few. (Check for our Uror Gose 12oz cans in liquor stores across the Front Range today).
This year Jeff and team at FATE Brewing Company medaled for the second year in a row in the Mac Daddy of beer competitions.
The GABF Pro-Am competition, a “best in show”-style category gives homebrewers the opportunity to work with a local brewery to brew a scaled-up version of their award-winning homebrew recipes. This single hop IPA recipe, inspired by local home brewer Ryan Lotter, was originally brewed by Ryan and Jeff in July 2015. Here is the team on stage at the Awards Ceremony:
Pictured here from right to left: FATE Brewing Company Assistant Brewer Josh Nard, FATE Brewing Company Head Brewer Jeff Griffith, FATE Brewing Company Owner Mike Lawinski, Home Brewer Ryan Lotter, Country Malt Group representative and Brewers Association President Charlie Papazian. Photo © 2015 Jason E. Kaplan
FATE Brewing Company Owner Mike Lawinski says “The Pro-Am Competition was a large category this year with 91 entries. This category is really unique in that it is a “best of show” competition. This means that beers submitted to the category do not have to be a specific style, unlike the other categories at the Festival. The style vary on a large scale, which makes us even more grateful to take home a medal in this competitive category. We submitted Pro-Am entries in 2013 and 2014, as this category is a really exciting one to be part of. It’s also an amazing showcase for homebrewers and allows these talented men and woman to share their passion and creation alongside brewers sharing in the movement of the craft beer industry. We never have an expectation to win. As a team, we all know that Jeff (Griffith) will continue to put out high quality, unique and tasty beer and we are always hopeful that he will be recognized for those talents and efforts. We feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be where we are, and to be part of the amazing platform that GABF creates to recognize great beer and craft brewers.”
“With many professional brewers starting as homebrewers themselves, the Pro-Am competition is the perfect platform to bring the pros back to their roots and give homebrewers a glimpse into the future,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, Great American Beer Festival. “There were a number of truly creative collaborations, and those who prevailed as winners have something to be very proud of.”
For more Great American Beer Festival competition information, including the 2015 winners list and photos, visit GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.
And because this is really what it’s all about here is more on the beer:
Citra IPA
6.6% ABV 65 IBUs
Golden Promise, 2 Row, Melanoidan and Vienna Malts
Citra Hops
2015 Great American Beer Festival® Bronze Medal Winner Pro Am Category. Partnered with local Boulder homebrewer Ryan Lotter.
Pictured here local home brewer Ryan Lotter (left) and FATE Brewing Company Head Brewer Jeff Griffith. Photo © 2015 FATE Brewing Company