Eagle County brewery wins awards at inaugural Colorado craft beer competition
Gypsum brewery takes home top honors for its amber lagers at the Colorado Brewers Cup
Cody Scott/Courtesy photo
Eagle River Brewing Company in Gypsum was recognized on Jan. 24 with two awards at the Colorado Brewers Guild’s inaugural craft beer competition that showcases the exceptional quality of craft beer in Colorado. Held at the Colorado Craft Brewers Summit in Aurora, the Colorado Brewers Cup awarded beers that ranged from lagers and ales to experimental and specialty brews.
The beer competition drew 650 entries from 134 craft breweries from across the state. The Colorado Brewers Cup winners were selected by a panel of 58 beer judges from six states that judged beer for 26 award categories with 78 medalists in the Colorado Brewers Cup. In the Amber Lagers category, Eagle River Brewing Company won a gold medal for its ERB Oktoberfest and a silver medal for its Free Stone Lager. Not bad for a brewery that has only been open for less than two years.
“The first six months at a brewery, you’re kind of getting everything dialed in and getting equipment working and all that. And then once you get that figured out, you get into a groove, so this is really exciting to get this recognition,” said Cody Scott, one of the owners of Eagle River Brewing Company along with his wife, Anne, father Brent and brother Matt. Friends Taylor Shenkman and Brian Lee and Tom Hail round out the partnership.
“We had six beers entered, and we got two medals out of six, so, not too shabby,” Scott said.
“Well, the other entries all took fourth place, but they don’t announce that,” Hail said.
Support Local Journalism
Hail is the brewmaster and has a long list of awards for his beers throughout the years at various breweries he has worked at. His Czech Six Dark Lager recently won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival this fall.
“If we win something, we’re certainly excited. It’s like going fishing and catching something. It’s just icing on the cake,” Hail said.
A few other ski town breweries won awards: Aspen Brewing Company and Telluride Brewing Company claimed a medal each and Hideaway Park Brewery in Winter Park earned two medals. To see a list of winners, go to .
“The biggest concentration of brewers is along the Front Range, so there are not as many ski town breweries represented, but we’re super excited to be a part of the Colorado Brewers Cup and even more excited to win a couple of medals,” Scott said.
No one from the Eagle River Brewing Company team was able to attend the Colorado Craft Brewers Summit.
“It’s wintertime. It’s our busy season with everyone coming here to get up on the mountain and we’re trying to make and sell as much beer as we can while all the tourists are here,” Scott said.
They weren’t able to taste the other beer entries in the competition but when asked what they thought set their beers apart from the rest, the answer was clear.
“Clarity and quality. We just try to make really clean lagers that everybody enjoys,” Scott said.
The Colorado Brewers Cup, which includes only breweries operating in Colorado that are Colorado Brewers Guild members, was born out of member demand. While many brewers do participate in beer competitions on a national and international level, the Colorado Brewers Cup is accessible for any Colorado Brewers Guild member brewery, large or small. The Colorado Brewers Guild was created in 1995.
“The Colorado Brewers Guild is an advocate for the craft brewing industry, whether it be legislative or events or festivals and charities. It’s a great organization that keeps the craft community together and on the same page,” Scott said.
Even though it takes a lot of work to win medals, the team at Eagle River Brewing Company realizes that it’s still all about fun.
“Beer should be fun. I know a lot of people take it very seriously, and there’s a time for that,” Scott said. “But overall, we think the beer business is a fun business so, we take making the beer serious, but everything around it is a lot of fun.”
Eagle River Brewing Company’s beer is sold at many retail locations and you can also pay them a visit and try one of their award winning beers at their brewery located at 428 Airpark Drive in Gypsum.
