Colorado breweries tap plenty of prizes at U.S. open championships

By the Thirst Team

Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co. brought home two gold medals and a silver in the 2018 U.S. Open Beer Championship in Oxford, Ohio.

The competition featured breweries from South Carolina to South Korea with more than 6,300 beers in the country’s third largest professional beer competition.

Liquid Mechanics’ successes ranked them eighth overall. Since opening in Lafayette in 2014, the brewery has won 42 professional beer medals ranging from the Great American Beer Festival to the Colorado State Fair. Their beer can be found in the tasting room as well as liquor stores, taphouses, bars and restaurants across Northern Colorado.

“We are humbled to be listed alongside the other awesome breweries that medaled,” co-owner and head brewer Seth Townsend said. “Each year the U.S. Open Beer Championship grows more and more competitive. We are excited that the medals we received showcase our ability to make award winning innovative beers such as our two-year blended bourbon barrel aged beer called Beasts of Bourbon, and also our ability to brew stylistically correct traditional beers like our Amber Altbier and Marzen.”

There were 12 other Colorado breweries that won medals in the July 7 competition, including Oskar Blues and New Belgium.

Below is a full list of Colorado breweries and beers that won medals:

(List courtesy of Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co.)

Blue Moon Brewing – Bronze for Summer Honey Wheat, Silver for Mango Wheat

Bootstrap Brewing – Bronze for Wreak Havoc

Cerebral Brewing – Silver for Deep Thought, Bronze for Work From Home

Crow Hop Brewing – Gold for Screen Wheat, Bronze for Recess IPA

Denver Beer Company – Bronze for Pretzel Assassin

Elevation Beer Co. – Bronze for Acide

Launch Pad Brewing – Gold for Peace Keeper

Liquid Mechanics Brewing – Gold for Beasts of Bourbon, Gold for Amber Altbier, Silver for Marzen

Locavore Beer Works – Silver for Uberweizen

Loveland Aleworks – Bronze for Save the Puppies 5th Anniversary Tequila Sour

Mash Lab Brewing – Silver for Barn Find Brown, Bronze for Automatic Amber Ale

New Belgium Brewing – Gold for Trippel

Oskar Blues Brewery – Gold for G’Knight

- Gabrielle Olejniczak