Denver-based brewery, SandLot, received incredible recognition at this year's Great American Beer Festival, winning "Large Brewing Company of the Year." Blue Moon Brewing Company's SandLot Brewery is part of Tenth and Blake, the craft and import division of MillerCoors.
Opening its doors in the right field corner of Coors Field in 1995 in Denver, Blue Moon Brewing Company's SandLot has been at the forefront of brewing cutting-edge beers. The brewery continues to experiment with unique ingredients to develop bolder beer flavors for the constantly evolving taste-preference of beer drinkers. Nationally recognized for its Blue Moon Belgian White, a beer first brewed and served at the SandLot, the brewery opened its doors for the first time this year to guests on non-game days.
"This is a truly amazing honor to be acknowledged amongst our fellow brewers, by beer judges from across the country and around the world," said John Legnard, SandLot brewmaster. "We couldn't be more humbled to receive such a prestigious reward for the work we are so passionate about."
In addition to winning "Large Brewing Company of the Year," SandLot's "Move Back" was awarded a gold medal in the Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest category, "Second Hand Smoke" won a gold medal in the Smoke Beer category and "Goat Rancher" won a bronze medal in the Bock category.
To add to the celebration, MillerCoors received five additional medals at this year's festival, which featured nearly 5,000 judged beers.
"We are thrilled to celebrate and toast the SandLot team on their incredible achievement," said David Ryder, head brewmaster at MillerCoors. "This year has proven more than ever that MillerCoors continues to deliver the best and most diverse portfolio in the American beer industry."
The complete list of medals won by MillerCoors at the 2013 GABF:
Gold
- Move Back (SandLot) – Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest
- Second Hand Smoke (SandLot) – Smoke Beer
- Golden Knot – Chardonnay (Blue Moon Brewing Company) – Fruit Beer
- Leinenkugel's Canoe Paddler (Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company) – German-Style Kolsch
Silver
- Miller High Life (Miller Brewing Company) – American-Style Light Lager
- Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark (Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company) – American-Style Dark Lager
Bronze
- Goat Rancher (SandLot) – Bock
- IPL (AC Golden Brewing Co.) – International-Style Pale Ale
Since 1996, including medals previously won as Miller Brewing Company and Coors Brewing Company, MillerCoors has won a combined 271 medals at the Great American Beer Festival and the bi-annual World Beer Cup, also hosted by the Brewers Association.
An annual event in Denver, The Great American Beer Festival was held from October 10-12 and offered different styled beers from 624 breweries to more than 49,000 beer enthusiasts. Known as the signature event in the U.S. brewing industry, its medals are recognized as among the most respected in the business.
