Watch out, Michael Phelps. The Northampton Brewery is hot on your heels.
OK, the contest was in a beer glass, not an Olympic swimming pool, and the medals weren't all gold, but the area's oldest brewpub pretty much cleaned up at the 19th Annual Great International Beer and Cider Competition in Rhode Island this past weekend.
The Northampton Brewery took home five medals from the event, including two out of three awarded in the IPA category. The Greyhound IPA took the silver in that category, while the Juggernaut IPA snagged the bronze medal. The other three Northampton winners were Conundrum, which garnered bronze in the schwarzbier group, Black Cat Stout, with a silver in the stout area, and the Deckbier, which took the bronze in the golden ale category. The event drew 680 beers and ciders from around the world. The contest was judged by 120 brewers and industry professionals using a blind tasting format across 59 categories.
Head brewer Donald Pacher said he was particularly thrilled with grabbing the two IPA medals, as the category was crowded with many great beers.
"To find out we had two in the IPA category, the silver and the bronze, was even crazier because -- well, we think we make pretty darn good IPAs, but to come out of that category, with so many beers being judged, was pretty darn cool," he said.
But Pacher also was pleased that the brewery won in several varied categories.
"That makes me feel good as a brewer because it shows we're not a one-trick pony," he said.
Other local breweries that took home hardware include Easthampton's Fort Hill Brewery, which took home the silvers in the dortmunder and amber categories and Easthampton's New City Brewing, which won the silver in the gluten-free beer slot.
Pacher was happy to see the area so well represented and said it's his comrades in the brewing industry that inspire him and his assistant brewer Steve Bilodeau to create better beers. He said the great local beer scene in Western Massachusetts pushes them to greater heights.
"We get inspiration from them," he said. "Those beers definitely have a lot to do with out terroir...regardless that we won, at least it was local and that feels pretty good."