Telegraph Brewing Wins Two Medals at the Great American Beer Festival

Telegraph Brewing Company recently won a gold medal and a silver medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival (GABF). Winners in the competition’s 83 different beer-style categories were announced October 1 at the 30th annual Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.

Telegraph was awarded a gold medal in the Belgian- and French-Style Ale category for its California Ale, an amber-colored, Belgian-Style Pale Ale that is brewed specifically to pair well with Santa Barbara’s fresh, farmer’s market cuisine. The brewery was awarded a silver medal in the Experimental Beer category for its Petit Obscura, a “small beer” that clocks in at just 3.8% alcohol by volume, and is fermented with wild Brettanomyces yeast, giving the beer a pleasant sour fruitiness and earthy aroma.

“We are extremely excited by this win,” said Brian Thompson, founder of Telegraph. “To be honored with any medal at the GABF is fantastic, but to win two medals—let alone a gold medal for our flagship California Ale—is overwhelming.” Telegraph Head Brewer Scott Baer added, “We’ve put in a lot of hard work lately to ensure consistency and quality in our beer, and this is a great payoff for that.”

Telegraph Brewing, a craft brewery located on downtown Santa Barbara’s Salsipuedes Street, specializes in brewing uniquely American and Belgian-inspired beers using 100% domestic ingredients and as many local ingredients as possible. The brewery strives to reflect in its beers the unique culinary and agricultural traditions of Santa Barbara and California’s Central Coast. Telegraph sold its first beer in 2006.

The 2011 Great American Beer Festival winners were selected by an international panel of 169 expert judges from a record number of 3,900 entries received from 522 U.S. breweries. “The Great American Beer Festival is the premier beer competition for the American beer industry,” says Nancy Johnson, festival director. “Winning any medal, no matter if gold, silver or bronze, is truly an accomplishment.”

For more Great American Beer Festival competition information, including the 2011 winners list and photos, visit GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.