Piney River Brewing won three medals at the US Open Beer Championship and came in sixth place in overall breweries winning medals in the 2019 competition. Winners were announced this week.
Piney River received two gold medals for Raise A Ruckus Imperial Stout and Crankbait Cream Ale and a bronze medal for Black Walnut Wheat.
The US Open Beer Championship is held annually in Oxford, OH. This year, over 7,000 beers from around the world were entered in 130 different beer style categories. The contest is open to professional brewers and home brewers. US Open judges hail from England, Canada and the US.
Raise A Ruckus won the top prize in the “American Imperial Stout” category. This is the first time this beer was entered in the competition.
The imperial stout features dark roasted grains that provide full malt flavors of chocolate and coffee. The beer is finished on vanilla bean pods and the “Piney River blend” of Brick and Mortar fresh roasted coffee beans adding additional flavor and aroma.
Crankbait won the gold in the “American Cream Ale” category. This is the second gold for this beer, which also won gold in the 2015 competition.
Piney River’s cream ale is a traditional American-style cream ale featuring flaked corn. It is pale, light-bodied and very lightly hopped.
Black Walnut Wheat took the bronze medal in the “American Wheat” category. This is the fifth consecutive medal for the beer at the competition, having claimed one gold, two silver, and one bronze medal in the past.
This American-style wheat beer is dark in color and brewed with hand-harvested black walnuts. The beer features an aroma of black walnuts and finishes with a black walnut flavor.
“I love seeing Black Walnut Wheat receive another round of recognition from the US Open Beer Championship judges,” Brian Durham, Piney River Brewing’s co-founder, said. “And it’s equally exciting to have top awards go to two of our seasonal beers.”
Black Walnut Wheat is available year-round from Piney River Brewing. Raise A Ruckus is a winter seasonal that Piney River made and released the past three winters. Crankbait Cream Ale is a spring seasonal beer that is released every few years. Currently Piney River is not planning to release either of the seasonal beers in 2020.
This is the first time that Piney River Brewing has cracked the top ten in breweries winning medals at the US Beer Open Championship. Multiple gold medals and the addition of a bronze medal secured the spot.
“It thrills Joleen and I to bring more recognition to craft beer being made right here in the Ozarks,” Durham said. “We are not a well-known brewery outside of the Ozarks, but our team is consistently turning out great beer. We are very proud of their efforts.”
Piney River Brewing is located on the Durham’s 160-acre farm in South Central Missouri, operating out of a restored barn built in the 1940’s and a larger production “barn”. Brian and Joleen Durham founded the brewery in 2010 with a 10-gallon brewing system. In 2018, Piney River Brewing produced 2,400 barrels of beer.
Piney River Brewing operates a tasting room on the farm that is open to the public every weekend. The brewery has distribution in Missouri and Arkansas.
A complete list of US Open Beer Championship winners can be found at www.usopenbeer.com. Additional information about Piney River Brewing can be found at www.pineyriverbrewing.com.
Left to right, US Open Beer gold medalist, Raise A Ruckus Imperial Stout; silver medalist, Black Walnut Wheat, and gold medalist, Crankbait Cream Ale
