E-Malt.com News article: USA: Anheuser-Busch honoured at Great American Beer Festival

Anheuser-Busch announced on October won gold medals for Michelob Marzen (German-Style Märzen/Oktoberfest category), Michelob Pale Ale (Classic English-Style Pale category) and O’Doul’s Amber (Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage category) at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) this past weekend in Denver.

The company also won a silver medal for 9th Street Market, Tuscan Orange (Fruit and Vegetable Beer category) and a bronze medal for O’Doul’s (Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage category). More than 2,300 beers in 69 categories were judged at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival. The company also was named Large Brewer of the Year and Anheuser-Busch’s Doug Muhleman was named Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year.

“Winning medals at the Great American Beer Festival is a great honour for any brewer,” said Doug Muhleman, group vice president, Brewing Operations and Technology, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “The festival is an exciting celebration of beer culture bringing together hundreds of breweries and thousands of beers to be judged by the some of the most knowledgeable people in our industry. The expertise and hard work of many people in our company combined to produce these beers, and it’s very gratifying to have them recognized. I congratulate our team for their efforts.”

These awards come just days after Anheuser-Busch introduced Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, the first of the company’s seasonal draught beers. The new pumpkin spiced beer also can be found in the new Michelob Specialty Sampler Collection along with the gold-medal-winning Michelob Marzen and Michelob Pale Ale. The Sampler Collection also includes Michelob, Michelob Honey Lager and Michelob AmberBock.

The Michelob Specialty Sampler Collection will be sold in grocery and convenience stores across the country through early November in 12- and 18-packs. The 18-pack also includes three bottles of each beer, two limited-edition pilsner glasses, a collection of recipes featuring these super-premium brews as ingredients, beer mixer recipes, suggested food pairings, and tips from Anheuser-Busch brewmasters. The 12-pack includes two bottles of each beer.

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer holding 50 percent of the U.S. beer market. The company is American-owned and brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch ranked first in the U.S. beverage industry in FORTUNE magazine’s 2005 “America’s Most Admired Companies” and in the top 30 on FORTUNE’s 2005 “Global Most Admired Companies” list. The company is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is the world’s largest recycler of aluminum beverage containers. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

The GABF Competition awards are among the most coveted in the beer industry and heralded by the winning brewers in their national advertising. Breweries enter their beers to be judged by the festival's Professional Judge Panel. The Panel awards gold, silver or bronze medals that are recognized around the world as symbols of brewing excellence. The ultimate goal of the Great American Beer Festival Judge Panel is to identify the three beers that best represent each beer-style category as described and adopted by the Great American Beer Festival.

Based in Boulder, Colo. the Brewers Association is a not-for-profit trade and educational association for small and craft brewers. The Brewers Association was established in 2005 by a merger of the Association of Brewers and the Brewers' Association of America.


04 October, 2005