The U.S. Open College Beer Championship is for Colleges and Universities that teach brewing courses. This competition was held to help determine the best future brewers in North America, and Appalachian State University brought home one gold from the competition. See results below.
Any college or university that offers courses in brewing could enter the U.S. Open. All beers were submitted by one of the school’s brewing professors/instructors. The beers could be brewed on any system on or off campus that is approved by the professors/instructors.
In the second year of this competition, 14 Colleges and Universities from the United States and Canada participated. Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo, Michigan took home the Grand National Championship as the best college program in North America. This Michigan college took home a gold for their 9009 Stout, a bronze medal for their Babb’s Tradition Weizen and another bronze for their Falcon’s Puddin’ Strong Ale.
The Kalamazoo Valley students responsible for the schools championship performance included David Cohoe, Dylon Davis, Joseph Garvin, Christopher Golobish, Jesse Franke-Rose, Dan King, Jake Kirkendall, Amy Pradna – Waugam, James Saddler, Daniel Smith, Colin Thompson, Lea Vanklompenberg, and Scott Vant Hul. Brian Lindberg was one of the instructors and was the submitting professor.
This year’s competition had 5 categories: Belgian, Bavarian, Stout, IPA and Open. The “Open” category is where students could enter any style of beer they wanted to brew. Kwantlen Polytechnic University from Langley, British Columbia came in second, while Central Michigan University finished third.
Top 3 Brewing Schools in North America
- Kalamazoo Valley Community College – Michigan
- Kwantlen Polytechnic University – British Columbia, Canada
- Central Michigan University – Michigan
Medal Winners
Belgian
- Gold – KPU Witbier – Kwantlen Polytechnic University
- Silver – #317 Saison – Auburn University
- Silver – Sweet Caroline Saison – Cincinnati State Tech & Comm College
- Bronze – Spartan White Ale – Michigan State University
Bavarian
- Gold – Schoolcraft Pilsner – Schoolcraft College Brewing and Distillation
- Silver – KPU Helles Lager – Kwantlen Polytechnic University
- Bronze – Babb’s Tradition Weizen – Kalamazoo Valley Community College
- Bronze – Never Been Dunkel – Central Michigan University
Stout
- Gold – 9009 Stout – Kalamazoo Valley Community College
- Silver – Stout – Colorado State University
- Bronze – Sweet Eclipse Stout – Auburn University
IPA
- Gold – Batch 100 IPA – Central Michigan University
- Silver – Hazy McHazeface IPA – Colorado State University
- Bronze – Shasta IPA – University of Houston
- Bronze – Alternative Facts IPA – Niagara College Teaching Brewery
Open
- Gold – I-lambic Pentameter Lambic – Appalachian State University
- Silver – Christmas in July Wheatwine – Niagara College Teaching Brewery
- Bronze – Falcon’s Puddin’ Strong Ale – Kalamazoo Valley Community College
- Bronze – UH Coffee Porter – University of Houston
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