CONTACT:
Carl Nolen
Capital Brewery Company, Inc.
(608) 836-7100
Winter Skal Wins for Second Year in a Row
MIDDLETON, Wisc. (May 19, 2006)—Capital Brewery’s seasonal ale, Winter Skal, recently won the Grand Champion award in the U.S. Beer Tasting Championship’s (USBTC) 10th Annual Winter Competition held in Chicago. This is the second year in a row that Winter Skal has won the award in this category.
“Consistency is key in our business and something that our loyal customers depend on,” said Carl Nolen. This year marks 20 years of brewing at Capital Brewery. In those years they have produced consistently high-quality beers that are well-received not only by consumers, but nationally recognized by prominent organizations like the USBTC.
Winter Skal, an amber hued beer loaded with a great depth of specialty malt character and smooth hop flavors, rose to the top of the Vienna/Marzen Lager category, one of eleven categories. A total of 339 beers from 126 breweries nationwide were examined as part of the competition. Within each category, the USBTC determines both a Grand Champion and the best entry from each of six U.S. regions: 1) Northeast, 2) Mid-Atlantic/Southeast, 3) Midwest, 4) Rockies/Southwest, 5) California, and 6) Northwest/Pacific.
The USBTC takes a unique approach in that its competition is held in multiple stages. Sequential field trials are conducted wherein judges evaluate beers and select the best to advance to subsequent rounds. This allows beers to be judged in relatively small flights while ensuring that the best beers are still determined through head-to-head competition. All beers were tasted in blinded fashion and judged on a hedonic scale.
“Taking home the Grand Champion award two years in a row is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Scott Ingersoll from the USBTC.
Capital Brewery is no stranger to award-winning beers. The brewery’s beers have garnered countless awards in regional, national and international competitions. Winter Skal alone has received five previous awards since it’s addition to the Capital Brewery seasonal lineup.
“We are all very passionate about what we do here at Capital Brewery and are honored to be recognized at doing it well,” Nolen says.
The next big competition for Capital Brewery is the Great American Beer Festival to be held in Denver, Colorado in September. The Brewery has been a consistent winner in the Great American Beer Festival for many years, most recently earning a Gold Medal in 2005 for its Munich Dark.
Capital Brewery Company, Inc. is a publicly-held company based in Middleton, Wisconsin. Capital Brewery brews eight annual, four seasonal and four limited release beers amounting to 17,000 barrels a year. In November 1998, it was named the top brewery in America by the Beverage Tasting Institute of America, an independent panel of international beer experts. For more information about Capital Brewery visit http://www.capital-brewery.com or contact Monika Greenheck at (608) 836-7100.
