The “Olympics of Beer” was held over the weekend in San Diego, CA, and several proud winners from the Portland region emerged. In a bi-annual contest that featured 799 breweries from 54 countries and 45 U.S. states, the Brewers Association World Beer Cup winners were announced in 284 categories and styles.

Oregon repped hard, garnering a Champion Award for Best Large Brewpub for Pacific City’s Pelican Pub and Brewery, as well as nine additional medals:

Hop Valley DD Blonde – Bronze, American-Style Wheat Beer
Columbia River Drunken Elf Stout – Silver, Coffee Beer
Bend Brewing Ching Ching – Gold, American-Style Sour Ale
Logsdon Peche ‘n Brett – Gold, American-Style Brett Ale
Laurelwood Mother Lode Golden Ale – Bronze, English-Style Summer Ale
Caldera Ashland Amber – Bronze, Classic English-Style Pale Ale
Pelican MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale – Gold, Scottish-Style Ale
Columbia River Stumblers Stout – Siver, Oatmeal Stout
Breakside Dry Stout – Bronze, Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout

Overall, nearly 4000 different beers were entered, averaging 41 per category. Proving the popularity of hoppy brews, the category with the most entries was the ever-popular American IPA (150 entries), followed by Imperial IPA (93). Breweries looking to be unique would be best-served making a German-style sour ale, the least popular category with just 11 entrants.

Photo © 2010 Jason E. Kaplan