Vermont Business Magazine Switchback Brewing Co. claimed a gold award in the 2022 World Beer Cup, a global beer competition that evaluates beers from around the world and recognizes the most outstanding brewers and their beers.
Awards were given in 103 beer-style categories during the World Beer Cup award ceremony on May 5, 2022 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minnesota.
Switchback received a gold award in the Historical beer style category for Katie’s Love Poem, a light and lofty Grodziskie, Polish wheat beer, with a classic touch of smoke. The brew is named after Switchback’s longest serving Tap Room bartender and employee-owner, Katie Macuga. Katie’s Love Poem is part of the Flynn on Fire Smoked Beer Initiative that explores the endless possibilities of smoked malt.
Each of the expertly crafted beers in this series proves that, when done right, smokiness adds complexity and character. Brewmaster and co-founder, Bill Cherry started the Flynn on Fire Smoked Beer Series in 2017 and it now consists of eleven smoked beers with more in development every year.
“Most Switchback beers cannot be judged because they do not conform to style guidelines,” says Brewmaster and co-founder, Bill Cherry. “Because Katie’s Love Poem is a historical Polish-style Grodziskie, it was a unique opportunity for us to enter the World Beer Cup. A simple beer with nothing but Oak-smoked wheat malt and a little bit of hops, Katie’s Love Poem is all about the brewer’s art. The perfect execution of the brewers making the beer, the cellaring staff aging the beer, and the packaging crew bottling it is responsible for this award. It is a great recognition of how well they do their jobs.”
World Beer Cup winners were selected by an international panel of 226 beer judges from 28 countries. Widely regarded as the “Olympics of Beer,” the 2022 World Beer Cup was the largest competition to date with 10,542 entries from 2,493 breweries in 57 countries.
Katie’s Love Poem is on tap at The Tap Room at Switchback Brewing Co. Bill Cherry is available for interviews by calling 802-651-4114 or emailing [email protected].
Congratulations to Bill and all the employee-owners of Switchback Brewing Co!
About Switchback Brewing Company
Switchback Brewing Company was founded in 2002 by master brewer Bill Cherry and his longtime friend Jeff Neiblum. To maximize complexity and flavor, the beer is left unfiltered and carbonated during fermentation by the yeast itself, creating a 100% naturally conditioned beer. In 2017, Switchback Brewing Co. officially became the first 100% employee-owned brewery in Vermont via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), keeping the brewery locally owned and operated at its original home in Burlington, VT. Switchback beers are distributed throughout Vermont, New England plus parts of New York and Virginia.
