Source: NCDA&CS, 10/3/13

Flagship IPA by Carolina Brewery in Chapel Hill won Best of Show in the N.C. State Fair’s 2013 N.C. Brewers’ Cup competition. In the competition’s second year, the number of entries more than doubled.

Carolina Brewery’s Sky Blue Golden Ale was tabbed second-best overall, and Durham’s Fullsteam garnered third overall with First Frost Persimmon Ale.

In the home-brewer competition, Chris Creech of Durham won Best of Show for the second consecutive year. His winning beer was a sour ale named Sprechen Deutsch. Brian Quinn of Durham was second overall with his Vulcanalia Smoked Imperial Porter. Greg Wolfe of Raleigh placed third overall with Ooops I Drank Way Too Much of This Kolsch.

The competition had 136 professional entries and 257 home-brew entries. The total number of entries was 122 percent more than last year. Entries were evaluated by 31 professional beer judges in September.

Top winners will be displayed in the Education Building at the N.C. State Fair Oct. 17-27.
Following is a list of category winners:
Professional
Pilsner
•      Aviator Brewing Co., Fuquay-Varina — Crazy Pils
European Amber Lager
•      Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill — Oktoberfest
Dark Lager
•      White Rabbit Brewery, Angier — Alice’s Black Lager
Bock
•      Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill — To Hell ‘n’ Bock
Light Hybrid Beer
•      Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill — Sky Blue Golden Ale
Amber Hybrid Beer
•      White Street Brewing Co., Wake Forest — White Street Alt
English Pale Ale
•      Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill - Copperline Amber Ale
Scottish and Irish Ale
•      Raleigh Brewing Co., Raleigh - Blatherskite
American Ale
•      Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill - Firecracker Pale Ale
English Brown Ale
•      Railhouse Brewery, Aberdeen - KA-BAR Brown Ale
Porter
•      White Street Brewing Co., Wake Forest - White Street Baltic Porter
Stout
•      Railhouse Brewery, Aberdeen - Mastiff Oatmeal Stout
India Pale Ale
•      Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill -Flagship IPA
•      Triple C Brewing, Charlotte - 3 C
Belgian and French Ale
•      Mystery Brewing, Hillsborough - Evangeline Summer Saison
Sour Ale
•      Aviator Brewing Co., Fuquay-Varina - Sour Cave Man
Belgian Strong Ale
•      Aviator Brewing Co., Fuquay-Varina -Devil’s Tramping Ground
Strong Ale
•      Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill - Old Familiar Barleywine
Fruit Beer
•      Fullsteam, Durham - First Frost Persimmon Ale
Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer
•      Fullsteam, Durham -Carver Sweet Potato Lager
Smoke-Flavored and Wood-Aged Beer
•      Triple C Brewing, Charlotte -Smoked Amber
Specialty Beer
•      Fullsteam, Durham - Working Man's Lunch Dark Ale
Home Brewers
Light Lager
•      Drew Kolb, Charlotte - What the Helles
Pilsner
•      Matthew Mathias, Durham - Platz Uhasit Bohem. Pils
European Amber Lager
•      Mark Caron, Raleigh - Märzen
Dark Lager
•      Fred Leach, Raleigh - Black Mountain Lager
Bock
•      Ryan Fleek, Cary - Maibock Smells Funny
Light Hybrid Beer
•      Greg Wolfe, Raleigh - Ooops I Drank Way Too Much of This Kolsch
Amber Hybrid Beer
•      Matthew Jaquillard, Apex -California Common
English Pale Ale
•      Chais McCurry, Durham - Old Oaken Floor - Oak Aged ESB
Scottish and Irish Ale
•      Keil Jansen, Durham - Strong Scottish Ale
American Ale
•      Nicholas Lombardo, Durham -Tropical Pale Ale
English Brown Ale
•      Mark Caron, Raleigh - Brown Ale
Porter
•      Eric Schuttler, Raleigh - Leaky Plumbing Porter
Stout
•      Tyler Steede, Raleigh - Ivan More Beer
India Pale Ale, Flight A
•      Chad Piper, Boone -IPA
India Pale Ale, Flight B
•      Steven Richard, Charlotte - Flyswatter IPA
German Wheat and Rye Beer
•      William Horlacher IV, Summerfield -Hefeweizen
•      Kyle Driggers, Carrboro- Dunkelweizen
Belgian and French Ale
•      Mark Caron, Raleigh - Belle Saison (Summer)
Sour Ale
•      Chris Creech, Durham - Sprechen Deutsch
Belgian Strong Ale
•      Matthew Jaquillard, Apex - Belgian Golden Strong
Strong Ale
•      Joe Morrocco, Cary - Old Ale
Fruit Beer
•      Dan Dunger, Charlotte - Strawberry Lager  
Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer
•      Louis Velazquez, Ahoskie -Lemongrass Wheat Ale
Smoke-Flavored and Wood-Aged Beer
•      Brian Quinn, Durham - Vulcanalia Smoked Imperial Porter
Specialty Beer
•      Paul Hobson, Durham -Gose

For a complete list of honorees, including second- and third-place finishers, visit http://ncbrewerscup.org.