News

Which local brewery took home two gold medals in N.C. Brewers Cup?

By Bill Moss, Published: September 9, 2023

Hendersonville's Dry Falls Brewing Co. won two gold medals at the 12th anniversary of the North Carolina Brewers Cup competition last month, emerging as the only Henderson County-based brewery to take home a medal.

The brewery in the old Oates Paint & Body Shop on Busy Bend, owned and operated by the father-and-son team of Jeff and Evan Golliher, won gold for its American Red, in the American Porter, Amber and Brown Ale Category, and its 3 Dog Dunkel, in the Dark European Lager competition.

Administered by the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild, the competition this year drew 873 entries by 122 independent North Carolina craft breweries, making it the largest commercial competition in the Southeast.

All entries were received and organized at Pro Refrigeration Inc in Mocksville and then transported by Tryon Distributing to the competition judging venues at Edit Beer Co. in Raleigh and White Labs in Asheville. Judging occurred simultaneously at the two locations Aug. 26-27. Certified beer judges from across the Southeast traveled to participate in this beer style competition, sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program.

 Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded in 36 style-based beer categories, based on the 2023 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines (also used for Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup competitions). Unique to North Carolina is the NC Homegrown category, which requires the beer to have at least 55 percent of its dry-weight ingredients sourced from North Carolina agricultural products.

The three largest categories of the 2023 competition were:

• Juicy/Hazy Style IPA with 70 entries
• American-Style IPA with 63 entries
• Field & Spiced Beers with 50 entries

In addition to the category medalists, one brewery will be presented with the N.C. Brewery of the Year trophy, honoring the brewery that secured the most overall points. The NC Craft Brewers Guild will announce the Brewery of the Year at the NC Beer Industry Awards Banquet on Nov. 14  in Winston-Salem.