Birko notes 25 percent of GABF gold medal winners use its cleaning products

Matt “Handtruck” Thrall, head brewer at Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, Colo., is shown here with two Birko products that Avery relies on for better beer: Ultra Niter, a low-foaming nitric/phosphoric CIP acid blend, and Cir-Q-Late, a heavy-duty, non-foaming caustic CIP cleaner.

Great beer comes from precise and pure brewing techniques. When it comes to the sanitation solutions that allow that pure craft beer product, Birko provides industrial strength formulations to the craft industry for cleaning-in-place (CIP), sanitizing and intervention applications. How much of a leader is the company?

“Birko customers took home almost 25 percent of the gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2013 GABF competition,” said Dana Johnson, Birko’s brewery specialist. “Our customers know that Birko’s cleaning and sanitation products help them make a better beer – batch after batch. We’ve consistently earned the reputation of solving our customers’ toughest brewery problems.”

Birko sent out a press release naming all the gold medal winners at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival.

• AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, Calif.
  AleSmith Old Numbskull (Barley Wine-Style Ale)
• Austin Beerworks, Austin, Texas
  Black Thunder (German-Style Schwarzbier)
• Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, Mo.
  Love Child No. 3 (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer)
• CB & Potts Restaurant & Brewery, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
  Big Horn Hefeweizen (South German-Style Hefeweizen)
• City Star Brewing, Berthoud, Colo.
  Bandit Brown (English-Style Brown Ale)
• Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Buellton, Calif.
  Davy Brown Ale (American-Style Brown Ale)
  Stagecoach Stout (Oatmeal Stout)
• Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Co., Hays, Kan.
  American Hefeweizen (American-Style Wheat Beer with Yeast)
• Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, Colo.
  Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (Chocolate Beer)
• Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Redlands, Calif.
  Warmer (Specialty Beer)
• Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, Colo.
  Sawtooth Ale (Ordinary or Special Bitter)
  Fade to Black Volume (Foreign-Style Stout)
  Milk Stout (Sweet Stout or Cream Stout)
• Lumberyard Brewing Co., Flagstaff, Ariz.
  Lumberyard American Pale Ale (American-Style Pale Ale)
• Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo.
  5 Barrel Pale Ale (Classic English-Style Pale Ale)
• Old Town Brewing Co., Portland, Ore.
  Cent’s and Censability (Fresh Hop Ale)
• Pagosa Brewing & Grill, Pagosa Springs, Colo.
  Peachy Peach (Fruit Wheat Beer)
• Piney River Brewing Co., Bucyrus, Mo.
  Old Tom Porter (Brown Porter)
• Prost Brewing Co., Denver, Colo.
  Kellers Pils (Kellerbier or Zwickelbier)
• Ska Brewing, Durango, Colo.
  True Blonde (English-Style Summer Ale)

In addition, Birko customer New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo., won the silver medal in the 2013 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition, while Upslope Brewing Co., Boulder, Colo., won the bronze medal in this category. Birko customer Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Co., Hays, Kan., was named Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year. For a complete list of this year’s GABF winners, see the GABF website.