Texas County’s Piney River Brewing won two medals at the 2017 U.S. Open Beer Championship, July 10 in Oxford, Ohio.
Piney River earned a gold medal for Float Trip Ale and a silver medal for Black Walnut Wheat.
The annual U.S. Open Beer Championship is held annually in Oxford, and this year featured more than 6,000 entries from around the world in 100 different beer style categories. The contest is open to professional brewers and home brewers, and judges hail from the U.S., England and Canada.
Float Trip Ale won in the “American Wheat Light” category. It is wheat-based blonde beer that is pale yellow in color with a light hop bitterness and a crisp finish. Black Walnut Wheat was the runner-up in the “American Wheat Dark” category. It is an American-style wheat beer that is dark in color and is brewed with hand-harvested black walnuts.
It is the third year in a row Black Walnut Wheat, which features an aroma of black walnuts and finishes with a black walnut flavor, has placed in the U.S. Open, after also taking silver in 2016 and 2015.
“No matter where it’s sold, Black Walnut Wheat is always our most popular beer,” said Brian Durham, co-founder and head brewer at Piney River Brewing. “It’s easy to drink, and the black walnuts in the beer provide an interesting aroma and flavor profile.”
Durham said Float Trip Ale is the second most popular beer produced year-round at Piney River.
“It’s always fun to win an award for any beer, but it’s especially great to see awards go to your top selling beers,” brewery cofounder Joleen Durham said.
Amber Powell is lead brewer at Piney River Brewing. Powell oversaw the production and packaging of both beers that placed in the competition.
“It thrills Joleen and I to bring more recognition to craft beer being made right here in the Ozarks,” Brian Durham said. “Amber and the staff here are consistently turning out great beer.”
Piney River Brewing is located on Durham’s 80-acre farm, operating out of a restored 75-year old barn and a larger barn. The Durhams founded the brewery in 2010 with a 10-gallon brewing system. In 2016, Piney River Brewing produced over 2,400 barrels of beer.
Piney River Brewing operates a tasting room that is open to the public every weekend. The brewery has distribution throughout most of Missouri and Arkansas.
A complete list of U.S. Open Beer Championship winners can be found online at www.usopenbeer.com. Additional information about Piney River Brewing can be found at www.pineyriverbrewing.com.