Local breweries win awards at beer festival

Two Westchester breweries at the forefront of the national craft beer renaissance took home medals at this month”™s Great American Beer Festival, held Oct. 11 and 12 in Denver, Colo.

Elmsford-based Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. took home the gold in the Experimental Beer category for its “Hops n”™ Roses” ale while Peekskill Brewery”™s “Amazeballs” took home the silver medal in the International-style Pale Ale category.

The festival, in its 27th year, saw its largest panel of judges ever, with 201 brew connoisseurs from 11 countries. The judges had the enviable task of judging 4,809 beers in 84 style categories. The event itself drew 49,000 attendees, including representatives from more than 624 breweries across the country.

The festival said it was its largest event to date, due in part to the boom in craft brewing and launching of independent breweries that is cutting in on the beer behemoths’ market shares.

Captain Lawrence and Peekskill are some of the most prominent breweries in Westchester, which recently saw the unveiling of Yonkers Brewery and Tuckahoe”™s Broken Bow Brewery, joining an emerging regional market led by New York City and Long Island breweries including Brooklyn Brewery and Blue Point Brewing Co.