Pelican Brewing Company scores Gold and Silver medals at Best of Craft Beer Awards in Bend, Oregon

Both Kiwanda Cream Ale and Queen of Hearts barrel-aged saison ale are honored for the second year in a row at the newest craft beer event 

Pacific City, Oregon (February 13, 2019)—Pelican Brewing Company scored Gold and Silver medals last weekend at craft beer’s newest awards event, Best of Craft Beer Awards held in Bend, Oregon. The celebration is the newest homage to the best in craft brewing with 96 of the finest West Coast judges awarding 262 gold, silver, and bronze medals to 162 breweries in a total of 90 categories.

Pelican’s flagship brew Kiwanda Cream Ale, Pre-Prohibition Cream Ale, which is a big Pelican winner with 56 medals, wins Gold in the golden and blonde ale category. Queen of Hearts, Saison Ale aged in Gin Barrels was honored with a Silver medal in the wood- and barrel-aged pale to amber beer category. Both of these beers were awarded Silver medals at the same event in 2018.

“Getting to work with breweries like Pelican Brewing Company is what gets me excited every year! We assemble high caliber judges and work to get the details right—if Darron Welch and his team are going to bring their A-game, we’ve got to bring ours,” says Ryan Sharp, Competition Director for the Best of Craft Beer Awards. “When high-caliber breweries like Pelican return year after year and help us sustain incredible growth, we feel confident we’re on the right track. We know how much work Brewers put into honing recipes and perfecting their craft, and we want our competition to promote and showcase their efforts.”

Professional brewers and judges last weekend descended upon the growing beer town of to judge entries from breweries in 33 states. Carefully selected BJCP judges, vetted brewers and guest judges from the craft beer industry awarded 262 medals to winning breweries from 33 states.

“This a terrific Oregon-based beer competition—and Pelican is honored to join an illustrious group of fellow brewers in the celebration of our craft,” says Darron Welch, founding brewmaster, Pelican Brewing Company. “Kiwanda remains one of our most-decorated beers, and we’re happy that Queen is getting her due recognition as royalty in our barrel-aged series.”

Like all Pelican beers, these medal winners are born at the beach by a team of award-winning craft beer makers known for brewing styles of beer that they themselves love to drink. Cheers!

For a list of all of Pelican’s award-winning beer, click here.

About Pelican Brewing Company

Pelican Brewing Company was founded in 1996 by Jeff Schons and Mary Jones in Pacific City with Oregon’s only oceanfront brewpub. Celebrating its 22^nd year, the brewing company has created masterpieces like Kiwanda Cream Ale, Beak Breaker Double IPA, Sea ‘N Red Irish-Style Red Ale, Five Fin West Coast Pilsner, and Tsunami Stout. With the vision, creativity and brewing expertise of founding brewmaster Darron Welch, Pelican Brewing has won over 450 awards including a Silver Medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival, 2014 World Beer Cup© Champion Small Brewing Company and Brewmaster of the Year. Pelican Brewing currently distributes 22oz bottles, 12oz bottles in 6-packs, a new mixed 12-pack, and 50 liter and 20-liter kegs via a network of distributors in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Hawaii. The company operates brewing and brewpub facilities in Pacific City, Tillamook and Cannon Beach.

For more information, visit Pelican Brewing Company.

Contact: Claudia Johnson, Public Relations, 503-799-2220.