The “Olympics of Beer” was held over the weekend in San Diego, CA, and several proud winners from the Baltimore area emerged. In a bi-annual contest that featured 799 breweries from 54 countries and 45 U.S. states, the Brewers Association World Beer Cup winners were announced in 284 categories and styles.

Maryland repped hard, garnering three silvers:

DuClaw Brewing X-1 Chocolate Imperial Rye Porter – Silver, Chocolate Beer
Flying Dog Vintage Horn Dog – Silver, Aged Beer
Heavy Seas Marzen Vienna Lager – Silver, Vienna-Style Lager

Overall, nearly 4000 different beers were entered, averaging 41 per category. Proving the popularity of hoppy brews, the category with the most entries was the ever-popular American IPA (150 entries), followed by Imperial IPA (93). Breweries looking to be unique would be best-served making a German-style sour ale, the least popular category with just 11 entrants.

Photo © 2010 Jason E. Kaplan