Hudson Valley home to award-winning beers

I was in Philadelphia last week to speak at the annual Craft Brewers Conference, otherwise known as CBC. The conference, put on by the Brewers Association, is for the independent brewers in the United States. More than 13,000 people attend the conference from not only the United States, but from South America, Asia, Europe and even Australia. Hutch Kugeman, the head brewer at the Brewery at the Culinary Institute of America, was also at the conference.

LOCAL BEER: Visit Foodiehv.com for a directory of local brewers

I participated in a round table discussion on food operations in a brew pub or beer-centric restaurant. About 400 people attended the presentation and the discussion was led by Adam Dulye, who is the executive chef of the Brewers Association and a CIA graduate.

In addition to the round table panel discussion I was a part of, there were four days of other presentations and more than 400,000 square feet of exhibits, which featured the latest brewing and beer-packaging equipment. There were also companies representing the raw ingredients used to make beer. What was surprising was all of the other companies at the convention, including clothing companies that sell logo hats, T-shirts and other clothing paraphernalia. There were also companies that offer financing for new businesses and brewing consulting.

As part of the CBC, there is a gala conference that ends with the World Beer Cup, which is held every other year. This year was the biggest World Beer cup ever — more than 1,900 breweries from more than 55 countries submitted beer for judging. There were more than 6,500 different beer brands judged, including 275 American-style India Pale Ale, 181 Imperial India Pale Ale and 167 American-style Pale Ale. A gold, silver or bronze is awarded for the 96 categories.

The judging for the event is done without the judges knowing what they drink. There were 250 professionally trained beer judges who selected the awards for each category. The judging is not only for the craft beer industry, but the industry as a whole. The results of the competition are available on the association’s website: https://www.brewersassociation.org/

Winning an award at the World Beer Cup is liking wining a Grammy, Emmy or an Olympic medal — it takes a lot of hard work by the brewery. This year, Sloop Brewing Co. in Elizaville, Columbia County, won the Gold Medal for its American-style Sour Ale called Confliction, beating out 84 other entries. The brewery is about one hour north of Poughkeepsie. This is huge. Again, this is the World Beer Cup, and a Hudson Valley brewery took home gold.

What is exciting is that Sloop Brewing started in a garage off Hooker Avenue in Poughkeepsie. Adam Watson and Justin Taylor started the brewery in 2011 and they first started selling their beer at the farmers market in Beacon and then at Vassar College. From there, they outgrew the garage and moved to a larger facility.

Adam and Justin are a Hudson Valley success story. They met in college at the State University of New York at New Paltz and through their friendship, love of beer and hard work, they have created a world-class brewing facility.

This is what is great about the craft beer industry — you can go from a garage to making one of the best beers in the country. To do this is not easy, but as Sloop Brewing proved, it can happen.

When Sloop Brewing opened, there were about 2,000 breweries in the United States. Today, there are more than 4,500 independent craft brewers in the U.S, with more than 1,500 breweries planning to open within the next couple of years. The craft beer industry is now a $22.3 billion industry, with a 14 percent increase in sales from 2014.

Sloop Brewing is not the only great craft brewery in the Hudson Valley. There is great beer being made up and down the Hudson River, including the CIA. Stop by one of the breweries and try the fantastic beer that is being made here.

Chef’s Corner appears Wednesday. Douglass Miller is a professor in hospitality and service management at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Contact him at life@poughkeepsiejournal.com