Silver Bluff Notes, News and Happenings

Steve Samuelson Named Director of Brewing Operations of Silver Bluff Brewing

Steve is from Wyoming, where he’s spent the last 5 years at WYOld West Brewing Company. His love affair with craft beer began in college in the early ’90s when the pharmacist he worked with introduced him to Guinness and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. “I was in love with this new world of flavor. I soon learned the pharmacist was a home brewer, and for my 22nd birthday, I received a kit. From that moment on, I brewed incessantly.”

Steve refined his skills further at the American Brewers Guild in Woodland, California. His experience earned him an entry-level position with Golden Pacific Brewing Company in Berkeley. He went on to be Head Brewer, Regional Brewer, and then Director of Operations at Ram Restaurant and Brewery in Spokane.

Seeking a new challenge, Steve took an interest in hard cider. As VP of Production at Schilling Cider—the second-largest cidery in the United States—he gained valuable experience, but his heart was still set on hops. “I returned to brewing in Portland before moving to Wyoming. I am now thrilled to be part of Silver Bluff Brewing Company in beautiful Brunswick. With my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson nearby in Atlanta, I couldn’t be happier to have found my new home here.”

What aspects of your time at the American Brewers Guild and under Dr. Michael Lewis do you feel most shaped your brewing philosophy?

Dr. Lewis taught me to brew with integrity and purpose. He instructed us to follow our artistic passions and temper them with science and engineering. His influence led me to balance art and science in this amazing field, stay engaged, and continue learning and progressing.

2024 Great American Beer Festival®: The Best Georgia Breweries Shine as Silver Bluff Brewing Company Wins Silver for Czech Pilsener

Silver Bluff Brewing Company is excited to announce our achievement at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival (GABF®), alongside the exceptional performance of fellow Georgia breweries. Our River Delta Czech Pils earned a silver medal in the Bohemian-Style Pilsener category, proudly sponsored by Wyeast Laboratories.

River Delta Czech Pils is an authentic Czech-style pilsner that embodies traditional brewing techniques. With a crisp malt backbone and a delicate balance of hops, it’s a testament to our dedication to crafting exceptional beers.

We’re proud to be among the Georgia breweries that collectively took home eight medals at this year’s GABF, highlighting the vibrant and diverse brewing landscape in our state.

Georgia Breweries and their Medals:

• Creature Comforts Brewing Co. – Athens, GA
  • Gold Medal: Classic City Lager – American Pilsener
  • Bronze Medal: 10th Anniversary Barleywine – Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
• Awkward Brewing – Fayetteville, GA
  • Silver Medal: East of Line Kriek – Belgian Fruit Beer
• Silver Bluff Brewing Co. – Brunswick, GA
  • Silver Medal: River Delta Czech Pils – Bohemian-Style Pilsener
• StillFire Brewing – Suwanee, GA
  • Silver Medal: College Dropout – Contemporary American-Style Lager
• Monday Night Brewing – Garage – Atlanta, GA
  • Silver Medal: Madrigal – Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
• Cherry Street Brewing – Cumming, GA
  • Bronze Medal: That Coconut Porter – Field Beer
• RockSolid Brewing Co. – Ball Ground, GA
  • Bronze Medal: Beauty is in the Rye of the Beholder – Rye Beers

Silver Bluff Brewing Company is Awarded a Silver Medal at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival® Competition

Silver Bluff Brewing Company

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River Delta Czech Pils is recognized as one of the best brews in the nation at the nation’s largest professional beer competition

Brunswick, GA • October 15, 2024 — Silver Bluff Brewing Company earned a Silver medal at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival (GABF®) competition, hosted and presented by the Brewers Association.

In the 2024 competition, beers and ciders spanning 107 categories and 175 different styles (including all subcategories) were judged meticulously by 285 judges over 7 days. Awards presented during the Great American Beer Festival competition are considered coveted symbols of brewing excellence globally, and brews that receive an award are considered the most excellent representation of their style category. For the first time, five cider categories were added to the competition; expanding the pool of world-class brews to be judged, awarded accolades, and recognized for their excellence.

Silver Bluff Brewing Company was recognized in the Bohemian-Style Pilsener category for its River Delta Czech Pils, an authentic Czech-style pilsner that embodies traditional brewing techniques. With a crisp malt backbone and a delicate balance of hops, it’s

Silver Bluff Brewing Company Medals and the Best Georgia Breweries get 35 at the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship

Silver Bluff Brewing Company is excited to announce their achievement at the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, along with the exceptional performance of fellow Georgia breweries. Our Braunschweiger Weizenbock earned a bronze medal in the German Wheat Beer – South German Weizenbock/Weissbock category.

Braunschweiger Weizenbock is a rare but traditional German-style strong wheat ale, big brother to our Needlerush Hefeweizen. Pleasant fruity and spicy aromas of banana and clove followed by a strong malt backbone and sweet finish.

Named after the City of Brunswick’s namesake in Germany, Braunschweig and Braunschweiger is a historical reference for many local beers from Braunschweig.

Also, one of our favorite breweries in Georgia, Drowned Valley Brewing Company, took Gold in the German Wheat Beer – South German Weizenbock/Weissbock category with “You Say It Vize-N-Bock!”

Silver Bluff won a 2020 Silver Medal at the U.S. Open Beer Championship with Silver Bluff Mexican Lager in the International Style Pilsner category.  Silver Bluff Mexican Lager also won the 2023 World Beer Cup Silver Medal in the same category and received a Beer of the Year designation from the 2023 Brewskis.

Georgia breweries took home 35 medals at this year’scompetition.

9 Golden Ales Reviewed – Great Golden Ales and American Blondes

American Blonde Ales and Golden Ales

At Silver Bluff Brewing Company, we love Golden Ales.  We love them if they are British, Belgian, American, or from anywhere worldwide.  American Blondes and Goldens pair well with subtle flavors, which is always an important tool to have when planning a meal.

Golden Ales and American Blondes, styles of beer loved for their refreshing qualities and smooth balance between malt and hops, track to the Summer months and outdoors. Silver Bluff Golden Ale associates with the British tradition of light, drinkable pub beers, and our favorite Goldens represent a nuanced part of the American craft beer scene.

In the US, Goldens and Blondes are typically characterized by a light, crisp flavor profile, beautiful Golden color, and under 5.5%. They’ve become gateway beers to the American craft brewing movement offering craft options for a beer during a beach visit or tailgate.

I think of a Golden Ale all as a beer style that reminds me of experiences: sunny days and good company.  By altering the malt profiles and hop bills and adopting a different strain of yeast, American brewers transformed the English Pale Ale into a new beer style – one that would become the American Golden Ale and the American Blonde Ale. The attractiveness of Golden Ales and American Blondes is simplicity. While extreme ingredients and high gravities often dominate the US craft beer shelf, counterpoints, like Goldens, show the skill of the brewer and yield a counterpoint.

Food Pairings with Golden Ale: Lighter Foods Love Blonde Beer

Golden Ale Food Pairings – Simple Advice

Pairing beer with food is a skill that needs to be developed, and flavor combinations aren’t universal.  A typical challenge is the perception that lighter beers and ones without big flavors can ‘go with anything’ and can easily pair well with multiple courses.  

This isn’t the case for Blonde Ales and Golden Ales (Check out some of our reviews here) which are picky pairings that I reserve for lighter meals.

Silver Bluff Golden Ale, with balanced bitterness and subtle floral and spicy aroma, is an excellent example of this style and is the beer reference for these pairings. Just learning about Golden Ales?  Check out our overview of the style.

Note that you can substitute most British Goldens and American Blonde Ales that are not too hoppy with Silver Bluff’s Golden to make your menus.  American Pale Ale with hop bitterness or craft beer with added flavors or fruits would be paired differently than these examples.

Seafood and Fish are Ideal for Golden Ales

Lighter seafood and fish and those with delicate and diverse flavors pair well with American and British Golden Ales. 

The beer’s

The Worldwide Golden Ale Landscape: An Informal Style Guide to Blonde Ale and Golden Variations

The Golden Ale and Blonde Ale Standard?

While style guides are essential tools for both brewers and beer enthusiasts, the market and the makers (drinkers) frequently change the path for a flavor profile.  With Golden Ales and Blonde Ales (our view on the styles), this is the situation.  Without a geographic modifier, ordering a Blonde or a Golden infers you are getting the locational variant of the style that connects to the bar, brewery, or package store you happen to be in at the time.  How ‘standard’ is that?

Styles provide a framework for understanding and categorizing beer styles available, but when a beer style that adapts to a local market can gain popularity and then spin out a newly recognized style, that framework becomes a popularity contest.  Ukrainian Golden and American Blonde/Golden Ale are in different phases of this contest to ‘be recognized.’ At the same time, Australian and New Zealand’s Blondes and Goldens will have a long road to separate their unique classes of beers from the generic Australian Pale Ale and New Zealand Pale Ale designations worldwide. 

The question to ask yourself is what beer will you receive if you ask for a Golden Ale in Wellington, NZ?  Does their colonial history with Britain mean you should expect a beautiful English Summer Ale or a Golden Bitter? Or do you expect an easy-to-drink session beer with a simple hop profile like Raglan Golden Ale?  Is Monteith’s Summer Ale a British Summer?  If they had a Golden Ale, would it confuse patrons that consider Golden Lager a staple?

What is Golden Ale? Separating American Golden Ales and Blonde Pales from the British and Belgians

Introduction to Golden Ale

Golden Ale, a style of beer developed and marketed for its refreshing qualities and vibrant color, creates confusion among beer enthusiasts due to its different variations. At Silver Bluff, we produce and distribute a hybrid of the American and British styles with our Golden Ale. The reception of this beer led us to do a deep dive to see if the term Golden was truly just a marketing style change applied to Blonde Ales or if there are actual unique characteristics that distinguish an American Golden Ale from an American Blonde Ale.

The term “Golden Ale” is confusing when placing British and Belgian styles next to American Goldens and Blondes, and by exploring the various publicly available definitions and brief histories of Golden Ale, the reality appears to us as one where the market evolution has created two styles worthy of separate sub-categories.

Silver Bluff’s Brewing Team Notes

Silver Bluff Brewing Company’s Director of Brewing Operations, Will Melvin, added, “Silver Bluff Golden Ale is a unique representation of the American Golden Ale, which is derivative of the British style.“

He continued, “My take is that Golden Ales were beers for people who wanted lagers by people who didn’t feel comfortable brewing lagers. We have multiple excellent lagers and don’t need our Golden Ale to pretend to be something else. It’s brewed as a Golden Ale for people who want an ale and who want something very different from a hoppy American Pale Ale.”

Kevin Coyle, co-founder of Silver Bluff, adds, “This Golden Ale recipe was created in 2012 as a lighter craft beer easy to enjoy as it gets hotter here in the Golden Isles.  Although light in color, this golden ale has additional specialty malts utilized to enhance its body and flavor.  Willamette and Sterling hops are utilized to create a subtle floral and spicy aroma.  The finish is crisp with balanced mild bitterness.” 

He continued, “We are located in the Golden Isles of Georgia, so our Golden Ale and Golden Isles IPAhave to be balanced and differentiated.”

Silver Bluff Brewing Company receives a Silver Medal at the prestigious 2023 World Beer Cup®

The World Beer Cup® acknowledges only the finest beers worldwide and this accolade was bestowed upon the brewery’s flagship beer, the Mexican Lager.

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May 12, 2023

Silver Bluff Brewing Company, a microbrewery based in Brunswick, Georgia, is proud to announce that it has been awarded a Silver Medal at the prestigious World Beer Cup®. This accolade was bestowed upon the brewery’s flagship beer, the Mexican Lager, cementing its place as one of the world’s finest beers.

The World Beer Cup®: “The Olympics of Beer”

The World Beer Cup®, often referred to as the “Olympics of Beer,” is the most prestigious beer competition in the world. Organized annually by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup® brings together over 200 highly qualified beer professionals who judge more than 100 style categories. The competition celebrates the art and science of brewing and promotes international brewing excellence. It acknowledges only the finest beers worldwide, ensuring consumers have access to exceptional brands. According to the World Beer Cup® website, 2,376 breweries across 51 countries submitted 10,213 beers in this year’scompetition.