Two Michigan beers win gold medals at 2022 Great American Beer Festival

For the first time in five years, two Michigan breweries won gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival.

The Royal Oak Brewery earned gold for its Northern Kölsch in the German-Style Koelsch category, the brewery's first medal in the annual competition since 2019.

Springfield-based Territorial Brewing Co. won in the American Fruit Beer category for its Berry, Berry, Quite Contrary, which also won a silver medal earlier this year in the 2022 World Beer Cup.

Both beers went up against more than 100 entries in their respective categories.

The Northern Kölsch − crisp, clean and bready, brewed with 100% German hops, and light at 4.2% alcohol by volume − is a staple at Royal Oak Brewery, marketed as its lightest beer. In 2019, the brewery won a bronze medal in the German-Style Altbier category for its Jeremy Altbier, named after its head brewery, Jeremy Altier.

The Berry, Berry, Quite Contrary, meanwhile, is a 7%-ABV brut rosé lager that continues to rack up medals; in addition to its World Beer Cup honor, it also won bronze in the 2020 Great American Beer Festival competition. Territorial Brewing Co., also German-inspired, is based in the Battle Creek area, relocating to nearby Springfield in 2019.

There were no silver or bronze medalists from Michigan this year; last year, there were seven total medalists.

The Great American Beer Festival is held every October in Denver; the festival celebrated its 40th anniversary this year and awards medals in about 100 categories of beer during its annual competition. The full winner list is available at greatamericanbeerfestival.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Two Michigan beers win gold at Great American Beer Festival