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Illinois craft breweries made a good showing at the 2023 World Beer Cup, taking home two gold, three silver, and two bronze awards from the competition that ended in Nashville on May 10. Two of the winners are popular places in the Southland.
Horse Thief Hollow, 10426 S. Western Ave. in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, earned first place gold for its brew “Little Wing,” beating out 128 other entries in the International Pilsner category.
Pollyanna Brewing Company, headquartered at 431 Talcott Ave. in Lemont, received second place silver for its maibock, “Nose Over Tail,” besting 95 other entries in the German-Style Bock or Maibock category.
The World Beer Cup, an annual event dubbed the “Olympics of beer,” is organized by the Brewers Association, a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers. This year, over 10,000 beers were entered in 103 categories by more than 2,300 breweries in 51 countries. The 272 judges came from 26 countries.
According to Chris Williams, World Beer Cup competition director, beer drinkers can be assured of the quality of brands when industry professionals evaluate and acknowledge the excellence in products from around the market.
“On a professional level, beer evaluation is a form of peer review. The results are public, so consumers can learn what beers meet a high level of quality and what beers exemplify certain styles as interpreted by the judges,” Williams said.
To Neil Byers, co-founder and president of Horse Thief Hollow, that peer recognition is validation of the effort the team put in to making a great beer.
“I am immensely proud of what our team accomplished in winning gold at the World Beer Cup. In 2020, we won bronze for Little Wing at the Great American Beer Festival, so we knew we had a great beer,” he said.
Byers recognized employees Jake Nelson and Andrian Morrison for “their dedication to the craft and for striving for perfection in everything they do.”
Nelson, the head brewer, said, “When we took Bronze in 2020, I thought, ‘That’s a great start, how do we do better?’ Subtle changes yielded big results and I’m so proud of our achievements.”
Morrison, brewer and sales manager, said, “Sometimes we are our own worst critics. We are constantly evaluating every beer we make and every process to make it. I’m very proud to be a part of the Horse Thief team and looking forward to our future.”
Over 100 styles of beers are recognized in the industry, from an ordinary British bitter ale to gluten-free and nonalcoholic malt beverages.
Horse Thief Hollow’s Little Wing, named for a Jimi Hendrix song, is their gateway beer, meeting the standards for an international style Pilsner. According to the dictionary of beers at beerandbrewing.com, that style of beer is a light blond lager that originated in 1842 in the Bohemian town of Pilsen and went on to become the most popular and most copied beer style in the world.
That popularity makes it a bigger challenge to produce a version that is memorable to beer lovers.
“About six or seven years ago, I told the team I wanted to create a beer that was refreshing in the summer, satisfying in the winter, approachable to a non-craft beer drinker, and interesting to a craft beer drinker. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d have the best Pilsner in the world,” said Byers.
A maibock style of beer won the award for the Pollyanna Brewing Company. This is described as a traditional Bavarian lager named for the month of May, a transitional beer for springtime between the darker, heavier beers of winter, and the lighter beers of summer.
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Brian Pawola, co-founder, head brewer and distiller at Pollyanna, led the team in developing Nose Over Tail, named for a song by Alkaline Trio.
Daily Southtown
“It’s great to get recognized on the biggest stage in the world. We worked really hard day in and day out to make the best beer we possibly can. That it is recognized by some of the best beer tasters in the world is pretty exciting,” Pawola said.
The name “Pollyanna,” Pawola said, represents “irrepressible optimism, keeping the glass half full.”
The company, started in 2014, includes the original brewery and taproom in Lemont, a second brewery/taproom in Roselle, a brewery, distillery, and taproom in St. Charles, and Pollyanna Social, a new cocktail lounge in Lemont.
Horse Thief Hollow took its name from the history of the area, when horse thieves hid out in the ravines of the Blue Island Ridge in the 1800s. It celebrated its 10th year of operation in February.
Both Pollyanna and Horse Thief Hollow have won other awards for their various beers, and distribute some of their products throughout the region through beverage stores and sites.
The other winning breweries in Illinois were Sketchbook Brewing Co. in Evanston, Noon Whistle Brewing in Lombard, Roaring Table Brewing Co. in Lake Zurich, Tighthead Brewing Co. in Mundelein, and Kishwaukee Brewing Co. in Woodstock.
Carol Flynn is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.