Brew up some fun

Brews are in this weekend as the 28th Annual Steinley Cup Microbrew Competition returns to Veterans’ Island in Saratoga.

The original and only official State of Wyoming Microbrew Competition, hosted by the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce, will see 11 breweries from across the state descend upon the Platte Valley for their chance at the coveted Steinley Cup. That includes Freedom’s Edge of Cheyenne, which has won back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Last year, Freedom’s Edge won with their English Pale Ale—the E-Z Breezer—beating out the other pale ale entries which included American and Indian pale ales. In fact, the E-Z Breezer was the only English Pale Ale in the competition.

This year, the competition brew style will be pilsner, a type of pale lager beer which originated in the Czech city of Plzen. According to MasterClass, there are four different types of Pilsners. These include:

1. The American Pilsner, which is more toned down compared to its European counterparts with tasting notes that are sweet, bready and malty.
2. Belgian Pilsners are generally light and smooth.
3. Czech Pilsners, or Bohemian Pilsners, have notes which are similar to that of sweetened bread.
4. German Pilsners are among the most bitter of the four pilsner types and sit somewhere between lighter lagers and darker, hoppiers ales.

According to Amanda Knotwell, Chamber CEO, there are a number of considerations when selecting each year’s competition brew.

“It’s one of those things where you have to look at all your breweries in Wyoming and see what all of them actually brew. You can’t pick a red [ale] or anything of that sort because it’s just not something that all [microbrews] provide in their own facility let alone just for the competition,” said Knotwell. “I get it. It’s a supply and demand situation. If we were to pick a red [ale] that’s kind of popular down in the front range area of Colorado, I only had a select few here that have that on their everyday menu. I would rather have people come and compete then be like ‘We don’t make a red, so we’re out this year.’”

Over the past several years, the different brewery styles have included pale ale, porter and sours.

“When we picked a sour two years ago, a few created them but a sour seems to be on most people’s menus,” said Knotwell. “I have a running tab for all 28 years for what each year’s competition was, so I can I look back and say ‘Oh, it’s been a while since we’ve had an IPA or a wheat.’”

Along with bringing the competition brew—often just enough for the judges—breweries will also bring a variety of their other beers which can be considered for People’s Choice. Gruner Brothers last year won People’s Choice for their North Platte River Pale Ale. It should be noted, while only Wyoming microbreweries can compete for the coveted Steinley Cup, any microbrewery can be awarded People’s Choice.

It is a blind judging for the Steinley Cup, with each competition brew being numbered so the judges do not know which brewery produced which beer. Additionally, brewers do not know who the judges are and pitchers are given to volunteers to deliver from the brewers to the judges. Knotwell compared the judges to wine sommeliers, or wine stewards, in that they carefully examine the various aspects of which brew meets the qualifications for its class.

Finally, if it seems the Steinley Cup is taking place earlier this year, it is.

“What we were trying to get away from after all these years was having it on that weekend before school. There’s so much to do and locals are usually out of town getting ready for one last weekend before school starts,” said Knotwell. “We thought we would try this and see where it goes.”

Despite the change in date, Knotwell said she hopes people will come out and enjoy themselves as summer comes to a close.