2 Oakland County Beers Win Gold At Great American Beer Festival

MICHIGAN — Two Oakland County brewery's won gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival.

The Royal Oak Brewery earned a gold medal for its Northern Kolsch in the German-Style Koelsch category. It's 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.

The Northern Kolsch, which gets its name from the northern German city of Cologne, is one of the brewery's lightest beers with just 4.2 percent alcohol. It is also brewed with one hundred percent German malt, making it hopped with a crisp, clean finish.

The Berry, Berry, Quite Contrary, on the other hand is stronger with 7 percent alcohol. The very dry, lightly hopped, highly carbonated German-inspired beer is fermented with cranberry and raspberry which produce its distinctive red color and delightful berry aroma. It also won the bronze medal winner at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival in the American-Style Fruit Beer category.

There were no silver or bronze medalists from Michigan this year. The competition was held in Denver and awarded metals in about 100 categories. The full winner list is available at greatamericanbeerfestival.com.