Awards
True North Ale Company Wins Award at 2024 World Beer Cup ®
Ipswich, MA • April 25, 2024—True North Ale Company earned a Silver Award in the 2024 World Beer Cup, the most prestigious beer competition in the world. The World Beer Cup award ceremony took place on April 24, 2024, at The Venetian in Las Vegas where awards were given in 110 beer-style categories.
True North Ale Company was awarded the Silver Award in the American-Style Lager category for Linebrook Lager, a refreshing take on the American classic. Clean fermenting American lager yeast, American pilsner malt, and rice together with German hops provide subtle flavors of sweet malt, crisp noble hops, pear, and green apple. Linebrook Lager bested 106 other entries in this highly competitive category.
Now in its seventh year, True North Ales has earned multiple awards on the largest stages, previously earning a World Beer Cup Gold Award in 2018. “With more than 2,000 breweries from around the world competing, it is truly an honor to achieve this recognition. Our production team is one of the most talented in the business and I am proud of their hard work and accomplishments,” said Seth Barnum, Head Brewer at True North Ales.
Often referred to as “The Olympics of Beer,” the World Beer Cup recognizes international brewing excellence. This year’s winners were selected by an international panel of 280 beer judges from 37 countries; 9,300 total entries from 2,060 breweries and 50 total countries were evaluated.
The Brewers Association developed the World Beer Cup Competition in 1996 to celebrate the art and science of brewing. For additional information, visit the World Beer Cup website
Congratulations to the True North Ales 2024 Production Team on their World Beer Cup Award!
Seth, Alyssa, Matt, Josh (upper); Jake P., Jeremy, Tom, Jake R. (lower)
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True North Ale Company Wins Major Award at 2023 Great American Beer Festival
Ipswich, MA • September 27, 2023—True North Ale Company was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival® (GABF) competition. GABF is the largest and most prestigious competition in the United States and is second only to the World Beer Cup internationally. Medals presented during the competition are globally acknowledged as emblems of brewing excellence and remain among the most sought-after accolades within the brewing community. Vincianne Belgian Blonde Ale, one of the original core brands in the True North Ales portfolio, earned the Gold Medal in the “Belgian-Style or French-Style Ale” category.
“Winning a medal at GABF is an enormous honor for a brewing team”, said Seth Barnum, Head Brewer at True North Ales. “We were absolutely blown away when Vincianne earned the Gold Award at the World Beer Cup in 2018. This repeat at GABF confirms it is truly a world class beer.”
In its 37th year, the GABF competition saw 9,300 beers submitted for judging by 2,033 American breweries from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Awards were given in 97 beer- style categories during the GABF awards ceremony on September 23rd, held in Denver. In previous GABF competitions, True North Ales earned medals for Cerveza Mexican Lager (Gold 2021, Silver 2020) and Northern Haze IPA (Bronze 2021), both year-round core brands.
Congratulations to the True North Ales 2023 Production Team on their Gold Medal win!
Seth, Matt, Jeremy, Jake R., Tom, Josh, Alyssa, and Jake P.
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True North Ales Award Winning Beer!
Ipswich, MA • April 6, 2023—The Best of Craft Beer Awards, the 3rd largest brewing competition in the United States, announced that True North Ale Company was awarded a Gold Medal for Vincianne Belgian Blonde and a Silver Medal for Wind Chill Cold IPA. Congratulations to Head Brewer, Seth Barnam, and his production team!
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True North Ale Company Wins Multiple Awards at NABA
Ipswich, MA • June 9, 2022—True North Ale Company claimed multiple medals at the 2022 North American Brewers Association “International Beer Awards Excellence in Brewing” competition. In its 25th year, the NABA International Beer Awards saw more than 2,000 beers submitted for judging. Awards were given in 90 beer-style categories during the NABA award ceremony held in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
True North Ale Company was awarded a gold medal for KESTREL American IPA in the largest category in the competition. In collaboration with Mass Audubon and NH Audubon, KESTREL was brewed to raise awareness of conservation efforts that protect wildlife and connect people with nature.
VINCIANNE Belgian Blonde Ale, one of its flagship brands, was also awarded a gold medal. VINCIANNE was a winner of the gold award at the 2018 World Beer Cup, a gold medal at the 2019 NABA, and a silver medal at the 2021 NABA. FOREST HAZE Juicy Double IPA won a bronze medal.
“We were extremely pleased with the recognition True North Ales received at the NABA competition, as the judges are highly qualified and well respected,” said Seth Barnum, Head Brewer. “We were blown away when KESTREL took the gold in the most competitive category. And having VINCIANNE again win a medal at a major competition in a classic style was extremely rewarding.”
These awards in 2022 follow the 2021 competition held last fall when CERVEZA Mexican Lager, another flagship brand, was awarded a silver medal following its recognition at the Great American Beer Fest with a gold medal in 2021 and a silver medal in 2020. True North Ale Company also won major awards in 2021 for several of its small batch specialty brands. Fruit sours have rapidly gained popularity and LAND & SEA, a cucumber and key lime gose, was awarded a bronze medal. BOAT SHOES, a traditional English-Style Summer Ale, also earned a bronze medal.
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True North Ale Company Earns Gold and Bronze Medals at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival®
CERVEZA and NORTHERN HAZE recognized at world’s largest professional beer competition
Ipswich, MA • September 10, 2021—True North Ale Company was awarded two medals at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival® (GABF) competition. The GABF competition is the largest and most prestigious competition in the United States, and is second only to the World Beer Cup internationally. CERVEZA Mexican Lager, one of the top selling beers in the True North Ales portfolio, earned the Gold Medal in its category. NORTHERN HAZE Juicy IPA, another core brand, won a Bronze Medal.
“Winning a medal at GABF is an enormous honor for a brewing team”, said Seth Barnum, Head Brewer at True North Ales. “We were extremely pleased when CERVEZA won a Silver Medal at GABF in 2020 and were blown away to see it win Gold this year. NORTHERN HAZE, our flagship, medaled in a very competitive category.”
In its 35th year, the GABF saw 9,680 beers submitted for judging by 2,192 American breweries from all 50 states. Awards were given in 97 beer-style categories during the GABF awards ceremony on September 10th, held in Denver. GABF style guidelines determined that CERVEZA Mexican Lager fit the category “American-Style Cream Ale” while NORTHERN HAZE Juicy IPA was judged in the “Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale” category.
True North Ale Company opened in 2017 in Ipswich, Massachusetts and specializes in hazy & juicy IPAs, sophisticated Belgian ales, classic lagers, cutting-edge sours, and many more traditional and experimental styles. In 2018, VINCIANNE Belgian Blonde, another core brand, earned the gold award for Belgian-Style Pale and Blonde Ales at the World Beer Cup.
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True North Ale Company Wins GABF Award
Ipswich, MA • October 20, 2020—True North Ale Company was awarded a silver medal in its category for CERVEZA Mexican Lager at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival® (GABF) competition. The GABF competition is the largest and most prestigious competition in the United States, and is second only to the World Beer Cup internationally. CERVEZA, one of the flagship beers in the True North Ales portfolio, is brewed with flaked maize and El Dorado hops and fermented with Mexican lager yeast for a crisp, clean finish.
“Winning a medal at GABF is a very big deal in the craft brewing world,” said Jake Rogers, Founder & Chief of Brewery Operations. “Cerveza started out as a simple beer with a simple name in my homebrewing days. Credit and congratulations go to our Head Brewer Seth Barnum and our crew in the brewery for making it a stellar beer that appeals to casual beer drinkers and craft beer lovers alike.”
In its 34th year, the GABF saw more than 8,800 beers submitted for judging by more than 1,700 American breweries from all 50 states. Awards were given in 91 beer-style categories during the GABF awards ceremony on October 16, 2020, held virtually on The Brewing Network. GABF style guidelines determined that CERVEZA Mexican Lager fit the category “American-Style Cream Ale.”
True North Ale Company opened in 2017 in Ipswich, Massachusetts and specializes in hazy & juicy IPAs, sophisticated Belgian ales, classic lagers, cutting-edge sours, and many more traditional and experimental styles. In 2018, VINCIANNE Belgian Blonde, another core brand, earned the gold award for Belgian-Style Pale and Blonde Ales at the World Beer Cup.
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True North Ale Company Wins Awards at NABA
Ipswich, MA • June 4, 2019 — True North Ale Company claimed multiple medals at the 2019 North American Brewers Association “International Beer Awards Excellence in Brewing” competition. In its 23rd year, the NABA International Beer Awards saw more than 2,000 beers submitted for judging. Awards were given in 94 beer-style categories during the NABA award ceremony on May 31, 2019 in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
True North Ale Company was awarded a gold medal for VINCIANNE Belgian Blonde Ale, one of its flagship brands, and also a winner of the gold award at the 2018 World Beer Cup in the “Belgian Blonde / Belgian Pale Ale” category. NORTHERN HAZE Juicy IPA, another flagship brand, was awarded a silver medal in one of the most competitive categories, “Hazy or New England-Style India Pale Ale”. NORTHERN HAZE has rapidly become the leading seller for True North Ales and can be found in hundreds of bars, restaurants, and stores throughout Massachusetts.
True North Ale Company also won major awards for several of its small batch specialty brands. WEBSTER’S MILD, an English-Style Mild Ale, was awarded a gold medal. ICE BUCKET PALE, a specialty beer brewed to raise fundsto fight ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), won a bronze medal in the highly competitive “American-Style Strong Pale Ale” category. And STAMMTISCH, a German-Style Pilsner, was awarded a bronze medal in a category that truly requires brewing precision and skill.
“We were extremely pleased with the recognition True North Ales received at the NABA competition,” said Seth Barnum, Head Brewer. “Having VINCIANNE again win gold at a major competition in a classic style was very rewarding. And winning medals in two of the most competitive categories, the hoppy New England and West Coast styles, really demonstrates our versatility. The spread across brewing traditions and the varying processes of the categories we medaled in is one of the most startling aspects to me about our results.”
True North Ale Company is located in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Opened just 18 months ago, its beers have been poured in nearly 600 bars and restaurants and sold in more than 700 stores in Massachusetts. The brewery also won a silver medal at the 2018 NY International Beer Competition for CERVEZA Mexican Lager. Its North Shore location features a 100-seat taproom and an events venue, The North Side, that may host events with more than 300 guests.
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True North Ale Company Wins Gold Award at World Beer Cup®
Ipswich, MA • May 5, 2018 - True North Ale Company claimed a gold award in the 2018 World Beer Cup, a global beer competition that evaluates beers from around the world and recognizes the most outstanding brewers and their beers.
Awards were given in 101 beer-style categories during the World Beer Cup award ceremony on May 3, 2018 at Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. True North Ales was the only brewery in Massachusetts to win a gold award at the World Beer Cup in 2018 and one of two in all of New England.
True North Ale Company received the Gold Award in the Belgian-style Blonde Ale or Belgian-style Pale Ale beer style category for its Vincianne, an effervescent, crisp, and refreshing blonde ale with subtle aromas and flavor reminiscent of apple, pear, earth and black pepper. The brewery just recently opened for business in November of 2017 and submitted Vincianne for judging as a fledgling four-month-old. It is one of the youngest breweries to ever be awarded gold in the history of the World Beer Cup. Based in Ipswich, Massachusetts, True North Ale Company is a microbrewery that specializes in brewing juicy American IPAs, sophisticated Belgian ales, classic lagers, cutting-edge sours, and many more traditional and experimental styles.
“It is an amazing honor for a brewer to win a medal at the World Beer Cup. Making great beer is a reward in itself. But having a panel of experts determine yours is world class in this, the most prestigious brewing competition, is mind blowing,” said Seth Barnum, Head Brewer at True North Ale Company.
World Beer Cup winners were selected by an international panel of 295 beer judges from 33 countries, 72 percent of whom were from outside the United States. Widely regarded as the “Olympics of Beer,” the World Beer Cup saw an impressive field of 8,234 entries from 2,515 breweries in 66 countries—the largest competition to date.
Presented by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup has been held biennially since 1996, to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. For additional information, visit the World Beer Cup website.
“Photo © Brewers Association”
Representing True North Ale Company in Nashville, Gary Rogers, Seth Barnum, and Jake Rogers receive their 2018 World Beer Cup Gold Award from Charlie Papazian, founder and past president of the Brewers Association.
The True North Ale Company production crew celebrates their 2018 World Beer Cup Gold Award in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Pictured from left: Anthony Lauring, Jake Rogers, Seth Barnum, Jenna DuCharme, Aaron Cerretti, and Greg Hartmann.