Maryland wins big at U.S. Beer Tasting Championship

Hundreds of breweries, from California to Connecticut, recently competed in the 2016 U.S. Beer Tasting Championship.

Nearly 600 beers were examined across 16 distinct beer categories. Within each category, the USBTC determined both a grand champion and the best entry from each of six U.S. regions: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic/Southeast, Midwest, Rockies/Southwest, California and Northwest/Pacific.

The USBTC takes a different approach in that its competition is held in multiple stages, and all beers are tasted blind. Sequential field trials are conducted wherein judges evaluate beers and select the best to advance to subsequent rounds. This allows beers to be judged in relatively small flights while ensuring that the best beers are still determined through head-to-head competition.

Several Maryland breweries took home awards, including Ocean City's Assawoman Bay Brewing Company who won best entry for its wheat beer, Weizen Shine.

RELATED:Assawoman begins bottling three brews

Heavy Seas Beer in Baltimore was named grand champion in the Belgian/French Specialty category for its Red Sky at Morning, and Franklin's Brewery in Hyattsville was named grand champion in the fruit beer category for its The Older the Berry the Sweeter the Juice.

For a full list of winners, visit usbtc.com.

Our guide to Delmarva's craft brewery utopia

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