The Scoop: The Civil Life Brewing Co. takes gold at Great American Beer Festival

{From left, Civil Life brewers Brandon Stern and Dylan Mosley accept the gold award for their Rye Pale Ale at the Great American Beer Festival.}

The Civil Life Brewing Co. is raising a pint or two in celebration following its victory last Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Brewers Dylan Mosley and Brandon Stern accepted the gold medal for Civil Life’s Rye Pale Ale, which bested more than 80 beers entered in the rye category.

“I would like to think that maybe what made it stand out was that it was a very well-rounded, well-made beer,” Mosley said. “The category rye allows for a lot of self-expression and possibly even a lot of experimentation.” Though he has not yet received official feedback from the judges, Mosley said he thought The Civil Life’s experimentation with a traditional pale ale caught their attention.

“We shoot for something that’s a little deeper and copper in color,” he said. “Rye tends to be a little on the lean side. It can have a spicy note to it.” Mosley and Stern balance that spice with sweetness, using different malts and citrus- and pine-forward hops from the Pacific Northwest.

This was the first year The Civil Life attended the Great American Beer Festival, which attracts thousands of breweries from across the country. Mosley said taking top honors both validates the 3-year-old brewery’s beermaking style and also raises the bar for what’s to come.

“We may have a lot of pretty traditional beers in our portfolio. When you can do well with something that is not immediately as exciting … as some of other things (out there) … it says something about your philosophy and technique,” Mosley said. “We’ve got to make sure that everything we’re doing lives up to the moment that we were getting recognition for.”

-photo courtesy of Jason E. Kaplan

This article appears in October 2014.