(Boston, MA) – The United States Beer Tasting ChampionshipTM (USBTC) recently completed the Winter Competition of its 18th annual competition.  A total of 435 beers from 134 breweries were examined across 13 different beer categories.  Within each category, the USBTC determined both a Grand Champion and the best entry from each of six U.S. regions: 1) Northeast, 2) Mid-Atlantic/Southeast, 3) Midwest, 4) Rockies/Southwest, 5) California, and 6) Northwest/Pacific.

The USBTC takes a unique approach in that its competition is held in multiple stages.  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. All beers were tasted in blinded fashion and judged on a hedonic scale.

The USBTC recognizes that American brewers are continually establishing new beer styles and reviving interest in classic styles.  As one way to acknowledge this, the USBTC devotes “pull-out” categories in each competition to styles that are currently emerging or being faithfully carried on.  In our most recent event, Big Belgian was selected as the USBTC pull-out category.

For additional information on The United States Beer Tasting Championship, how to enter beer, and current and past winners, please visit our web site at www.usbtc.com or look for us on Facebook.