On AIMCLEAR blog, we delight in posting tutorials, tips, advice, rants, musings, and news spanning the vast online marketing industry. After all, online marketing is what we do, what we know, and what we love. But we also care deeply about our community up here on the North Shores of Lake Superior. This place has been good to us, and we like giving back in unique and meaningful ways whenever possible. The Duluth Beer Trail, initiated by the Official Duluth Beer Challenge, is our gift to the brewski-lovers in our neighborhood, from Superior to the Scenic Highway. Cheers, y’all!
Last month, we told you about the Official Duluth Beer Challenge and handy Beer Trail smartphone-friendly site, perfect for guiding thirsty Duluth natives and tourists to amazing craft brews around town. The challenge, as you may recall, involved a blind sampling of 18 beers from six breweries across three different categories: Light Hybrid Ale, Stout, and IPA. We took our taste buds on a tour of what Canal Park Brewery, Carmody Irish Pub, Castle Danger Brewery, Lake Superior Brewing Company, Fitger’s Brewhouse, and Thirsty Pagan Brewing had to offer. It was a delicious tour, to say the least.
After sampling, each beer was rated for aroma, appearance, flavor, and overall impression on a 0 – 10 scale. And lest you think we didn’t take this taste test seriously, all rating criteria was based on the Beer Judge Certification Program Style Guidelines. Oh yeah. We were all kinds of scientific.
So, yes! We tasted, we tested, we got ever-so-slightly tipsy, and the results are in. Without further ado, we are happy to announce the results of the Official Duluth Beer Challenge!
Light Hybrid Ale
Winner: Canal Park Brewery’s Click Drag Kölsch
Runner-up: Fitger’s Brewhouse’s Lighthouse Golden
Stout
Winner: Castle Danger’s George Hunter Stout
Runner-up: Fitger’s Brewhouse’s Big Boat Oatmeal Stout
India Pale Ale (IPA)
Winner: Canal Park Brewery’s Stoned Surf
Runner-up: Fitger’s Brewhouse’s El Niño
—
There you have it! You now know where to go to imbibe in the tip-top award-winning beers in town. Keep your eyes peeled for groovy vinyl stickers slapped on their windows, proclaiming them as victors of the Official Duluth Beer Challenge.
Duluth Beer Trail
Remember why we hosted this challenge in the first place? It’s not just because we love beer, which we do. It was to kick-start the Duluth Beer Trail mobile experience, which has officially launched, dude! Visit Duluth Beer Trail for your ultimate guide to the best microbrews along Lake Superior. It’s made for your smartphone, so enjoy it on-the-go (and enjoy the icy cold masterpieces responsibly!). Cheers 🙂 .
