SEATTLE, WA — OCTOBER 7, 2009 — Pyramid Breweries recently claimed a gold medal for their Haywire® Hefeweizen at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival, the largest national beer competition recognizing the most outstanding beers produced in the United States today.
A leader in the craft wheat beer category, Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen is a deliciously deranged American-Style Hefeweizen that is an award winning take on the Bavarian classic. Unfiltered like life itself, it is a refreshing wheat ale that delivers a distinctively smooth flavor. With distribution in only 28 states, Haywire is the second best-selling craft wheat beer in the
nation and accounts for twenty-two percent share of all wheat beer sales in the category.* The recent award judged Pyramid above the other leading craft wheat beer, and is the second gold medal for Haywire - having earned the high honor in 2004.
"We are proud to brew a beer that is the standard by which all other wheat beers are judged," says Mike Brown, Commissioner of Inspiration and Aspiration for Pyramid Breweries. "Haywire is our same great Hefeweizen with a new name and once again a gold medal winner. It continues to be recognized as the favorite Hefeweizen by consumers and judges alike. This award is a testament to the ability of our brewers to produce in every beer an experience worth savoring with others."
Earlier this year, Pyramid introduced the Haywire name and new packaging for its leading Hefeweizen style to celebrate its company culture and to better differentiate its best-selling beer from other beers in the Hefeweizen category. Haywire Hefeweizen is widely available year-round in 6-packs and 12-packs, as well as on draft up and down the West Coast. Haywire is also available in Pyramid's new Winter Variety 12-pack – sitting alongside its award winning Audacious™ Apricot Ale, as well as ThunderHead® IPA, and Pyramid's notorious winter warmer Snow Cap® Ale.
Haywire's gold medal, recognized in the American-Style Wheat Beer with Yeast category, is among the most difficult to garner in the U.S. brewing world. The medal is the fifteenth award Pyramid has received from the Great American Beer Festival, eight of which are gold medals. In 2008, Pyramid was also awarded the prestigious mid-size Brewery of the year award.
The top three winners in the Great American Beer Festival's 78 beer-style categories were announced September 26 at the 28th Annual Festival Awards Ceremony in Denver, Colorado. The competition winners were selected by an international panel of brewing experts from an impressive field of 3,308 entries received from 495 U.S. breweries.
* IRI, US TOTAL FOOD, 52 Weeks ending 9/6/09
ABOUT THE GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL
For more Great American Beer Festival Competition information, the 2009 winners' list and photos, visit http://www.GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.
ABOUT PYRAMID BREWING CO.
Since 1984, Pyramid Brewing Co. has been a leading brewer of specialty, full-flavored year round and seasonal beers produced under the Pyramid family of ales and lagers. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Pyramid brews its draft and package product at its production breweries in Berkeley, California, and Portland, Oregon. Visitors can enjoy Pyramid Alehouses adjacent to its breweries in Portland and Berkeley as well as Pyramid Alehouses in Walnut Creek and Sacramento, California, and Seattle, Washington. More information about Pyramid Breweries is available at www.PyramidBrew.com.