OK we're not that bad but the timing on this blog may be questionable, seeing as though we got skunked at the Great American Beer Festival. No medals; zip, zero, nada. We don't want it to seem like sour grapes but we're just not sure how much the medals mean to us any more. We suppose it would seem more like whining had we never won any medals or awards, but we've done pretty well in the past. The question is, so we didn't win medals this year, so what?

Don't get us wrong, we see the importance of winning. It's always nice to get recognized by your peers in the industry and its reassuring in knowing you're doing things right. But how often have you gone into a bar or liquor store or grocery store and not bought a beer because it has never won a medal?

The point we're belaboring here is that it only really matters to us if you like it, the person who shelled out hard-earned money for it. And if you do then that's reward enough for us.

We've got a philosophy on whether a beer is good or not. We believe a good beer is only 60%, meaning that if a beer is well liked by six out of 10 people that try it, then that beer is a great success. Now, being "the best" in a particular style is different, that can happen on an apples to apples level. But beer in the marketplace is not compared by style, it's compared by what's next to it; apples to oranges, and most of our beer is in the marketplace - not a judge's table. In the market beer isn't a math problem; it's not right or wrong, good or bad. To get philosophical again, beer is not Manichean, it has gray areas. The market is also far more competitive than a judge's table, so to label a beer as a Gold Medal Winner doesn't mean it will be a commercial success. It just means it's good at being what it is stylistically.

It comes down to us being happier making beer that we like for people who really like it than we are for winning medals. Will we stop entering into contests? No, we do like the thrill of winning. Will we worry if we never win again? ONLY IF WE DON'T!!