For those of you not familiar with the competition: It's an annual competition held a couple of months before the LA County Fair, open to licensed breweries and brewpubs only (hence the "commerical" part of the title). Expert judges taste a wide variety of beers (ales, lagers, stouts, porters, pilsners, bocks, etc) and medals are handed out accordingly.
Each beer may be entered in only one category. Once the winners are announced, the Fair will reach out to certain breweries/brewpubs in order to purchase some of their award winning beers to sell at the fair (that's where I come in!). These beers are not to be confused with the everyday run-of-the-mill beers on sale throughout the fair (Bud Light, Coors, MGD, etc). These award winners are only sold at the beer garden located in the Marketplace Pavilion (which also hosts a wine garden). You can purchase a single beer for a few bucks or get a sample of 4 (or so) for about $11 iirc. They have about 15 different beers on any given day and they swap them out about once a week. That's a good reason to purchase the unlimited fair pass (as I visit about 3 times every year). Thats said, if you are in Los Angeles between Aug. 31st and Sept. 30th, do yourself a favor and visit the fair. You'll be happy you did. Lastly, they also host the End Of Summer Concert Series, where you can get decent seats for as little as $25.
The Competition Rules and Info (PDF) [Competition is now closed and judging has taken place]
Style Guidelines (PDF)
The Results, 81(?) Categories!! (PDF)
Results (categories 1 thru 20):
Best of Show: Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams Utopias 2011
1 - American-Style Wheat Beer, Light American Wheat Ale or Lager without Yeast:
Gold: New English Brewing Company, Why Not Wheat
Silver: Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company, Wrangler Wheat
Bronze: Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams Summer Ale
Honorable Mention: Faultline Brewing Co., Doppelbock
2 - American-Style Wheat Beer with Yeast, Light American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast:
Gold: Morgan Street Brewery, Honey Wheat
Silver: Alcatraz Brewing Company, Weiss Guy Wheat Beer
Bronze: Epic Brewing Company, Intermountain Wheat
3 - Fruit Beer:
Gold: Nebraska Brewing Company, Apricot an Poivre Saison
Silver: Michelob Brewing Co., Lemon Shandy
Bronze: Olde Hicory Brewery, Lindley Park
4 - Fruit Wheat Beer:
Gold: Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Orange Wheat
Silver: Maui Brewing Co., Mana Wheat
Bronze: Eel River Brewing Co., Acai Berry Wheat
5 - Field Beer or Pumpkin Beer, Pumpkin Beer:
Gold: Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin
Bronze: Stone Brewing Co, La Citruelle de Citracado
6 - Herb and Spice Beer:
Gold: Fort George Brewery, Quick Wit
Silver: Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, Chocolate Porter
Bronze: Bootlegger's Brewery, Mountain Meadow
7 - Chocolate Beer:
Gold: Dechutes Brewery, Black Butte XXII
Silver: Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
Bronze: Mudshark Brewery, Chuck's Chocolate Stout
8 - Coffee Flavored Beer:
Gold: Lakefront Brewery, Fuel Cafe Coffee Stout
Silver: Karl Strauss Brewing Co., Wreck Alley Imperial Stout
Bronze: Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams Black & Brew
9 - Specialty Beer:
Gold: Ballast Point Brewing, Indra Kunindra
Silver: Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams Horse Legerd
Bronze: Maui Brewing Co., Coco Nut Porter
Honorable Mention: Heretic Brewing Company, One Nut in the Grave
10 - Rye Beer, Rye Ale or Lager with or without Yeast:
Gold: Surf Brewery, Country Line Rye
Silver: Flyers Restaurant and Brewery, Mile High Summer Rye
Bronze: Chameleon Brewing Co., Ryediculous IPA
11 - Specialty Honey Beer
Gold: Babe's Bar-B-Que & Brewhouse, Babe's Honey Blonde Ale
Silver: New English Brewing Company, Bees Knees
12 - Session Beer
Gold: Tap It Brewing, American Standard
Silver: Epic Brewing Company, Hop Syndrome Lager
Bronze: Jones Brewing Co., Inclined Plane Ale
13 - Other Strong Beer, American-Style Imperial Porter
Gold: Ska Brewing Co, Nefarious
Other Strong Ale or Lager
Silver: Karl Strauss Brewing Co., Off The Rails
14 - Experimental Beer
Gold: Chameleon Brewing Co, Hop on Top
Silver: Epic Brewing Company, Smoked & Oaked
Bronze: Monkey Paw Brewing Co., Monkey Stones
15 - Indigenous Beer
Gold: Lakefront Brewery, Wisconsinite Summer Weiss
Silver: Mammoth Brewing Co., IPA 395
16 - Gluten-Free Beer
Gold: New Planet Beer Company, Off Grind Pale Ale
Silver: New Planet Beer Company, 3R Raspberry Ale
17 - American-Belgo-Style Ale, Pale American-Belgo-Style Ale
Gold: Nebraska Brewing Company, Barell Aged Hop God
Silver: Nebraska Brewing Company, Hop God
18 - American-Style Sour Ale, American-Style Sour Ale
Gold: Ladyface Ale Co., Trebuchet
19 - (for some reason there is no #19 listed in the PDF)
20 - Wood-and Barrel-Aged Beer
Gold: Island Brewing Co., Bourbon Barrel-Aged Island Pale Ale
Silver: Olde Hicory Brewery, Eiraphiotes
Bronze: Lakefront Brewery, New Grist
