KRBC's Citra Double IPA is one of the few beers that scores a perfect 100 on both Beeradvocate and Ratebeer. 'Needless to say we are extremely excited about the award and proud of Kyle for this amazing achievement.' 'The Imperial IPA category was one of the five toughest categories in the festival in terms of the number of entries it is certainly one of the more coveted awards of the entire festival,' said Eric Giddens in a public announcement about the award. GABF is the largest commercial beer competition in the world, and had 3,930 beers vying for medals that year alone. Chances of winning are considerably lower than other categories. Homebrewers and professional brewers alike looking to increase their medal wins know very well to stay away from this category as it's insanely over represented given the high interest in the beer style. The Imperial IPA category is among the most competitive at the annual beer festival, with more than 100 entries received in 2011. Smith, along with co-owners Eric and Rebecca Giddens with their baby daughter Maggie, were on hand to receive the award from Papazian, President of the Brewers Association and legend in the brewing world. 'It's an honor to win at that festival because it's the largest beer festival in the world. 'It felt great to get the gold,' Smith said.

Most would agree that life changed for the three owners of Kern River Brewing Company (KRBC) when they won the gold medal for their Citra Double IPA at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver Colorado on October 1, 2011.Īs someone who started as a home brewer at his Kernville home a good 10 years before KRBC opened in 2006, brew master Kyle Smith was particularly thrilled to shake Charlie Papazian's hand when he received the award.

Citra ipa