Local Brewery Wins Award at the Great American Beer Festival

(KNSI) — A St. Cloud brewery is celebrating after taking home some hardware from the Great American Beer Festival.

Pantown Brewing Company took home silver for its Drop Forge Milk Stout in the sweet stout or cream stout category.

Owner Marty Czech says the win was exciting because, for Nick Flies, the festival is one of two competitions that are “the Olympics” for him and winning an award for him, he “feels he has reached one of the mountaintops in his profession.”

Drop Forge won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup this year, which Czech says is “probably the biggest craft beer competition in the world. The GABF is the biggest beer competition in the United states, so both of these awards mean a ton to [Nick].”

Drop Forge Milk Stout was first recognized in 2019 by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, taking home bronze in that competition. In 2020, it took silver in the Best in Craft Beer Awards, held annually in Oregon.

Craft brews always get their name from something special or unique, and Drop Forge Milk Stout is no exception. The Pan Motor Company plant had the biggest drop forge west of the Mississippi River when it was in operation.

Czech says for someone who would want to approach the brew without knowing much of what it was about, he describes it as “dark and roasty; chocolaty. Kind of coffee flavored and then there’s sweetness in it from the lactose. It kind of tastes like mocha or a latte, just cold and carbonated.”

He says because it’s a darker beer, Drop Forge Milk Stout is perfect for the fall and winter season, and it was fun to win the award.

The festival was held over the weekend in Denver. There were 300 awards handed out to 2,154 breweries that crafted more than 9,900 beers. Competitors came from every state and Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

Czech says he is “really proud of Nick and the beers that he’s producing. It’s great that he keeps getting recognized for the great recipes and the great quality that he puts into his craft.”

Drop Forge Milk Stout is on tap year round and rotating at bars and restaurants around town.

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