Wolverine Brings Home Bronze from World Beer Cup

The Wolverine brew team (L to R): Rick Wilson, Matt Roy, Oliver Roberts, and Karl Hinbern.

Congratulations to Wolverine State Brewing, whose brew team just brought home a shiny new bronze medal from the World Beer Cup in Philadelphia for their Raucher Smoked Lager. The brew, currently available at the tap room at 2019 W. Stadium, was one of 79 entries in the Smoke Beer category. From the official press release:

Wolverine State Brewing Co is pleased to announce a bronze medal win for Raucher Smoked Lager from the World Beer Cup, known as the world’s most prestigious beer competition. The medal was awarded on Friday, May 6, in Philadelphia as a part of the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America.

The medal win is the first for Wolverine State in the World Beer Cup. Past awards for the brewery include several medals from the World Expo of Beer. That medal count is composed of five gold, four silver, and four bronze medals for a wide variety of categories, with gold medals awarded to Faustian Baltic Porter, Barista Coffee Lager, Amber Lager, and Hopstadt Altbier. Gulo Gulo IPL was also named one of DRAFT Magazine's Top 25 Beers of 2013.

Raucher is a smoked lager built on a base of German beechwood smoked malt. True to its style, it boasts a balanced profile of smoke, malt sweetness, and hop bitterness. The beer was developed by Brewmaster Oliver Roberts in 2015. It is currently available in the Tap Room.

The Tap Room, located at 2019 W. Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, will celebrate the medal win this coming Saturday, May 14, with drink specials and a toast with Wolverine State staff at 7 p.m.

The World Beer Cup takes place every two years as a part of the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America. This year, over 1,900 breweries entered beers into competition. Of the 6,600 beers entered, 287 were awarded medals. Wolverine State’s medal was one of only five medals awarded to Michigan breweries. For more information on this year’s awards, access the press release here.

Wolverine State Brewing Co. was founded in 2006 by longtime friends and Ann Arborites Matthew Roy and Trevor Thrall. Production began at 2019 W. Stadium in early 2010 under the direction of Brewmaster Oliver Roberts, and the Tap Room opened at that same location later in 2010. Wolverine State, the leader of the Lager Revolution, specializes in creating balanced, unique, and innovative lagers, of which it boasts a portfolio of more than 65 varieties.