Exceptional beers and brewers recognized in largest-ever global competition

Blue Mountain Brewery, of Afton (Nelson County) was awarded the Silver medal at the 2012 World Beer Cup^®, held in San Diego, in the American-Belgo-style ale category for their seasonal beer Blue Reserve. Co-owner Matt Nucci accepted the award in front of a crowd of over 2,000 peers at the awards dinner in San Diego Saturday night, May 5^th. Brewmaster Taylor Smack expressed great satisfaction that their Blue Reserve showed well again in competition. “After receiving the Silver at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival for this particular beer, it’s rewarding to see the judges consistently recognize Blue Reserve as one of the best. It means even more that this medal came through stiff international competition with 48 entries in the category, and that Blue Reserve is made with a high proportion of the hops we grow onsite at our brewery.” The 2011 Great American Beer Festival medal-winning version of Blue Reserve was brewed solely with hops grown at the Afton brewery, and was the first-ever beer made with all-Virginia hops to medal in the competition.

The 2012 World Beer Cup^®, known as “The Olympics of Beer”, was the largest commercial international beer competition ever held, with a 17.7% increase in entries over the 2010 event. 799 breweries representing 54 countries entered 3,921 beers for blind judging by an international panel of 211 judges from 27 different countries. Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 95 beer categories, establishing the best commercial examples of each style in the world. Unlike other beverage competitions, only three medals are awarded for each category. Three other Virginia breweries took home medals in the competition. [World Beer Cup promotional rules do not allow press releases to mention any other brewery by nameL]

Welcome Beer:
Kolsch 151

First Course: Five Onion Soup Au Gratin
Spanish, Bermuda, leeks, shallots, chives and garlic baked with Swiss and Parmesan cheeses
Beer: Classic Dark Lager

Second Course: Greek Garden Salad
Spinach, marinated onions, roasted artichokes, tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers and feta cheese. Dressed with a citrus herb vinaigrette
Beer: Full Nelson Strong Pale Ale

Third Course: Belgian-Ale Steamed Mussels
Pei Mussels, local sausage, potatoes, shallots, kale and Evil 8*
Beer: Evil 8* Belgian Dubbel

Fourth Course: Pan Seared Pork Medallions
Beer brined pork tenderloin, sage butter sauce, sweet potato spaetzel, braised purple cabbage with mushroom confit
Beer: Mandolin

Fifth Course: Apricot & Almond Cream Cheese Strudel
served warm with vanilla glaze
Beer: Dark Hollow batch #15

BLUE MOUNTAIN BREWERY EASTER BRUNCH MENU

Soup of the Day
Ask your server for our Easter offering!

Blue Mountain Cheese Plate
Artisian cheeses, meats and fresh fruit served with a toasted baguette from Goodwin Creek Farms $13

Blue Ridge Scramble
Three eggs scrambled with diced country ham, AM Fog Mushrooms (Afton), scallions, and aged sharp cheddar. Served with your choice of side. $11

BMB Breakfast Burrito
Sundried tomato tortilla filled with our nitro chili, home fries, cheddar cheese and finished with sour cream and fresh pico de gallo. $10 – Veg Option – Sub black bean corn salsa

Biscuits and Gravy
Fresh baked biscuts smothered with sausage gravy made with Double H Farms (Nelson Co) sausage. Served with choice of side. $9

Smoked Salmon Plate
Scottish smoked salmon, capers, dill whipped cream cheese, shaved red onion, diced eggs and a lemon wedge. Served with a toasted Goodwin Creek Farms (Afton) baguette. $11

Virginia Ham and Grits
Shaved country ham served over smoked Gouda grits, topped with a fried egg (over hard) and redeye gravy. $10

French Connection
Goodwin Creek Farms cinnamon raisin bread griddled in our homemade vanilla-nutmeg anglaise batter. Served with Maple-Ginger syrup. $11

Full Nelson
Kolsch 151
Evil 8
Classic Dark
Blue Reserve
Mandolin 2012
Mandolin Vintage 2011
Imperial Pumpkin 2011
Special Release of Firkin Dark & Evil

www.bbqbandsandbrews.com

Palmyra, VA, February 27, 2012. The Fluvanna County Chamber of Commerce announced today that BBQ, BANDS & BREWS will be held on Saturday, June 23, at Pleasant Grove.  Announcing the first-time event, Chamber Vice President Brenda Rigsby said, “BBQ, Bands & Brews will be a day of fun-filled family activity centered on delicious food and great entertainment.  We are excited to bring this caliber of event to Fluvanna County, and are thrilled that WINA’s Rick Daniels and Lite Rock Z95.1’s Sherry Taylor will co-host.”

The highlight of the event is a sanctioned Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) barbeque competition that will draw contestants from across the Commonwealth and beyond in the categories of pork, ribs, chicken and brisket.  The Grand Champion of the 2012 BBQ, BANDS & BREWS will be invited to the largest barbeque contest in the world – the American Royal Invitational in Kansas City, MO – and entered into the lottery for the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational in Lynchburg, TN.  Additionally, all top finishers in the BBQ competition will receive invitations to compete in other sanctioned contests.

Rigsby added, “The day will include 30 national teams competing, 15 local teams, 20 craft beers, over 60 vendors, 7 food vendors, live music all day, a kid zone, a craft beer education tent, and much more.  It will truly have something for everyone!   And 10% of the day’s proceeds will be donated to the Fluvanna County Food Bank.”

Taylor Smack, owner of co-sponsor Blue Mountain Brewery, added “We’re very excited to be working with the Fluvanna County Chamber of Commerce on the BBQ, BANDS & BREWS Fest for this June. Bringing a sanctioned Kansas City Barbecue Society event together with a collection of Virginia’s best breweries is just too exciting an opportunity to pass up, and Blue Mountain Brewery was thrilled to be asked to sponsor the event. We’re also excited to introduce our newest venture, Blue Mountain Barrel House, as a co-sponsor of the festival. We’ll be rolling out a huge lineup of great new beers for the state from our new production brewery, and an afternoon of barbecue, music and fun is a perfect way to showcase what we love to do.”

The event has been recognized by Governor McDonnell for its contributions to the quality of life in the Commonwealth.  It was developed by the Chamber to help promote tourism in Fluvanna County.

BBQ, Bands & Brews is proudly sponsored by:

Crossroads Auto Repair
Red Rocker Candy
Blue Mountain Brewery
Blue Mountain Barrel House
Kansas City Barbeque Society

About the Fluvanna County Chamber of Commerce:

The Mission of the Fluvanna County Chamber of Commerce is to support Fluvanna County businesses and promote their success through networking opportunities, educational programs and business advocacy.  The Chamber creates ways to bring the community together and draw visitors to Fluvanna County while helping businesses meet potential customers and clients.  The volunteers of our Special Events Committee have increased efforts in this area by adding to the Chamber’s events schedule our Wine Festival (an annual event initiated in September 2011) and the Inaugural BBQ, BANDS & BREWS in June 2012.

For more information about the Chamber or BBQ, BANDS & BREWS, visit www.fluvannachamber.org.

About Blue Mountain Brewery and Blue Mountain Barrel House:

Blue Mountain Brewery was voted Best Brewery in the Best of C-ville 2011 Poll and is the only Virginia brewery that holds back to back Gold medals in the world’s largest beer competition, the Great American Beer Festival, in 2010 and 2011. It is located on Rt. 151 in Nelson County (Afton), Virginia and is open 7 days a week (Mon-Sat from 11:00am until 10pm and Sunday from 11am-9pm) for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. An expanded selection of Blue Mountain drafts is available at all times along with local food & wine. For more information, visit www.BlueMountainBrewery.com .

Blue Mountain Barrel House was founded by the creators of the original Blue Mountain Brewery. It is the company’s first production brewery, focusing on the barrel-aged and higher-end beer offerings from the Blue Mountain family.  The Barrel House will be opening a tasting room at the new production brewery in 2013. For more information, visit www.bluemountainbarrel.com .

About the Kansas City Barbeque Society:

THE KANSAS CITY BARBEQUE SOCIETY (KCBS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and enjoying barbeque, is the world’s largest organization of barbeque and grilling enthusiasts with over 14,000 members worldwide.  KCBS sanctions over 300 barbeque contests coast-to-coast throughout America. From volunteering to actual event production, our members also offer assistance to civic and charitable organizations who organize events.  For more information or a list of KCBS-sanctioned events, visit www.kcbs.us.

Valentine’s Day Menu Specials

Blue Crab Chowder
Rich, creamy backfin crab chowder with roasted corn and red bliss potatoes.  Served with a Goodwin Creek Farms baguette.

Lemon-Chive Hummus
served with pita bread, carrots, celery and tortilla chips

Sweetheart Sampler
Artichoke Heart Dip, Six wings tossed in Strawberry-Mandarin sauce, Meat and Cheese with toast points.

Latin Lover Sandwich
Fajita spice rubbed Pork loin, shaved ham, pickles, Swiss cheese and Red pepper horseradish mayo on Goodwin Creek Sourdough

King of Hearts Pizza
NY strip steak, bleu cheese, artichokes, tomato, mushroom, mozzarella and marinara on our house-made crust.

Queen of Hearts Pizza
Grilled chicken, artichokes, tomato, mushrooms, mozzarella and marinara on our house-made crust.