From left: Head brewer Will Sonneman, brewer Ryan Smith and Natural State Beer Company president Mark Smith.

Natural State Beer Company, a microbrewery and taproom located in Rogers, was recently awarded a gold medal at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival, the world’s largest commercial beer competition. 290 medals were awarded to 265 breweries across the country in the festival’s largest competition in its 35 year history.

Natural State Beer Company was recognized in the Bock beer-style category for its Miabock, “a pale, strong, malty German lager.” Natural State Beer Company is a seven-barrel microbrewery that produces traditional European lagers.

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“This is a huge honor to be recognized by the Brewers Association with this prestigious award,” said Mark Smith, president of Natural State Beer Company. “We are beyond thrilled to be taking this medal home to Northwest Arkansas.”

Judging took place in 334 sessions over 17 days with strict health and safety measures in place, the press release said. The awards ceremony was held at the Bellco Theatre in Denver on Friday, Sept 10. 170 judges evaluated 9,680 entries from 2,192 breweries from all 50 states in addition to Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.

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For more information on Natural State Beer Company, check out its website here.

 

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