MickDuff's brews up honors at beer festival

SANDPOINT — A great beer is more than just a drink — it’s a bonding agent that can make good times with friends even better.

The folks at MickDuff’s understand that, and that’s why they aspire to make their beer as top-notch as possible — one that paid off at the recent North American Beer Awards. MickDuff’s took home two awards out of six submitted brews this year at the festival. The accolades follow up a handful of other honors the brewery won from the national competition in past years.

“It’s a great beer festival and one we’ve had a lot of success at,” assistant brewer and longtime MickDuff’s associate Mack Deibel said.

Between May 29 to June 1, the festival’s expert judges evaluated beer submissions from breweries as large as Anheuser-Busch down to the smallest craft brewers. According to MickDuff’s co-owner and head brewer Mickey Mahoney, the best thing about the competition is the judges’ notes critiquing each submission. Having a fully-detailed review of a beer from some of the world’s most experienced connoisseurs is a great help in improving its quality.

However, awards are pretty nice, too. This year, Mahoney and his brother and business partner Duffy Mahoney walked away with a gold medal in the light ale category for the Tipsy Toehead Blonde Ale and a silver medal in the English-style India pale ale category for his Strom Hammer IPA.

This isn’t the first year MickDuff’s beer has earned commendation. In 2011, the brewer’s Knot Tree Porter won a bronze medal in the robust porter category. And the Strom Hammer IPA won a 2010 gold medal in the English-style IPA category.

Two separate wins for the Strom Hammer IPA is particularly significant. The style of beer is particularly prized by brewers for its typically bitter, hoppy taste and comparatively high alcohol content. It’s also a much more difficult style to master.

“If there are any flaws, they’ll show through much easier in a pale ale,” Mahoney said.

Even better, the fact that the beer has won twice in the category indicates that the quality is consistent. That’s something that all brewers aspire to.

“When customers find a beer they really like, they expect to be able to relive that experience every time they buy it,” Mahoney said.  

Strom Hammer is a throwback to Mahoney’s roots as he first got started as a brewer. His mentor, Matt Stromberg, the head brewer at Scuttlebutt Brewing Company, provided the both the base recipe and the namesake for the beer. Along with all the other award-winning brews, it’s always available on tap at the brewery’s downtown location.