Top Honors for Local Breweries in World Competition

Three local breweries are among the best in the world. Firestone Walker in Paso Robles and Buellton, along with Island Brewing in Carpinteria, and Telegraph Brewing in Santa Barbara have won top honors at the World Beer Cup competition in San Diego.Firestone Walker named “Champion Brewery” and “Brewmaster.”Island Brewing won a gold medal for its “Starry Night Stout.”Telegraph won a Gold medal for its Petit Obscura in the Experimental beer category, and a Bronze for their Rhinoceros in the Belgian Strong Ale category. The judges picked from a very competitive field of entries that came in worldwide.Island Brewing has been making the honored stout for more than a decade.The secret? “Perserverance certainly,” said Owner Paul Wright . “This is a recipe we’ve been using and winning with now for years going back to my home brew days. And we do it every year and we haven’t changed the recipe. I think we have perfected it pretty well”Island Brewing is selling the stout on tap and in bottles at its beach front tasting room and brewery just off Linden Avenue in Carpinteria.Firestone Walker’s honor falls in an extremely competitive category of brewers that produce between 15,000 barrels and six million barrels annually. Brewmaster Matt Brynildson said, “This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire brewing team They all had a hand in this.”Firestone Walker also won a Gold Medal for its Pale 31. It’s the fourth time it has won this award since 2004.