Meet the 2019 Food & Drink Winners at the 2019 PA Farm Show

Post PA Statewide
by Emily Kovach on Jan 11, 2019

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is all about food: from the many delights at the Food Court to the epic butter sculpture to all kinds of artisanal goods and fresh produce from the PA Marketplace, there is local deliciousness all around. There are also competitions in all sorts of categories, ranging from cattle to chocolate cake, with medals and bragging rights on offer for the winners.

A few of the competitions we’ve had our eye on cover some of our favorite things: beer, cider, cheese and wine! The beer competition is especially exciting because it’s a brand new addition to the 2019 Farm Show, and there are so many amazing breweries in PA. We couldn’t wait to see how the results would shake out.

Here are the results from each of these exciting PA Farm Show competitions:

Beer

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On the opening day of the PA Farm Show, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Cheryl Cook announced winners of the first Pennsylvania Farm Show Beer Competition. In December of 2018, expert judges evaluated 152 entries in 14 categories from 28 craft breweries across the state.

Pale Lager

Amber Lager

Dark Lager

Wheat Beer

Pale Ale

IPA (<7.5% ABV)

  • 1st place: Wallenpaupack Brewing Company, Largemouth IPA
  • 2nd Place: Saucony Creek Brewing Company, The Unicorn NEIPA
  • 3rd Place: Bent Run Brewing Company, Sandstone Springs IPA

IPA (>7.5% ABV)

Specialty IPA

Stout and Porter

  • 1st Place: St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company, Hegemony
  • 2nd Place: Swashbuckler Brewing Company, Irish Dry Stout
  • 3rd Place: Pizza Boy Brewing Company, Sunnyside Up

Belgian-Style

  • 1st Place: Troegs Independent Brewing Company, LaGrave
  • 2nd Place: Wallenpaupack Brewing Company, Wet Hop Farmhouse
  • 3rd Place: Mexitaly Brickoven Brewhouse, Lightweight

Kettle Sour

  • 1st Place:  Zeroday Brewing Company, Cherishburg

Mixed Fermentation Sour

Barrel-Aged

  • 1st Place: Saucony Creek Brewing Company, Oaked Tripel
  • 2nd Place: Two Rivers Brewing Company, Maple Bourbon Bangor Slate Balric
  • 3rd Place: Wallenpaupack Brewing Company, 1st Anniversary Ale

Fruit, Herb, Vegetable

Cider

PA Farm Show

Pennsylvania, the 4th largest apple growing state in the U.S., is home to an emerging number of cideries, based in both rural and urban settings. The second annual PA Cider Competition was a great way to recognize those who have been working tirelessly to establish and promote the local cider industry and make high-quality products.

Best in Show: Winner of the Secretary’s Cup

Modern Cider

Heritage Cider

  • 1st Place: Big Hill Ciderworks, Manchurian Cider
  • 2nd Place: (Tie) Big Hill Ciderworks, Dolgo Crabapple
  • 2nd Place: (Tie) Big Hill Ciderworks, Kingston Black
  • 3rd Place: Good Intent Cider, Wickson (Bellefont, Centre County)

Sour Cider

  • 1st Place: Big Hill Ciderworks, Farmhouse

Fruit Cider

Hopped Cider

Spiced Cider

  • 1st Place: Arsenal Cider House, Snowbound Cinnamon
  • 2nd Place: The Vineyard and Brewery at Hershey, Apple Pie Hard Cider (Hershey, Dauphin County)
  • 3rd Place: Arsenal Cider House, Grants Flying Pumpkin

Wood- Aged Cider

  • 1st Place: Killarney Cidery & Sugarhouse, Heritage
  • 2nd Place: Big Hill Ciderworks, Golden Russett
  • 3rd Place: Wyndridge Farm, Northern Spy (Dallastown, York County)

Cheese

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsbFaKKD7T6/

The winners of the fifth annual Cheese Competition were announced by Deputy Agriculture Secretary Cheryl Cook. In December 2018, expert judges evaluated 49 entries in 20 categories from 16 creameries in 11 counties across the state, in categories ranging from Swiss to Soft Cheeses and Smear Ripened to Smoked. Cheeses were submitted in whole wheels or blocks and judged by a team of six technical and aesthetic judges on flavor and aroma; appearance and packaging; body and texture; and cheese-specific characteristics.

Fun fact: PA ranks third in the nation for Swiss cheese, producing 9.1 million pounds per year, and fifth in Italian cheese, at more than 250 million pounds per year!

Best of Show

  • The Farm at Doe Run, St. Malachi and Seven Sisters (Coatesville, Chester County) — The Farm at Doe Run has won Best in Show for five years in a row!
  • Goat Rodeo Farm and Dairy, Hootenanny (Allison Park, Allegheny County)

Cow’s Milk Cheeses, Cheddar, Colby, and Monterey Jack

Flavored Cheddar, Colby and Monterey Jack

Swiss and Alpine Style

  • 1st Place: The Farm at Doe Run, St. Malachi
  • 2nd Place: Penn Dairy, Swiss

Soft Cheeses

Mold Ripened Cheeses

  • 1st Place: Aaron K Glick, Blooming Clover (Quarryville, Lancaster County)
  • 2nd Place: Calkin’s Creamery, Noble Road
  • 3rd Place: Calkin’s Creamery, Noblette

PA cheesemakers

Semi-Soft, Semi-Hard, Hard Cheeses

  • 1st Place: The Farm at Doe Run, Seven Sisters
  • 2nd Place: Goat Rodeo Farm and Dairy, More Cowbell
  • 3rd Place: Farmer Rudolph’s, Sir Farmer (Lebanon, Lebanon County)

Goat’s Milk Cheeses, Soft Cheeses

Surface Ripened Cheeses

All Milk and Mixed Milks Cheeses, Blue-Veined Cheeses

Washed Rind and Smear Ripened Cheeses

  • 1st Place: Birchrun Hills Farm, Red Cat
  • 2nd Place: Keswick Creamery at Carrock Farm, Ploughman Cider Wash Tomme

Smoked Cheeses

  • 1st Place: Farmer Rudolph’s, Smoke Gouda
  • 2nd Place: Alpine Heritage Creamery,  Applewood Cheddar (Paradise, Lancaster County)

Semi-soft, semi-hard, hard, goat, mixed

  • 1st Place: Goat Rodeo Farm and Dairy, Hootenanny
  • 2nd Place: The Farm at Doe Run, The Creamery Collection Batch
  • 3rd Place: Little Antietam Goat Dairy, Feta

Flavored, soft, semi-soft, semi-soft, hard, cow, goat, sheep, mixed

  • 1st Place: Goat Rodeo Farm and Dairy, Cowboy Coffee
  • 2nd Place: Penn Dairy, Cran Apple Vache
  • 3rd Place: Birchrun Hills Farm, Tomme Mole

Wine

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsVk1eWD1zT/

Wines submitted to the PA Farm Show Wine Competition must be made of 75 percent Pennsylvania fruit, and the entries this year came from 43 wineries in Pennsylvania. Did you know that PA is the fifth largest producer of grapes nationally, with 270+ wineries producing more than five million bottles of wine annually? And while we’re not as big a wine producing state as California, Oregon or Washington, the Pennsylvania wine industry contributes $4.8 billion to the economy.

Governor’s Cup

Congrats to all of the winners at the 103rd PA Farm Show! Don’t forget to shop local and support the hundreds of homegrown culinary companies in the Commonwealth.

  • Feature photo & cheese knife photo: PA Eats

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