Bootstrap Brewing Medals at World Beer Cup

For the third time, Bootstrap Brewing Company's Wreak Havoc Imperial Red took home a bronze medal at this year's World Beer Cup in the strong red ale category. Beloved in our area, the south Longmont brewery is owned by Niwot residents Leslie and Steve Kazceus, and was previously located on the back side of Cottonwood Square, at the site that now houses Fritz Family Brewers.

When asked about the win, Leslie Kazceus was as excited as she was succinct. "We're so stoked about this," she responded.

Steve Kazceus elaborated further as part of an official press release about the win. "The World Beer Cup is known as the Olympics for brewers and it's such an extremely competitive event. We're competing against breweries of all sizes across the globe. It's confirmation to us that our team is truly making world class beer and we're so proud of our entire staff."

Held every two years in conjunction with the Brewer's Association's Craft Brewer's Conference, the competition ranks along with The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) as an indicator of how well beermakers can work with malt, water and hops.

Wreak Havoc is no stranger to competition recognitions. In addition to its triple bronze medals at World Beer Cup (it won the award in 2016 and 2018) it has taken the gold medal at the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Open Beer Competition, and silver and bronze medals at the 2015 and 2016 GABF competitions. According to the Bootstrap website, it has medaled 18 times in various competitions around the country. Bootstrap beer is the primary beverage sold at Niwot's Rock n Rails summer concert series.

This year's competition was steep, and event organizers said that it was the largest to date, with more than 10,500 entries from nearly 2,500 breweries in 57 countries. 300 medals were awarded across 103 categories. In the Strong Red Ale category, Snapper Red from Cherry Street Brewpub in Halcyon and Rye Baby from The Mitten Company won gold and silver awards respectively.

One other Boulder County brewery also took home medals at the event. 12 Degree Brewing in Louisville received a medal for its Cactus Juice. In total, 20 Colorado breweries earned 22 medals from the competition.