Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey Crowned 2008 World Champion at World Beer Cup

Small brewery and its head brewer take four medals, named World Beer Cup 2008 Champion

San Marcos, CA – Tiny Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey Brewing and its head brewer Tomme Arthur went into last week’s 7th World Beer Cup as the American Small Brewery and Brewer of the Year.

They emerged as the World Champions.

A bi-annual competition among the world’s best breweries, the Brewers Association 2008 World Beer Cup saw 644 breweries from 58 countries enter a total of 2,864 beers in 91 style categories. An elite panel of international judges conducted blind tastings and awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to the top three beers of each style. The judges also issued a “Champion Brewery” and “Champion Brewer” award in each of five brewery categories: Large, medium and small brewery, large and small brewpub.

Port Brewing’s Lost Abbey beers won in the following categories:

• Bronze Medal: Experimental Beer (Lager or Ale) — Veritas 002
• Bronze Medal: Other International Ale — Brouwer’s Imagination Series Saison
• Silver Medal: Belgian-Style Flanders/Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ale — Red Poppy
• Gold Medal: Wood- and Barrel-aged Sour Beer — Cuvee de Tomme

The brewery and head brewer Tomme Arthur were also named World Beer Cup 2008 Champion Brewery and Champion Brewer in the Small Brewing Company Category.

The “world champion” designation is merely the latest in a string of high-profile titles for Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey. In 2007 alone the brewery netted more than a dozen medals. And six months ago brewery and brewer walked away with the “2007 Small Brewery of the Year” award at the Great American Beer Festival, an annual competition among America’s best beer makers.

Established just two years ago, Port Brewing /The Lost Abbey has become famous for its line of rare, deep and flavorful beers that food and drink experts compare more closely to wine than mass-market brews. Issued under the Lost Abbey label, these beers are brewed with ingredients such as raisins, sour cherries, black pepper and grains of paradise, and often aged in oak, wine, brandy and bourbon barrels for as long as 18 months. The brews have been featured in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Maxim, and Playboy, as well as dozens of newspapers and industry periodicals.

A full list of the Brewers Association 2008 World Beer Cup Award winners and competition details are available on the Brewers Association website at: http://www.beertown.org/events/wbc/winners_list/winners_2008.html

About Port Brewing / Lost Abbey
Founded in 2006, Port Brewing Company produces a line of multi-award-winning American ales as well as the groundbreaking Lost Abbey family of Belgian-inspired beers. Craft brewed under the direction of co-founder and three-time Great American Beer Festival brewer of the year and 2008 World Champion brewer, Tomme Arthur, four beers are issued under the Lost Abbey label year-round: Avant Garde, Lost and Found, Red Barn and Judgment Day. Additionally, a number of seasonal and specialty releases including Ten Commandments, Cuvee de Tomme and the Angel’s Share, are offered at various times throughout the year. As many of these are blended and aged for up to 18 months in French Oak, Brandy and Bourbon barrels, Lost Abbey beers are universally recognized for their complexity, unique flavors, and bold, boundary-pushing styles. Port Brewing is located at 155 Mata Way, Suite 104, San Marcos, CA 92069, USA. Telephone (760) 889-9318, web: www.lostabbey.com.