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Katy brewery makes award-winning beer
FOX 26 Business Reporter Tom Zizka checks out one brewery in Katy that now lays claim to making award winning beer.
KATY, Texas - If the hot weather has you in the mood for a cold beer, a Katy brewery can lay claim to serving one of the best in the world.
No Label Brewing Co. opened its doors nearly 13 years ago, but the last few have seen some pretty aggressive experimentation with different recipes that have won some awards along the way.
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The biggest award, so far, came in May.
Coming from the tap, the Cali Boy West Coast IPA looks like a lot of other beers. At the recent World Beer Cup awards, in Minneapolis, it was named the silver-medalist after judges said it 'soared' and was 'exceptional'.
"Winning in the imperial IPA category, which is one of the most competitive categories you can enter, is pretty wild. It's pretty outstanding," says No Label co-owner Tom Paynter.
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To appreciate the significance, World Beer Cup judges considered more than 10,000 beers from nearly 2,500 breweries in 57 countries. Medaling is rare. It's difficult and a big deal for those who win.
"It invigorated everyone on the team," says Paynter. "It recharges the craft beer batteries, as it were, and now we have another challenge called, 'We can't make enough of this beer'."
Paynter says brewery operations are humming at near-capacity, in No Label's location among Katy's old, towering rice dryers, churning-out the newly-popular Cali Boy, and Houston-centric Gilley's Blonde Ale, along with all the other brews that get served across the state.
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With 70 other breweries in the area, there's little time to relax in the search for the next winner that might come pouring from the tap.
"If it can win over Katy, Texas, then it can win over the rest of Texas," says Paynter.
In case you're wondering, the gold medal IPA comes from an Atlanta brewery, which is a bit of a drive.
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Tom Paynter says No Label had two other beers come close to medaling, while Texas brewers won 14 medals, including two other Houston breweries that specialize in 'sour' beers.
It leaves a lot of good choices, nearby.