Boston Culinary Group | A Recipe for Success

Bringing Home the Gold –
First-Year Head Brewer Strikes it Rich in Colorado
The John Harvard’s Brew House in Wayne, PA recently claimed a gold medal at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival. The national beer competition recognizes the most outstanding beers currently produced in the United States. The top three winners in the competition’s 69 beer-style categories were announced October 1 at the 24th Annual GABF Awards Ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.

John Harvard’s Brew House is a wholly owned subsidiary of Boston Culinary Group of Cambridge, MA. The company recently installed a John Harvard’s outlet at its operation at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock, MA.

The Wayne unit was recognized in the German-Style Brown Ale/Altbier category for its Devon Altbier, a coppery-brown brew with a complex malt character, hoppy bite, and crisp, dry finish. “Alt” means “old” in German, referring to the historic style of brewing ales at cooler temperatures practiced before the discovery of lager yeast and refrigeration. An Altbier encompasses the best qualities of an ale and the subtle, clean character of a lager.

John Harvard’s Brew House is a 14-barrel brewpub located on the Main Line in Wayne, Pennsylvania. All beer is brewed on the premise with natural ingredients. Styles range from light to dark, malty to hoppy. “I’ve only been brewing professionally for a year now, and I think my training and technical approach to brewing are really beginning to pay off. It’s been a fast ride and a lot of fun,” says John Rehm, Head Brewer in Wayne. “When I sent my beer out for the competition I would have been ecstatic to bring home any medal at all, but the gold is especially exciting. I hope winning the gold medal will bring attention to the fact that I’m working really hard to brew high quality, unique beers here in Wayne.”

Mr. Rehm plans to share his winning formula with Head Brewers form other John Harvard’s locations. “I encourage all imbibers to look for the Devon Altbier at our locations in the near future,” said Rehm.

“We are very proud of Mr. Rehm and his team,” said Dave Oberlander, Group President. “We already knew we had a great product here and the award offers further validation. We are working hard to merge certain aspects of this concept into our recreation and leisure operations. This Gold Metal makes those things more valuable.”

The company is currently including several John Harvard’s dishes on catering and suite menus in convention centers, arenas and stadiums where they hold the food service contracts. “It gives us a chance to brand certain items and to add value and quality to our overall premium services package,” added Oberlander, who also oversees 18 recreation and leisure accounts.

The 2005 GABF winners were selected by an international panel of brewing experts from an impressive field of 2,335 entries received from 466 American breweries. “The Great American Beer Festival is the premier judging event for the American craft-beer industry,” says Festival Director Nancy Johnson. “Being chosen a winner, no matter if gold, silver, or bronze, is truly an accomplishment.”

For more GABF information and 2005 winners’ list, visit www.beertown.org. Other relevant websites for this story: www.johnharvards.com; www.bostonculinarygroup.com.

Boston Culinary Group is a privately owned and operated company with over 11,000 full and part time employees. The company manages more than 100 properties throughout the country including stadiums, arenas, civic and convention centers, performing arts theatres, amphitheaters, ski resorts, aquariums, museums and casual dining restaurants.

Contact Information:
Joe Armstrong
Business Development Manager
55 Cambridge Parkway
Cambridge, MA 02142
617.499.2700 Ext. 153
www.bostonculinarygroup.com