Birko lists the World Beer Cup winners that use its cleaning products

Great craft beer means a clean brewhouse and a pure product. In fact, the combination can be award-winning. The folks at Birko certainly think so. The company is a leader in the beer, winery and beverage production business when it comes to specialty cleaning and processing aids, and many of its craft brewing customers were recognized for their outstanding beer products at last week’s World Beer Cup. In particular, the company noted how its products do not effect flavor profiles.

“Birko customers took home over 20 percent of the gold medals awarded to U.S. brewers at the 2014 World Beer Cup competition,” said Dana Johnson, Birko’s brewery specialist, in a press release. “Birko customers consistently win these ‘blind taste test’ competitions time after time, year after year, because they know our products work great, are second to none and do not affect the flavor of the beer.”

Birko manufactures a complete line of specialty cleaning and processing aids for brewery, winery and beverage production, including a patented acid and detergent method of cleaning used beer kegs. This actually produces cleaner kegs by more effectively removing beerstone, a problematic and tenacious scale often found inside kegs. Birko’s other products for brewery provide yeast washing and reduce biofilms in the brewery. Birko also provides backset treatments, anti-foaming agents (both silicone and non-silicone) and chemical dispensing equipment.

“There’s not another company out there that knows as much as Birko does about cleaning, sanitizing and process aids for the brewery,” Johnson said in the press release. “Our products and technical support make the difference — batch after batch,”

Long-time Birko customer Blind Tiger Brewery and Restaurant, Topeka, Kan., and Blind Tiger’s Brewmaster John Dean won the Large Brewpub and Brewmaster of the Year award at the World Beer Cup. For a complete list of this year’s World Beer Cup winners, see the World Beer Cup website, and here’s a list of the Birko customers who won gold:

AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, Calif.
AleSmith Old Ale 2013 (Old Ale or Strong Ale)

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery — Boulder, Colo., Huntington Beach, Calif.
Wild and Crazy Rye (Indigenous Beer)

Black Mesa Brewing Co., Oklahoma City, Okla.
Black Mesa Endless Skyway Bitter (Extra Special Bitter)

Blind Tiger Brewery and Restaurant, Topeka, Kan.
Munich Dunkles (European-Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel)

Boulder Beer Co., Boulder, Colo.
Shake Chocolate Porter (Chocolate Beer)

Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, Colo.
Sawtooth Ale (Ordinary or Special Bitter)

Marble Brewery, Albuquerque, N.M.
Pilsner (Kellerbier or Zwickelbier)

Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo.
Runoff (American-Style Amber/Red Ale)

Piney River Brewing Co., Bucyrus, Mo.
Float Trip (American-Style Wheat Beer)

Red Rock Brewery, Salt Lake City, Utah
Redrock Paardebloem (Experimental Beer)

Strange Brewing Co., Denver, Colo.
Cherry Kriek (Fruit Beer)

Swamp Head Brewery, Gainesville, Fla.
Smoke Signal (Smoke Beer)

Twisted Pine Brewing Co., Boulder, Colo.
Big Shot Espresso Stout (Coffee Beer)

Two Brothers Brewing Co., Warrenville, Ill.
Domaine DuPage (Belgian- and French-Style Ale)

Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, Ore.
Hefeweizen (American-Style Wheat Beer with yeast)