Ladies and gentlemen, we have a draft beer champion - Breuning be thy name!  Last week, Tim Breuning, a native of Ohio, was named the first ever champion of the Great American Beer Tour. In one short week Breuning won not only glory and the admiration of beer drinkers throughout the country, but also a trip to the 25th Annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

The Great American Beer Tour was organized by the Brewers Association as a way to help promote American Craft Beer Week.  This year, the theme was “Visit Your Local Brewery”, and that’s just was Breuning did.  In fact, in one short week he visited eight breweries - FOUR TIMES.  In case you’re slow with your arithmetic, that’s thirty-two breweries in five days.  After the first two days Breuning, a college professor, decided to take the rest of the week off work.

The Great American Beer Tour was set up as a way for people to get to know their local breweries and the amazing beer they produce.  By visiting the Brewers Association page individuals could enter the contest by downloading a beer passport.  Contestants then had to travel to breweries and have their passports stamped as proof of their visit.  Points were awarded on a scale from (1) to (3) based upon who stamped the passport.

So my question is this - Why the heck was I not informed that there was a beer contest going on?  I mean, had I known the title of America’s Draft Beer Champion was up for grabs I would have:

1. Cut out of the office for a week-long beer drinking romp.

2. Beat the pants off this guy by hitting up twice as many breweries.

3. Met every beer hero in the process.

The moral of the story here is, go to school in Ohio.  Not only do the college students know how to party, it appears the professors do as well.  Cheers to you Tim Breuning, America’s Draft Beer Champion!