TAMAQUA, Pa. — A blue ribbon hangs on the wall at Stoker's Brewing Company in Tamaqua, adding some recognition to the long list of options at this nano-brewery from the Pennsylvania Farm Show in the 'Belgian Style' category.
"We entered our Divine Belgian strong golden ale. It's 9.5%, and it took home the blue ribbon," said Doug Drost, Stoker's Brewing Company.
Founder and Brewmaster Doug Drost says the 'Divine' isn't the most popular on the menu but thinks this award might change that.
"Big big fan of Belgian beer and brewing, so hopefully, this award will open up people's eyes and help educate them to a different type of beer, and they are welcome to try it here," said Drost.
Steve Daderko, originally from Tamaqua, considers himself a bit of a beer connoisseur.
"Beer's my spirit animal. I have a bumper sticker. It says beer is my spirit animal. So I'm a fan," said Daderko, Tamaqua.
He believes 'Divine' is not the only winner at the brewery, but Stoker's Brewing Company as a whole deserves recognition too.
"It's just the variety, the quality, and I've been to other groups of microbreweries, stuff like that. And there's some that are good, but Doug's is just so consistent, and every one is just a little bit different stuff like that," said Daderko.
Doug says a lot of what he does is inspired by passion and brewers before him. He'll share more about it over a beer at his bar; just ask.
"And honestly, the recognition and the award, the first thing I thought of was my customers because they've been asking me to enter beer competitions now for quite a while. Without them, there's no Stoker's Brewery, and there are no rewards," said Drost.
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