Special to the Democrat

BATON ROUGE — Baton Rouge’s Tin Roof Brewing has earned a first for the state of Louisiana at the country’s largest beer festival.

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports the brewery recently won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival for its Voodoo Pale Ale, beating out 131 entries in the Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale category.

Tin Roof Brewing Company in Baton Rouge was founded by Natchez natives William McGehee and Charles Caldwell. McGehee, who is the company’s CEO was recently named Greater Baton Rouge Business Report’s 2017 Young Businessperson of the Year.

According to the Great American Beer Festival website, there have been seven medal winners by Louisiana breweries in the last 25 years. But none have taken gold. Abita Brewing won a bronze medal in the Marzen category in 2014 for its Octoberfest beer, which has since been retired. Abita also won a silver medal in 2013 for Andygator in the Bock category.

Voodoo Pale Ale was first introduced in May 2017, and the recipe was revamped last June to include a new yeast, a different grain bill and an updated hopping schedule.

The Great American Beer Festival, hosted in Denver, Colorado, is considered one of the most prestigious festivals in the beer industry, with several thousand breweries each year entering their beers into a variety of contests.

Hosted by the Brewer’s Association, the festival is widely recognized as the pinnacle of all beer award in the United States.