The third annual New York State Craft Beer Competition showcased the variety and strength of beers being produced here.

The state's biggest beer competition featured 813 entries from more than 100 breweries. Fifty-six judges helped select the best in 25 categories and determined that 53 breweries were worthy of the 74 medals awarded.(Full results are listed at the bottom of the story.)

The winners were revealed Friday night during a ceremony at the New York Craft Brewers Festival at the Desmond Hotel in Albany. The competition is organized by the New York State Brewers Association. Last year's competition totaled 642 beers, which was down from 707 in the first year. That makes the competition the second largest in the country. (The largest is in California.)

More from 2017:Geneva’s War Horse pulls off trifecta at biggest state beer competition ever

More from 2018:Rochester breweries fare well at state's biggest craft beer competition

Auburn's Prison City Pub and Brewery, Weedsport's Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing and Brooklyn's Threes Brewing were the day's big winners. Each brewery garnered three medals.

Brewer Ben Maeso and Prison City were awarded the Governor's Cup for the best beer in the state. Maeso's Barrel-Aged Wham Whams, a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with coconut, was selected as the best beer of the competition. (I can confirm that the beer is entirely life-affirming and family-eclipsing.)

As expected, hazy and hoppy beers dominated the entries. Almost 10 percent of the beers were in the hazy IPA category (82 entries). Eleven breweries, including Canandaigua's Naked Dove and York's Dublin Corners, earned two medals.

Threes, which won the Governor's Cup in 2017 and 2018, nearly made it a three-peat. Threes took first in the fruit and spice (sour) category and hazy IPA. It nearly made it three gold medals, but it was awarded silver in wild and sour ales.

Lunkenheimer, the unheralded Cayuga County brewery, took first in strong ales, third in fruit and spice (non-sour), and earned gold in the New York state beer category.

Naked Dove was awarded gold in the pale ale category and silver in porters (non-imperial). Dublin Corners, Livingston County's first craft brewery, earned gold in amber/red ales and a bronze in New York state beer.

Two Rochester breweries earned gold medals. Three Heads won in the imperial stout category and Sager won in the non-imperial stout category.

Once again, the competition was joyously run and organized by the Raise A Glass Foundation. Proceeds benefit InterVol, a Rochester-based nonprofit that donates unused medical supplies to people around the world, and the Rochester Rotary.

The two stewards who served our table all day really helped break up what could have been a monotonous day. (Believe it or not, it can be taxing to sample and gather thoughts on so many beers. It is, however, fun and rewarding). The stewards had huge smiles and were quick to deliver a quip between flights. It was a huge pleasure to work with them, and even cooler, knowing that it goes to support a good cause.

For the third consecutive year, I was lucky enough to be included in the judging panel. The panel included 56 judges from around the state. It included brewery owners, college professors, brewers, certified homebrew judges, and bar owners.

I judged 74 of the 813 beers entered.

(And before you ask how I managed to stay sober and alert, understand that all of the beers are served in 4-ounce samples. And out of all the samples I judged, I only finished two — a gloriously decadent barrel-aged dopplebock and a wine barrel-aged wild ale from Threes. I would estimate that I consumed less than 40 ounces of beer over a 10-hour period.)

In the morning, my table of four judged seven flights, totaling 49 beers. During the morning session, we merely had to score a beer and then discuss with the table if it was good enough to pass onto the afternoon medal rounds. On average, we passed through one beer from every flight to the afternoon. (Most flights were eight beers, some were less.)

The afternoon saw us judge two medal flights (to determine which beers might win gold). In order to win a gold medal, a beer had to have a cumulative score above 60 (the judging scale was out of 75).

WINNERS

Governor's Cup

(best beer in New York)

Barrel-Aged Wham Whams (Willett), Prison City Pub and Brewery, Auburn, Cayuga County.

Amber and Dark Lagers

(35 Entries)

Gold: Ice Book Bock, Resurgence Brewing Company, Buffalo;

Silver (tie): Toasted Lager, Blue Point Brewing Company, Patchogue, Suffolk County, Fall Black, Big Ditch Brewing Company, Buffalo;

Bronze: No bronze awarded.

Amber/Red Ale

(British, American, Irish, Scottish) (28 Entries)

Gold: Better Red Than Dead, Dublin Corners Farm Brewery, York, Livingston County;

Silver: Jessica's Red Ale, Red Shed Brewery, Cherry Valley, Otsego County;

Bronze: Aviator Red, Flying Bison Brewing Company, Buffalo.

American DIPA

(32 Entries)

Gold: Cannon Call, Big Ditch Brewing Company, Buffalo;

Silver: Hopnami, Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, Peconic, Suffolk County;

Bronze (tie): 3XIPA, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, Chautauqua County; 12 Legs, Spider Bite Beer Co., Holbrook, Suffolk County.

American IPA

(52 Entries)

Gold: No gold awarded;

Silver: DUBCO IPA, Destination Unknown Beer Co, Bay Shore, Suffolk County;

Bronze: Sticky Trees, Pressure Drop Brewing, Buffalo.

American IPA Variations

(38 Entries)

Gold: True Love In An Arranged Marriage, Arrowood Farms and Brewery, Accord, Ulster County;

Silver: Seshsquatch, Empire Farm Brewery, Cazenovia, Madison County;

Bronze: Coastal IPA, Destinatination Unknown Beer Co, Bay Shore, Suffolk County.

Barrel-Aged (non-sour)

(42 Entries)

Gold: Demons on the Dance Floor, Kings County Brewers Collective (KCBC), Brooklyn;

Silver: Four, Swiftwater Brewing, Rochester;

Bronze: Bourbon Barrel-Aged The Newburgh Conspiracy, Newburgh Brewing Company, Newburgh, Orange County.

Barrel-Aged Sour

(14 Entries)

Gold: Corvid, The Brewers Collective Beer Company, Bay Shore, Suffolk County;

Silver: Superfunk, New York Beer Project, Lockport, Niagara County;

Bronze: Barrel-Aged Grissette with Raspberries, Local 315 Brewing Company, Warners, Onondaga County.

Belgian Farmhouse

(15 Entries)

Gold: Freak Tractor 100 percent Brett Beer, Catskill Brewery, Livingston Manor, Sullivan County;

Silver: F4 Brett Farmhouse, Transmitter Brewing, Long Island City, Queens;

Bronze: Tender Moments, Thin Man Brewery, Buffalo.

Belgian Other

(Trappist, Strong) (17 Entries)

Gold: Elixir, Crafty Ales and Lagers, Phelps, Ontario County;

Silver: Good Reef, Blue Point Brewing Company, Patchogue, Suffolk County;

Bronze: Three Philosophers, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, Otsego County.

Brown Ale

(American and British) (25 Entries)

Gold: Class Project Br-Br-Br-Brown, Brewery at the CIA, Hyde Park;

Silver (tie): Blinding Brown, Kings Court Brewing Company, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County; Messiah Brown Ale, Shmaltz Brewing Company, Clifton Park, Saratoga County;

Bronze: No bronze awarded.

Experimental

(32 Entries)

Gold: Barrel-Aged Wham Whams (Willett), Prison City Pub and Brewery, Auburn, Cayuga County;

Silver: Love is a Soul Sucking Demon Stout, WT Brews, Baldwinsville, Onondaga County;

Bronze: Mimosa Wit, Genesee Brew House, Rochester.

Fruit and Spice Beer (Sour)

(38 Entries)

Gold: Eternal Return: Apricot, Threes Brewing, Brooklyn;

Silver: Frutetto, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., Elmsford, Westchester County;

Bronze: H7 Summer Berry Sour, Transmitter Brewing, Long Island City, Queens.

Fruit and Spice Beer (Non-sour)

(68 Entries)

Gold: Jalapeno Rye (Rye Whiskey Barrels), Big Alice Brewing Company, Long Island City, Queens;

Silver: Chai Tea Milk Stout, Rusty Nickel Brewing County, West Seneca, Erie County;

Bronze (tie): Toasted Coconut Porter, Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Company, Weedsport, Cayuga County; Kacey's Kristmas Ale, Rohrbach Brewing Company, Rochester.

Golden/Blonde Ale

(American, Kolsch, Cream Ale) (30 Entries)

Gold: No gold awarded;

Silver: Kold One, Mill House Brewing Company, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County;

Bronze: Brunette's Revenge, Wolf Hollow Brewing, Schenectady, Schenectady County;

Hazy IPA

(82 Entries)

Gold: Logical Conclusion, Threes Brewing, Brooklyn;

Silver: Ellsworth, Stoneyard Brewing Company, Brockport;

Bronze: CitMo IPA, Resurgence Brewing Company, Buffalo.

Imperial Stout and Porter

(39 Entries)

Gold: The Majestic Imperial Stout (2018), Three Heads Brewing, Rochester;

Silver (tie): Boris the Spider, Spider Bite Beer Co., Holbrook, Suffolk County; Russian Imperial Stout, WT Brews, Baldwinsville, Onondaga County;

Bronze: No medal awarded.

Kettle and Simple Sours

(12 Entries)

Gold: No gold awarded;

Silver: Franc-in-Weizen, Wagner Valley Brewing Company, Lodi, Seneca County;

Bronze: Pun Intended, Community Beer Works, Buffalo.

Light Lagers

(39 Entries)

Gold: Skills Pils, The Peekskill Brewery, Peekskill, Westchester County;

Silver: Metric Pils, Industrial Arts Brewing Co., Garnerville, Rockland County;

Bronze: Utica Club Pilsener, Saranac/FX Matt Brewing, Utica, Oneida County.

Pale Ale

(36 Entries)

Gold: Whatsis #4, Naked Dove Brewing Company, Canandaigua, Ontario County;

Silver: Illusion of Knowledge, Prison City Pub and Brewery, Auburn, Cayuga County;

Bronze: All Night IPA, Kings Court Brewing Company, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County.

Porter (Non-imperial)

(17 Entries)

Gold: Davids Porter, Valcour Brewing Company, Plattsburgh, Clinton County;

Silver: 45 Fathoms Porter, Naked Dove Brewing Company, Canandaigua, Ontario County;

Bronze: Captain Ellis Porter, Frog Alley Brewing, Schenectady, Schenectady County.

Stout (Non-imperial)

(27 Entries)

Gold: Smugtown Stout, Sager Beer Works, Rochester;

Silver: Ol Gilmartin Milk and Oatmeal Stout, Bridge and Tunnel Brewery, Ridgewood, Queens;

Bronze: So You're Wild, The Brewery of Broken Dreams, Hammondsport, Steuben County.

Strong Ale (non-Belgian)

(20 Entries)

Gold: Barleywine 2018, Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co., Weedsport, Cayuga County;

Silver: S.O.S. (Scotch on Seneca), WeBe Brewing, Geneva, Ontario County;

Bronze: Electric Hefeweizen, Mad Jack Brewing Company, Schenectady, Schenectady County.

Wheat Beer (American, Wit, Hefe)

(21 Entries)

Gold: Mise en Place Wit, Brewery at the CIA, Hyde Parkm Dutchess County;

Silver: No medal awarded;

Bronze: Witte, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, Otsego County.

Wild and Sour Ale

(16 Entries)

Gold: No gold awarded;

Silver: Eternal Return: Sauvignon Blanc (2016 Harvest), Threes Brewing, Brooklyn;

Bronze: Laser Brain, Prison City Pub and Brewery, Auburn, Cayuga County.

New York state beer

(At least 20 percent NYS hops malt and other ingredients) (353 Qualified Entries)

Gold: Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Company, Weedsport, Cayuga County;

Silver: Valcour Brewing Company, Plattsburgh, Clinton County;

Bronze: Dublin Corners Farm Brewery, York, Livingston County.

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com