Lower Lake Brewery Wins Second Gold at New York State Craft Beer Competition

Lower Lake Brewery's "Devil Log" pulled off something that even seasoned competition judges rarely see: a smoked lager beat out 91 other beers in the Light Lager – Traditional category at the 2026 New York State Craft Beer Competition, a field so large it dethroned the Hazy IPA as the most-entered style category for the first time in the competition's history. For a Hamilton, New York taproom devoted to traditional lager making, that gold is not a fluke. It's a second one.

Co-founder and head brewer Mark Jensen described Devil Log with characteristic understatement: "It's very, very light in color, but when you drink it, it has a flavor you're really not expecting." That gap between appearance and palate is the whole trick of a well-made smoked lager, and it's exactly where most homebrewers trip up.

The win comes less than two years after Lower Lake took gold at the same competition in 2025 for "The Phantom," a different lager. Back-to-back golds in the lager categories, across a competition that drew more than 1,100 entries from roughly 178 breweries and awarded 101 total medals across 32 style categories, makes a clear statement about the brewery's brand identity: these are specialists. The competition, produced by the New York State Brewers Association and Raise a Glass Foundation, is the largest state-level beer contest in the country.

Why a smoked lager wins when most don't comes down to three variables that are brutally unforgiving in a cold-fermented, light-colored beer. The first is smoke source. Weyermann's beechwood Rauchmalz, the traditional choice rooted in Bamberg, Germany's Schlenkerla tradition, contributes vanilla and honey aromatics at low percentages and intensifies toward smoked meat character as the grist percentage climbs. Cherrywood-smoked malt from Briess runs sweeter and more bacony, offering a softer smoke profile that reads as approachable rather than aggressive. Devil Log's pale color suggests Jensen kept the smoked malt percentage restrained, likely in the 20-to-50 percent range rather than the full-throttle Bamberg approach.

The second variable is intensity calibration. A beer that smells like an ashtray fails immediately at the judge's table. The BJCP is explicit: harsh, bitter, burnt, or charred smoke is a fault, not a feature. At 4.8% ABV, Devil Log sits at the lighter end of the style's range, which means there's no high-gravity malt backbone masking miscalibrated smoke. Whatever smoke character Jensen dialed in had to stand on its own without cover.

The third variable is fermentation cleanliness. Lager yeast at proper cold-fermentation temperatures produces none of the esters or diacetyl that can mask off-flavors in an ale. In a smoked lager, any fermentation flaw is exposed. Devil Log's competition performance suggests the fermentation was textbook clean.

For homebrewers wanting to attempt this style, the roadmap is more approachable than the style's reputation suggests. Start with a Helles or Munich Helles base and substitute 30-50 percent of your base malt with Weyermann Rauchmalz for a balanced but clearly smoky result. If Weyermann beechwood feels too restrained, a blend of cherrywood and beechwood malts at similar percentages can add aromatic complexity. Pitch a clean German lager strain like WY2124 or WLP830, ferment cold at 48-52°F, and lager for at least four weeks before judging the result. The smoke character will mellow and integrate with conditioning time, so avoid tasting too early and pulling the plug on what might become a medal-worthy beer.

Devil Log is poured at Lower Lake Brewery's taproom at 14 Utica St. in Hamilton, Thursday through Friday from 3 to 10 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The full 2026 competition winners list, including the silver (Daytripper from Kills Boro Brewing in Staten Island) and bronze (Reference Method from Common Roots Brewing in South Glens Falls) in the Light Lager – Traditional category, is published on the New York State Craft Beer Competition's official website.