Pork Barrel BBQ Wins 2014 Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Pork Barrel BBQ Competition BBQ Team has been crowned the Grand Champion of the 2014 Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle. As winner of the only barbecue championship in Washington, D.C. sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society the team receives an automatic invitation to two of the most prestigious contests on the professional barbecue competition circuit – the American Royal World Series of Barbecue KC Masterpiece Invitational Contest in Kansas City, Missouri and the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

"It is always an honor to win a Grand Championship, but to win a contest like the Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle with such a strong field of teams in our own backyard is as good as it gets," said Heath Hall, co-founder and President of Pork Barrel BBQ. "If it weren't for our amazing sponsors Reser's Fine Foods, ICEHOLE Coolers, Butcher BBQ, East Coast Smokin' Wood and Meyer Natural Angus, we wouldn't be able to compete on the highest level of competition barbecue."

"It's a huge honor to be named Grand Champion at the Safeway Barbecue Battle for the second time in four years," said Brett Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Pork Barrel BBQ. "It is especially meaningful to win in our hometown where we founded our barbecue sauce company and opened the Pork Barrel BBQ restaurant."

Over 100,000 people attended the 22^nd annual Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle in Washington, DC during the two-day competition on June 21^st and 22^nd. The Pork Barrel BBQ Competition Team competed against multiple current and former world champion barbecue teams in this year's contest including Tuffy Stone's Cool Smoke, Myron Mixon's Jack's Old South and Johnny Trigg's Smokin Triggers. In addition to being named Grand Champion, the team also won the Perdue Sizzlin Chicken National Chicken Championship and took third place in the National Pork Championship.

This is the sixth consecutive year the Pork Barrel BBQ Competition Team has competed in the Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle. There is extra meaning to this competition for Hall and Thompson as it marked the first contest they competed in as Pork Barrel BBQ in 2009 and was the site of their first Grand Championship in 2011. It is also the contest that helped launch their line of national award-winning BBQ sauces when they entered their favorite homemade BBQ Sauce in the contests 2009 "Nations Best BBQ Sauce Contest" and won Second Place. A year later, in 2010, their Sweet BBQ Sauce was named the event's "Chinet People's Choice" award winner for best BBQ sauce.

The sauce company's co-founders, Heath Hall and Brett Thompson, are recognized as two of the most creative and entrepreneurial minds in barbecue. Since their appearance on ABC's hit reality TV show Shark Tank in 2009, they have expanded their business from creating BBQ sauces and spice rubs in their home kitchens to selling their national award-winning BBQ products in more than 5,000 stores in the United States, Canada and Europe including Safeway, Costco, Menards, Whole Foods, Giant, The Fresh Market, Kroger, Albertsons, and Giant Eagle. Their BBQ sauces have been named the Supreme BBQ Sauce in America by Cook's Illustrated magazine, Best BBQ Sauce in America by Men's Health magazine and One of the Best BBQ Sauces in America by Country Living magazine and they have been named to the list of Best New BBQ Pit Masters and Grill Geniuses by Food & Wine magazine.

In addition to producing award-winning BBQ sauces and rubs the company is the maker of Que Cologne – the world's first Eau de Barbeque, operate the Pork Barrel BBQ restaurant in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia and their inaugural cookbook, the free Pork Barrel BBQ Guide to Tailgating, received praise from food and sports fans across America. They continue to earn support from avid barbecue fans with their top-ranked Pork Barrel BBQ Blog and as the most followed BBQ company on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/porkbarrelbbq).

For more information, visit the Pork Barrel BBQ website http://www.porkbarrelbbq.com and read about their latest updates and adventures on Facebook, Twitter and the company's blog.

About Pork Barrel BBQ

Pork Barrel BBQ was founded in December 2008 during the peak of the economic crisis to prove that a company not owned or operated by the federal government could succeed, and that if you had a good idea, it was still possible to grab a piece of the "American Dream." Pork Barrel BBQ founders, Heath Hall and Brett Thompson, ran the company out of the basement of their houses, selling their award winning BBQ products one bottle at a time. In less than one year, their Pork Barrel BBQ Sauces and Spice Rub were carried in over 1,000 stores in 40 states. Throughout their journey, they have stayed true to their mission – to unite the nation through the great tradition of BBQ, and bring bipartisan flavor to your next meal. The Pork Barrel BBQ Competition BBQ Team entered its first contest, The Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle, in June 2009, and walked away with two trophies – Second Place in the "Nations Best BBQ Sauce Contest" and Fourth Place for their pulled pork in the Memphis In May portion of the contest. Since then, the team has won dozens of awards, including the 2012 Sam's Club National Barbecue Championship in Pleasantville, NJ, the 2011 and 2014 Perdue National Chicken Championships, the Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle in 2011 and 2014, the "Chinet People's Choice" award for best BBQ sauce in 2010 and other notable Memphis in May and Kansas City Barbecue Society BBQ competition accolades as well as having their Pork Barrel BBQ Original BBQ Sauce named the Supreme BBQ Sauce by Cook's Illustrated magazine and Best Sauce in America and one of "The 125 Best Foods for Men" by Men's Health magazine. For more information, visit www.porkbarrelbbq.com and follow Pork Barrel BBQ on Facebookand Twitter (@porkbarrelbbq).