American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
(Courtesy Brewers Association}
Over the weekend the Great American Beer Festival announced the best beers of 2020. And we’ve five Gold, Silver and Bronze GABF medal winners that you’ll want to chase down.
A Cream Ale That Rose To The Top (Indianapolis, IN) – Sun King Brewing, one of Indiana’s largest craft breweries, was awarded more medals at the GABF than any other brewery in the competition. And the brewery which has been crafting award-winning beer since 2009 took a well-deserved medal for its year-round Cream Ale. Awarded a Bronze in the competition’s Golden or Blonde Ale category, Sun King Sunlight is a 5.3% ABV refresher that celebrates American brewing traditions by balancing smooth malt complexity with a crisp, clean finish.
Chuckanut Maibock Gets Awarded Again (Bellingham, WA) – Chuckanut Brewery’s multi-award winning Bock beer has done it again, winning a Gold medal at this year’s GABF. Stronger than traditional lagers Chuckanut Maibock is a 7% ABV medium-bodied lager with rich, ripe fruit aromas due to the lengthy laagering period of over 3 months.
Prost (Grand Rapids, MI) – In late August Founders Brewing released this special lager to celebrate ArtPrize, an international art competition that takes place every year in the brewery’s hometown. And that beer was awarded a Silver medal at the GABF in the American Amber Lager catagory. Deftly brewed using imported German malts and hops, Founders Oktoberfest is a 6% ABV Märzen Style Lager with a striking copper hue with a rich, slightly sweet malt backbone.
White Wins Again (Portland, ME) – Allagash Brewing’s flagship has done it again, winning a Gold medal at this year’s Great American Beer Festival competition. Intentionally hazy thanks to a rich combination of yeast and proteins within the malt, oats, and wheat, Allagash White is a 5.2% ABV Belgium-Style Witbier that is thankfully widely available.
Black Is Back (Venice, CA) – Firestone Walker’s The Propagator experimental brewery won a Gold medal in the GABF’s American-Style Black Ale catagory for returning a classic to prime time. A unique twist on the Cascadian Dark Ale style, Firestone Walker’s Wookey Jack is award-winning 8.3% ABV Black Rye IPA that’s perfect for long winter nights and worthy of revisiting.
