(Photo © Brewers Association)

If you care about beer, you probably know that the Great American Beer Festival award winners were recently announced in Denver.

Presented annually by the national craft beer trade organization, the Brewers Association, The Great American Beer Festival, or simply the GABF as it’s known as in the biz, remains the nation’s largest professional beer competition and the premier symbol of brewing excellence.

A win at the Great American Beer Festival competition is a BIG deal. Taking a gold, silver or bronze medal in any one of this year’s beer categories can put a new brewery on the map and reaffirm the brewing skills of industry leaders that sometimes get overlooked.

And in 2024, California breweries won BIG out in Denver.

Let’s start with the biggest awards. Four California breweries  won Brewer of the Year awards this year.

Apogee Brewing in Grover Beach earned the 0-250 Barrels Brewery and Brewer of the Year

Everywhere Beer Co. in Orange earned the 1,001–2,000 Barrels Brewery  and Brewer of the Year

Riip Beer Co. in Huntington Beach earned the 2,001–5,000 Barrels Brewery and Brewer of the Year

Highland Park Brewery in Los Angeles earned Brewery Group Brewery and Brewer of the Year

But that was just the beginning…

(Photo © Brewers Association)

The 2024 Great American Beer Festival California winners are:

American Black Ale or American Stout

GOLD – Blackside Snap – Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach

American-Style Brown Ale

GOLD – Who’s That Brown – Tarantula Hill Brewing Co., Thousand Oaks

American-Style India Pale Ale

GOLD – Competition – Highland Park Brewery, Los Angeles

American-Style Pale Ale

GOLD – Timbo – Highland Park Brewery, Los Angeles

Bohemian-Style Pilsener

GOLD – Reality Czeck-style Pilsner – Moonlight Brewing Co., Santa Rosa

Coffee Stout or Porter

GOLD – Dusk Til Dawn – Pizza Port, San Clemente

Contemporary American-Style Lager

GOLD – Baseball – Highland Park Brewery, Los Angeles

Contemporary Gose

GOLD – 3 Citrus Gose – Culture Brewing Co., Solana Beach

Experimental or Barrel-Aged Cider

GOLD – Rosé Cider – Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, Philo

German Dark Lager

GOLD – Schwarz Wulf – Greywolf Brewing, Norco

Herb and Spice Beer

GOLD – Two Wheeler – Far Field Beer Co., Hawthorne

Imperial India Pale Ale

GOLD – Hoptomic – Morgan Territory Brewing, Tracy

Imperial Stout

GOLD – Indie Roo – Pizza Port, Imperial Beach

International Dark Lager

GOLD – Puesto Negra – Puesto Cerveceria, San Diego

International-Style Pale Ale

GOLD – Smells Like Purple Rain – Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach

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Congratulations to all of this year’s big winners… Live long and prosper!