Highlights From The 2016 Great American Beer Festival Competition

A win at the GABF competition is a HUGE deal. Winning a gold, silver or bronze medal in any one of this year’s 96 categories can put a new brewery or brewpub on the map. It can jumpstart a brewery both locally and nationally and reaffirm the industry leaders that sometimes get overlooked.

With the biggest number of participant ever, the competition this year was ferocious. More than 7,227 beers were entered by 1,752 breweries from all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia.

The Competition’s Biggest Winners

In addition to established brewing names like Karl Strauss and Fat Head’s, new up-and-comers are also basking in the glow of their big GABF medals today – and we’re excited for everyone!

With four wins, (two gold medals, a silver and a bronze) Überbrew held the most medals of any brewery this year, an amazing feat for this relatively young organization.

Hot on Überbrew’s tail were three different breweries that won three medals each…

San Diego legend, Karl Strauss, won two golds and 1 bronze. North Carolina-based Brown Truck Brewery took a gold, and two silvers. And Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon ran the gamut with a gold, a silver and a bronze.

 

2016 BREWERY AND BREWER OF THE YEAR

Very Small Brewing Company and Very Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year

Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group (BSG)

Brown Truck Brewery (High Point, NC)

Team Brown Truck

 

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year 
Sponsored by O-I

Überbrew, (Billings, Mont)

Über Cru        

 

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year

Sponsored by MicroStar Logistics

Karl Strauss Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)

Team Karl

 

Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Beer Institute

Pabst Brewing Co. (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Gregory Deuhs

 

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.

ZwanzigZ Brewing (Columbus, IN)

Mike Rybinski and Trent Fleener      

 

Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year

Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group (BSG)

Boxing Bear Brewing Co., (Albuquerque, NM)

Justin Hamilton and Dylan Davis        

 

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Country Malt Group

The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. (Austin, Texas)

Amos “Swifty” Kim

 

More Competition Highlights

• There were 464 first-time GABF competition entrants this year, and 41 of them won medals.

• The top three states by ratio of medals to entries by state:
  • Wyoming (.111) with 45 entries and 5 medals
  • Hawaii (.107) with 28 entries and 3 medals
  • Virginia (.07) with 200 entries and 14 medals

• The 2016 competition saw seven new style categories:
  • Pumpkin/Squash Beer
  • Four new historical beer categories were added: Finnish Sahti, Swedish Gotlandsricke, and Pale and Dark Breslau Schoeps
  • German Leichtbier
  • Specialty Saison