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A win at the Great American Beer Festivals competition is a BIG deal. Taking a gold, silver or bronze medal in any one of this year’s 98 beer categories can put a new brewery or brewpub on the map and reaffirm the brewing skills of industry leaders that sometimes get overlooked.
This year the Brewers Association awarded 306 medals to 280 breweries across the United States in 102 beer categories.
And here are some of this year’s big winners…
MOST MEDALED BREWERIES
The most medals won by a single brewery: 3
10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR – 3 medals
- GOLD – Baywindow, category 77: Berliner-Style Weisse
- GOLD – Passionate Envy, category 4: Fruit Wheat Beer
- SILVER – P2P, category 96: American-Style Stout
- Alesong Brewing and Blending, Eugene, OR – 3 medals
- SILVER – Terroir Pinot Noir, category 19: Experimental Beer
- SILVER – Terroir Pinot Gris, category 25: Brett Beer
- BRONZE – Touch of Brett Mandarina, category 25: Brett Beer
- Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT – 3 medals
- GOLD – Miner’s Gold, category 2 American-Style Wheat Beer with Yeast
- SILVER – Pompey’s Pilsner, category 42 Bohemian-Style Pilsener
- BRONZE – Prickly Pear, category 55 Classic English-Style Pale Ale
The Winners in the Top 5 Most-Entered Catagories
Category 63: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (391 entries)
GOLD: Alarmist Brewing – Le Jus, Chicago, IL
SILVER: Kros Strain Brewing Co., Fairy Nectar London Double Dry Hopped – La Vista, NE
BRONZE: Eris Brewery and Cider House, Foiken Haze – Chicago, IL
Category 62: American-Style India Pale Ale (311 entries)
GOLD: Root Down Brewing Co. – Bine, Phoenixville, PA
SILVER: Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Portsmouth, Not an IPA (P.S. it’s an IPA) – Portsmouth, NH
BRONZE: Green Cheek Beer Co. – West Coast IPA is Dead! – Orange, CA
Category 29: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout (177 entries)
GOLD: Against the Grain Brewery, 70K Amburana – Louisville, KY
SILVER: Kane Brewing, A Night to End All Dawns – Ocean, NJ
BRONZE: FiftyFifty Brewing Co., Eclipse – Truckee, CA
Category 59: American-Style Pale Ale (170 entries)
GOLD: Ocean Beach Brewery – B.Right On Pale Ale – San Diego, CA
SILVER: Ventura Coast Brewing Co. – Neighborhood – Ventura, CA
BRONZE: Maplewood Brewing Co. – Charlatan – Chicago, IL
Category: 28 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (162 entries)
GOLD: Drake’s Brewing Co. – Santa’s Brass – San Leandro, CA
SILVER: The Wrecking Bar Brewpub, Willett Barrel-Aged Ye Old Sprinklerhead Barleywine – Atlanta, GA
BRONZE: Revolution Brewing, Straight Jacket – Chicago, IL
NEW COMPETITION CATEGORIES
In addition to Juicy or Hazy IPA, the following categories were also new to the competition this year…
Category 60: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale (132 entries)
GOLD: Tin Roof Brewing Co., Voodoo – Baton Rouge, LA
SILVER: Kings Brewing Co., Sippin on Dank – Rancho Cucamonga, CA
BRONZE: Fiction Beer Co., Madame Psychosis – Denver, CO
Category 65: Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double India Pale Ale (150 entries)
GOLD: Black Market Brewing Co., New England Style Double IPA – Temecula, CA
SILVER: Corridor Brewery & Provisions, DDH Double IPA – Chicago, IL
BRONZE: Alvarado Street Brewery, Contains No Juice – Salinas, CA
Category 35: American-Style Pilsener: (91 entries)
GOLD: The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., Rocket 100 – Austin, TX
SILVER: Wolverine State Brewing Co., NZ Pils – Ann Arbor, MI
BRONZE: The Post Brewing Co., Howdy Beer – Lafayette, CO
Category 57: Australian-Style Pale Ale (46 entries)
GOLD: Butcherknife Brewing Co., Sunshine Express – Steamboat Springs, CO
SILVER: Worthy Brewing Co., Strata IPA – Bend, OR
BRONZE: Austin Beerworks, Flavor Country – Austin, TX
2018 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards
PACKAGING BREWERIES
Very Small Brewing Company of the Year – 1,000 barrels produced in 2017
Brink Brewing Co. – Cincinnati, OH; Brewmaster: Kelly Montgomery
Small Brewing Company of the Year – 1,000 – 14,999 barrels produced in 2017
Lewis & Clark Brewing Co. – Helena, MT; Brewmaster: Lewis & Clark Brewing and Packaging
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Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year – 15,000 – 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2017
pFriem Family Brewers – Hood River, OR; Brewmaster: pFriem Family Brewers
BREWPUBS
Small Brewpub of the Year – 750 barrels produced in 2017)
Ocean Beach Brewery – San Diego, CA; Brewmaster: Jim Millea & Scott Watkins
Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year – 750 – 1,500 barrels produced in 2017
Root Down Brewing Co. – Phoenixville, PA; Brewmaster: Root Down Brew Team
Large Brewpub of the Year – Over 1,500 barrels produced in 2017
The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. – Austin, TX; Brewmaster: Amos Swifty Kim
LARGE BREWERIES OR MULTIPLE LOCATION BREWERIES
Brewery Group of the Year – Over 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2017 or multi-location breweries wishing to compete as a group
FiftyFifty Brewing Co. – Truckee, CA; Brewmaster: FiftyFifty BrewCrew
Congratulations to all of this year’s Great American Beer Festival winners…”Live long and prosper!”
