Brussels Beer Challenge Winners 2019

November 25, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Last Monday, the winners of the 8th annual Brussels Beer Challenge were announced. A little over 1,650 beers were judged in 8 broad styles (Pale Ale, Dark Ale, Red Ale, Pils, Stout/Porter, White, Flavoured Beers, Specialty Beers) and then further subdivided into 83 smaller categories (lambic, abbey, chocolate beers, etc.) by 90 judges, of which I was again privileged to be one. This year the competition was held in Mons, with entries from 35 countries. After three days of judging, the awards were announced last Monday, but it took me this long to go through and reformat the winners into a list. Congratulations to all the winners!

Belgium won the most medals, with the United States coming in second. Here are the top medal winners, by country.

Medals Won by Country:

Belgium = 76
United States = 46
Italy = 24
Netherlands = 21
China = 18
France = 16
Germany = 15
Brazil = 12
Canada = 8
Taiwan = 5

The 2019 Brussels Beer Challenge Winners

Category 1 — Dark Ale: Abbey / Trappist Style Dubbel
Gold: AFFLIGEM DUBBEL (Brouwerij Alken-Maes; Belgium)
Silver: LA TRAPPE DUBBEL (Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven B.V.; Netherlands)
Bronze: STEENBRUGGE DUBBEL BRUIN (Brouwerij Palm – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium; Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: DELIRIUM NOCTURNUM (Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV; Belgium)

Category 2 — Dark Ale: Brown Ale
Gold: BRUGSE ZOT DUBBEL Brouwerij De Halve Maan (Belgium)
Silver: LA BRUNETTE Brasserie du Renard (Belgium)
Bronze: LA GERVOISE BRUNE SAS Brasserie Etienne (France)
Certificate of Excellence: TRIPLE SECRET DES MOINES BRUNE Brasserie Goudale (France)

Category 3 — Dark Ale: Dark/Black IPA
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BLACK BUCKET Kinnegar Brewing (Ireland)
Certificate of Excellence: SABRO LASER Brasserie de la Pleine Lune (France)

Category 4 — Dark Ale: Oud Bruin (Flanders Brown Ale)
Gold: QUEUE DE CHARRUE VIEILLE BRUNE Brasserie Vanuxeem (Belgium)
Silver: LIEFMANS GOUDENBAND Duvel Moortgat (Belgium)
Bronze: WEST ODNAR Firestone Walker Brewing Company (United States)

Category 5 — Dark Ale: Strong Dark Ale
Gold: CHIMAY GRANDE RÉSERVE Bières de Chimay (Belgium)
Silver: DE POES BRUIN Brouwerij De Poes BVBA (Belgium)
Bronze: TÜBINATOR Cerveceria Principal (Chile)
Certificate of Excellence: BARLEY WINE BRUNE MILLÉSIME 2017 Cap d’Ona (France)
Certificate of Excellence: LEFORT Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste (Belgium)

Category 6 — Flavoured Beer: Chocolate
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: NOI CIOCCOLATO Noi Cervejaria (Brazil)

Category 7 — Flavoured Beer: Coffee
Gold: MACONDO COFFEE STOUT Cervecería BBC (Colombia)
Silver: BRIGADEIRO Jack’s Abby Brewing (United States)
Bronze: FOXTAIL DOUBLE STOUT Hourglass Brewing (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: PURPLE SAISON 18 Brewery (China)

Category 8 — Flavoured Beer: Field Beer
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: No Award
Certificate of Excellence: TOMATO GOSE NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)

Category 9 — Flavoured Beer: Fruit Beer
Gold: AMBAR IMPERIAL CITRUS La Zaragozana S.A. (Spain)
Silver: MANGO GOSE NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Bronze: LILLE RØDE Lindheim Ølkompani (Norway)
Certificate of Excellence: NIUBIC SOUR NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Certificate of Excellence: RODENBACH ALEXANDER Brouwerij Rodenbach – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium (Belgium)

Category 10 — Flavoured Beer: Herb & Spice
Gold: SUPER 8 SAISON Brouwerij Haacht (Belgium)
Silver: IJZERHARD IPA Oproer (Netherlands)
Bronze: LOHN BIER CARVOEIRA Lohn Bier (Brazil)
Bronze: BAMBERG HABANERO RAUCHBIER Cervejaria Bamberg (Brazil)

Category 11 — Flavoured Beer: Honey Beer
Gold: BIÈRE DE MIEL Brasserie Dupont (Belgium)
Silver: MAJA HONEY ALE Jeb sas di Bau’ Chiara & C (Italy)
Bronze: MEXICAN HONEY Indeed Brewing Company (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: MAJA WINTER EDITION HONEY ALE Jeb sas di Bau’ Chiara & C (Italy)

Category 12 — Flavoured Beer: Old Style Fruit-Lambic
Gold: OLD KRIEK CUVÉE RENÉ Lindemans Brewery (Belgium)
Silver: OUDE KRIEK OUD BEERSEL Oud Beersel BVBA (Belgium)
Bronze: OUDE QUETSCHE TILQUIN À L’ANCIENNE Gueuzerie Tilquin S.A. (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: OUDE KRIEK BOON Brouwerij Boon (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: SELVA SOUR Birra dell’Eremo (Italy)

Category 13 — Flavoured Beer: Pumpkin Ale
Gold: BRANDY BARREL-AGED IMPERIAL PUMPKIN ALE Lakefront Brewery (United States)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: PUMPKIN ALE Low land Brewery di Elettromeccanica di Nicola Soldani (Italy)

Category 14 — Flavoured Beer: Russian Imperial Stout Barrel Or Oaked Aged
Gold: BOURBON BARREL AGED DARK STAR Fremont Brewing (United States)
Silver: FATHER OF ALL TSUNAMIS Pelican Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: BLACK BUTTE XXXI Deschutes Brewery (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: BLACK CURRANT BARREL AGED IMPARIAL STOUT Suzhou City Guangtu Brewing Co. (China)

Category 15 — Flavoured Beer: Smoked Beer
Gold: OTHMAR RAUCH Ootmarsummer Bierbrouwerij Heupink & Co (Netherlands)
Silver: BUCKSKIN RAUCHBIER Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)
Bronze: THE WALL KAMALEON RAUCH Evo Srl (Italy)

Category 16 — Flavoured Beer: Sweet/Milk Stout
Gold: No Award
Silver: STEEL TOE STOUT Ska Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: LOCAL LEGEND Deep Ellum Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: SAMUEL ADAMS CREAM STOUT Boston Beer Company (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: KOFI Brasserie Atrium S.A. (Belgium)

Category 17 — Flavoured Beer: Wood/Barrel Aged (Less Than 10% ABV)
Gold: MOLE MERKIN Firestone Walker Brewing Company (United States)
Silver: RODENBACH VINTAGE Brouwerij Rodenbach – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium (Belgium)
Bronze: BRAVO Cervejaria Backer (Brazil)
Certificate of Excellence: RESERVA SOUR WOOD Cervejaria Backer (Brazil)

Category 18 — Flavoured Beer: Wood/Barrel Aged Higher Than 10% ABV)
Gold: DUVEL BARREL AGED Duvel Moortgat (Belgium)
Silver: BAKERY: COCONUT MACAROON The Bruery (United States)
Silver: SILLY SCOTCH PINOT BARREL AGED Brasserie de Silly (Belgium)
Bronze: No Award
Certificate of Excellence: BARLEY WINE MYSTÈRE MILLÉSIME 2017 Cap d’Ona (France)

Category 19 — Lager: American-Style Pilsner
Gold: No Award
Silver: LAGER Firestone Walker Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: TRUE LOVE Champion Brewing Company (United States)

Category 20 — Lager: Bohemian-Style Pilsner
Gold: BERNARD CELEBRATION LAGER Rodinný Pivovar Bernard a.s. (Czech Republic)
Silver: PRIMÁTOR ANTONÍN Primátor A.s. (Czech Republic)
Bronze: BITTA VON TRESEN Muttermilch – Vienna Brewery (Austria)

Category 21 — Lager: Dark/Dunkel (Including Schwarzbier)
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: CERNOVAR CERNÉ Tradicní Pivovar v Rakovníku, a.s. (Czech Republic)
Certificate of Excellence: SCHWARZBIER 4 Pines Brewing Company (Australia)

Mons-1 — The City Hall in Mons, Belgium.

Category 22 — Lager: German-Style Dunkel Bock/Doppelbock
Gold: MAESTRA DUNKEL Mahou San Miguel (Spain)
Silver: BROTAS BEER BOCK Brotas Beer Industria de Bebidas LTDA (Brazil)
Bronze: WEYERMANN BAMBERGER HOFBRÄU EXQUISATOR Mich. Weyermann GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: LINDEBOOM HERFSTBOCK Lindeboom Bierbrouwerij B.V. (Netherlands)

Category 23 — Lager: German-Style Eisbock
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: IJSBOK SNAB Bierbrouwers (Netherlands)

Category 24 — Lager: German-Style Helles-/MaiBock/Doppelbock
Gold: BUCKSKIN HELLER BOCK Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)
Silver: WOW Soralama’ SRL (Italy)
Bronze: BOCK Birrificio Bradipongo S.r.l. (Italy)
Bronze: MAESTRA DOBLE LÚPULO Mahou San Miguel (Spain)

Category 25 — Lager: German-Style Märzen
Gold: SAMUEL ADAMS OCTOBERFEST Boston Beer Company (United States)
Silver: OKTOBERFEST Ninkasi Fabriques (France)
Bronze: OKTOBERFEST STYLE pFriem Family Brewers (United States)

Category 26 — Lager: German-Style Pilsner
Gold: KIRISHIMA BEER PILSNER Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Silver: BUCKSKIN GERMAN PILSNER Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)
Bronze: KETTERER PILS Familienbrauerei M. Ketterer GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: PILS2 Birrificio Otus Srl (Italy)

Category 27 — Lager: Helles
Gold: BAYREUTHER HELL Bayreuther Bierbrauerei AG (Germany)
Gold: WALDHAUS SPEZIAL GOLD Privatbrauerei Waldhaus Joh. Schmid GmbH (Germany)
Silver: BUCKSKIN MUNICH HELLES Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)

Category 28 — Lager: Hoppy Lager
Gold: AMERICAN MAGUT Birrificio Lambrate (Italy)
Gold: JOPEN CRAFT PILSENER Jopen BV (Netherlands)
Silver: SUPER CADIX Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie (Belgium)
Bronze: NORTH ARCTIC LAGER Tornion Panimo Oy (Finland)
Certificate of Excellence: LAGER DES ÉTOILES Brasserie de la Pleine Lune (France)

Category 29 — Lager: International Style Pilsner
Gold: ALFA EDEL PILS Meens Brouwerij BV (Netherlands)
Silver: LISA Birra del Borgo (Italy)
Bronze: CORNELISSEN LUXURY LAGER Brouwerij Cornelissen (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: CASTEL Brasimba (Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The)

Category 30 — Lager: Light Lager
Gold: UTICA CLUB PILSENER Saranac Brewery / FX Matt Brewing Co. (United States)
Silver: YANJING U8 Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co.,Ltd. (China)
Bronze: PEARL RIVER DRAFT BEER Guangzhou Zhujiang Browery CO., LTD. (China)

Category 31 — Lager: Vienna Lager
Gold: KIRISHIMA BEER AMBER Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Silver: LAGUNA BAJA North Coast Brewing Co Inc (United States)
Bronze: No Award

Category 32 — Pale&Amber Ale: (Belgian Style) Tripel
Gold: ST. BERNARDUS TRIPEL St. Bernardus Brouwerij (Belgium)
Silver: DELIRIUM TREMENS Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Bronze: GOUDEN CAROLUS TRIPEL Brouwerij Het Anker (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: BROEDER JACOB TRIPEL Brouwerij Broeder Jacob (Belgium)

Category 33 — Pale&Amber Ale: Abbey / Trappist Style Blond
Gold: TER DOLEN BLOND Brouwerij Ter Dolen (Belgium)
Silver: ST-FEUILLIEN BLONDE Brasserie St-Feuillien (Belgium)
Bronze: AFFLIGEM BLOND Brouwerij Alken-Maes (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: LA TRAPPE BLOND Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven B.V. (Netherlands)

Category 34 — Pale&Amber Ale: Altbier
Gold: BAMBERG ALTBIER Cervejaria Bamberg (Brazil)
Silver: VENLOOSCH ALT Lindeboom Bierbrouwerij B.V. (Netherlands)
Bronze: SAMUEL ADAMS BOSTON ALE Boston Beer Company (United States)

Category 35 — Pale&Amber Ale: Amber
Gold: 1410 SNAB Bierbrouwers (Netherlands)
Silver: OBAA TWO Obaa Sprl (Belgium)
Bronze: CHIPIE Archibald Microbrasserie (Canada)
Bronze: LA BONNE AVENTURE Microbrasserie Pit Caribou (Canada)

Category 36 — Pale&Amber Ale: American IPA (Higher Than 6.5 ABV)
Gold: LUSH Fremont Brewing (United States)
Silver: WEEKEND VIBES Coronado Brewing (United States)
Bronze: IPA pFriem Family Brewers (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: MELVIN IPA Melvin Brewing (United States)

Category 37 — Pale&Amber Ale: American IPA (Less Than 6.5 ABV)
Gold: STAY WEST IPA Breakside Brewery & Taproom (United States)
Gold: WANDERLUST IPA Breakside Brewery & Taproom (United States)
Bronze: BIRD OF PREY Uiltje Brewing Company (Netherlands)
Certificate of Excellence: FUMO IPA Chengdu Fengshou Craft Beer Company, Ltd (China)

Category 38 — Pale&Amber Ale: American Pale Ale
Gold: VOLCELEST OATMEAL PALE ALE Brasserie de la Vallee de Chevreuse (France)
Silver: HOP.E Birra Mastino (Italy)
Bronze: RUDE Birrificio Artigianale La Villana (Italy)
Certificate of Excellence: LEISURE LAGOON Coronado Brewing (United States)

Category 39 — Pale&Amber Ale: Belgian Style IPA
Gold: DELIRIUM ARGENTUM Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BAPTIST IPA Brouwerij Van Steenberge (Belgium)
Bronze: JACK’S PRECIOUS IPA Brouwerij The Musketeers (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: BSL006 Brasserie Saint-Lazare SA (Belgium)

Category 40 — Pale&Amber Ale: Best Bitter
Gold: BAMBERG SEPULTURA ALE Cervejaria Bamberg (Brazil)
Silver: SEA FURY Sharps Brewery (United Kingdom)
Bronze: AMBROSIA Ambrosia e.U. (Austria)

Category 41 — Pale&Amber Ale: Bières De Garde Ambrée
Gold: SILLY SAISON Brasserie de Silly (Belgium)
Silver: BRASSEURS SAVOYARDS AMBRÉE Les Brasseurs Savoyards (France)
Bronze: SINT IDESBALD ROUSSE Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: LA TRAPPE ISID’OR Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven B.V. (Netherlands)

Category 42 — Pale&Amber Ale: Bitter
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: No Award
Certificate of Excellence: KIRKE Corsaire Microbrasserie (Canada)

Mons-3 — My awesome table for judging in Mons. A great group of tasters.

Category 43 — Pale&Amber Ale: Bitter Blond/Golden Ale
Gold: TER DOLEN ARMAND Brouwerij Ter Dolen (Belgium)
Silver: MALHEUR 6 Brouwerij Malheur (Belgium)
Bronze: REMI Brouwerij De Bock (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: HOUPPE Brasserie Artisanale de Namur (Belgium)

Category 44 — Pale&Amber Ale: Double Saison
Gold: SAISON DUPONT DRY HOP Brasserie Dupont (Belgium)
Silver: SAISON DU SABLIER Hourglass Brewing (United States)
Bronze: LA GUILLOTINE Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: AUBEOLE D’ESTINNES Marie-Jeanne Nolf (Belgium)

Category 45 — Pale&Amber Ale: English IPA
Gold: MARTIN’S DOUBLE IPA 55 John Martin ‘s (Belgium)
Silver: CIBOIRE Archibald Microbrasserie (Canada)
Bronze: BURTON ENGLISH IPA Juguetes Perdidos Cerveza Artesanal (Argentina)
Bronze: SAN BLAS Lord Chambray LTD (Malta)

Category 46 — Pale&Amber Ale: Imperial IPA
Gold: L’!! (DOUBLE EXCLAMATION) Noire et Blanche Inc. (Canada)
Silver: KNOTTY DOUBLE IPA Three Weavers Brewing, Co. (United States)
Bronze: 2×4 DOUBLE IPA Melvin Brewing (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: BURIED IN HOPS Anarchy Brew Co. (United Kingdom)
Certificate of Excellence: RETREAT (THIS IS A HAZY DOUBLE IPA) The Bruery (United States)

Category 47 — Pale&Amber Ale: Kölsch
Gold: BUCKSKIN KÖLSCH Buckskin, King Car Group (Taiwan)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: DRAUGHT 4 Pines Brewing Company (Australia)

Category 48 — Pale&Amber Ale: Light Bitter Blond/Golden Ale
Gold: STRANDGAPER Scheldebrouwerij BVBA (Belgium)
Silver: KOMPEL BOVENGRONDS Brouwerij Kompel (Belgium)
Bronze: KIWANDA CREAM ALE Pelican Brewing Company (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: HERKENRODE CISTER Brouwerij Cornelissen (Belgium)

Category 49 — Pale&Amber Ale: Modern Saison
Gold: LA SAISON DU TRACTEUR Microbrasserie Le Trou du diable (Canada)
Silver: PACIFICA Birrificio Artigianale La Villana (Italy)
Bronze: NOBLESSE OBLIGE Brasserie au Baron (France)
Certificate of Excellence: CLASSIC Blackberry Farm Brewery (United States)

Category 50 — Pale&Amber Ale: New England IPA
Gold: HAZEALICIOUS Reuben’s Brews (United States)
Silver: HAZY LITTLE THING Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (United States)
Bronze: LIUXI HAZY IPA Witchcraft Brewery (China)
Bronze: WHAT ROUGH BEAST Breakside Brewery & Taproom (United States)

Category 51 — Pale&Amber Ale: Pacific IPA
Gold: No Award
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BEAK BENDER HOPPINATED INDIA PALE ALE Pelican Brewing Company (United States)
Certificate of Excellence: TKO IPA Boxing Cat Brewery (China)

Category 52 — Pale&Amber Ale: Session IPA
Gold: PALM SESSION IPA Brouwerij Palm – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium (Belgium)
Silver: BE ADORABLE Mister B Brewery (Italy)
Bronze: 24-JUIL Oproer (Netherlands)
Certificate of Excellence: SUMMER SESSION TROPICAL IPA Brouwerij Hoop (Netherlands)

Category 53 — Pale&Amber Ale: Strong Blonde/Golden Ale
Gold: OMER. TRADITIONAL BLOND Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste (Belgium)
Silver: OMMEGANG Brouwerij Haacht (Belgium)
Bronze: HAPKIN Brouwerij Alken-Maes (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: ST-FEUILLIEN GRAND CRU Brasserie St-Feuillien (Belgium)

Category 54 — Pale&Amber Ale: Strong/Extra Special Bitter
Gold: SAWTOOTH ALE Left Hand Brewing Company (United States)
Silver: GATSBY Birrificio Artigianale La Villana (Italy)
Bronze: BRAUFACTUM PALOR Die Internationale Brau-Manufacturen GmbH (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: MONSERRATE ROJA Cervecería BBC (Colombia)

Category 55 — Pale&Amber Ale: Traditional Saison
Gold: SAISON AVENA Brasserie Deseveaux (Belgium)
Silver: SAISON D’EPEAUTRE Scrl Brasserie De Blaugies (Belgium)
Bronze: SAISON 1900 Brasserie Lefebvre (Belgium)

Category 56 — Red Ale: American Red Ale
Gold: POTALA TIBETAN RED ALE NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Silver: KABREW GYEONGBOKGUNG Kabrew (South Korea)
Bronze: RED EYES Pravda Beer Theatre (Ukraine)

Category 57 — Red Ale: Irish Red Ale
Gold: No Award
Silver: RED & GO Birrificio Otus Srl (Italy)
Bronze: BROTAS BEER RED ALE Brotas Beer Industria de Bebidas LTDA (Brazil)

Category 58— Red Ale: Oud Rood (Flanders Red Ale)
Gold: RODENBACH GRAND CRU Brouwerij Rodenbach – Swinkels Family Brewers Belgium (Belgium)
Silver: VARVAR BREW CARMINE Varvar Brew (Ukraine)
Bronze: DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE Brouwerij Verhaeghe Vichte (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: OUD BRUNELLO Birrificio del Ducato (Italy)

Category 59 — Speciality Beer: Alcohol-Free And Low-Alcohol Beers
Gold: WANDERLUST Van Moll Craft Beer (Netherlands)
Silver: MAISEL & FRIENDS ALKOHOLFREI Brauerei Gebr. Maisel (Germany)
Bronze: BROWN ALE Big Drop (United Kingdom)
Bronze: STOUT Big Drop (United Kingdom)
Certificate of Excellence: FREAK KRIEK ZERO POINT THREE FEEL FREE MERRY CHERRY BEER The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company (Belgium)

Category 60 — Speciality Beer: Barley Wine
Gold: WEYERMANN NR. 10 BARLEY WINE Mich. Weyermann GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Silver: BARLEY WHAT? Brasserie Historique de l’Abbaye du Cateau (France)
Bronze: SCHWARZBRÄU AGED BOCK Schwarzbräu GmbH (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: BREW 3000 Fremont Brewing (United States)

Category 61 — Speciality Beer: Brut Beer
Gold: MALHEUR BIÈRE BRUT Brouwerij Malheur (Belgium)
Silver: BRUT IPA Ninkasi Fabriques (France)
Bronze: DAME JEANNE “BRUT SUR LIE” Dame Jeanne (Belgium)

Category 62 — Speciality Beer: Gluten Free
Gold: No Award
Silver: GRISETTE TRIPLE BIO GLUTEN FREE Brasserie St-Feuillien (Belgium)
Bronze: CAULIER BLONDE GLUTEN FREE Brasserie 28 (Belgium)

Category 63 — Speciality Beer: Hybrid
Gold: No Award
Silver: NOORDTSINGLE Brouwerij Noordt (Netherlands)
Bronze: No Award

Category 64 — Speciality Beer: Old Style Gueuze-Lambic
Gold: OLD GUEUZE CUVÉE RENÉ Lindemans Brewery (Belgium)
Silver: OUDE GEUZE VANDERVELDEN 137 Oud Beersel BVBA (Belgium)
Bronze: OUDE GEUZE BOON BLACK LABEL EDITION N°4 Brouwerij Boon (Belgium)
Bronze: OUDE GEUZE BRETT ELLE Lambiek Fabriek VOF (Belgium)

Category 65 — Speciality Beer: Other Sour Ale
Gold: LIMOILOU BEACH Microbrasserie La Souche (Canada)
Silver: VARVAR BREW D’RYE Varvar Brew (Ukraine)
Bronze: TIMMERMANS LAMBICUS BLANCHE John Martin’s (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: BODEBROWN BRUT SOUR BLANC Cervejaria Bodebrown (Brazil)

Category 66 — Speciality Beer: Speciality Beer (Higher Than 7 ABV)
Gold: DRUIF BLANC pFriem Family Brewers (United States)
Silver: DANDAO Chengdu Fengshou Craft Beer Company, Ltd (China)
Silver: GOUDALE Brasserie Goudale (France)
Bronze: ROTTEN SKULL PRUNE IMPERIAL STOUT Brasserie de la Vallee de Chevreuse (France)
Certificate of Excellence: BODEBROWN – CAVE COLINAS DE PEDRAS BLACK BRUT METODO ORIGINALE Cervejaria Bodebrown (Brazil)

Category 67 — Speciality Beer: Speciality Beer (Less Than 7 ABV)
Gold: PRUIM pFriem Family Brewers (United States)
Silver: VIVEN CHAMPAGNER WEISSE Brouwerij Viven (Belgium)
Bronze: BARREN SHOWER CHAMPAGNE IPA NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Certificate of Excellence: ENTRE NOUS BLONDE Brasserie de Hosdent (Belgium)

Category 68 — Speciality Beer: Speciality Beer: Italian Style Grape Ale
Gold: LIMES Brùton (Italy)
Silver: L’EQUILIBRISTA Birra del Borgo (Italy)
Bronze: ROÈ Birrificio Sagrin (Italy)
Certificate of Excellence: BODEBROWN LA GRISETTE SUPÉRIOR Cervejaria Bodebrown (Brazil)

Category 69 — Speciality Beer: Winter Ales
Gold: PIETRA BRASSIN D’HIVER Brasserie Pietra (France)
Silver: CUVÉE DE NOËL Juguetes Perdidos Cerveza Artesanal (Argentina)
Silver: DELIRIUM NOËL Brouwerij L. Huyghe NV (Belgium)
Bronze: No Award
Certificate of Excellence: ROUSSE DE NOËL Cap d’Ona (France)

Category 70 — Stout/ Porter: American Stout
Gold: OBSIDIAN STOUT Deschutes Brewery (United States)
Silver: ALL BLACK Stanislaus Brewskovitch BV (Netherlands)
Silver: MORE COMPLICATED THAN YOUR GIRLFRIEND STOUT The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company (Belgium)
Bronze: No Award

Category 71 — Stout/ Porter: Baltic Porter
Gold: NISSOS 7 BEAUFORT Cyclades Microbrewery at Tinos island (Greece)
Silver: PORTER Brouwerij Noordt (Netherlands)
Bronze: SPECIAL ONE IBEER (Italy)

Category 72 — Stout/ Porter: Dry Stout
Gold: KABREW DARK ALE Kabrew (South Korea)
Silver: NITRO STOUT 4 Pines Brewing Company (Australia)
Bronze: KIRISHIMA BEER STOUT Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Japan)

Category 73 — Stout/ Porter: Oatmeal Stout
Gold: AMBRANERA Birrificio Otus Srl (Italy)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: THE POET New Holland Brewing (United States)

Category 74 — Stout/ Porter: Porter
Gold: YANNARODDY Kinnegar Brewing (Ireland)
Silver: GASPÉSIENNE #13 Microbrasserie Pit Caribou (Canada)
Bronze: UNCINO Birrificio Artigianale La Villana (Italy)

Category 75 — Stout/ Porter: Russian Imperial Stout
Gold: RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT Crooked Spider (Netherlands)
Silver: FROM SIAN TO DON Pravda Beer Theatre (Ukraine)
Bronze: RASKOLNIKOV IMPERIAL STOUT Craft Brew Riots (Russian Federation)
Certificate of Excellence: SINGULARITY Northern Light Brewery (Sweden)

Category 76 — Stout/ Porter: Stout Export
Gold: DUITS & LAURET WINTERSTOUT Brouwerij Duits & Lauret (Netherlands)
Silver: TSUNAMI STOUT Pelican Brewing Company (United States)
Bronze: ELBOW PATCHES The Virginia Beer Company (United States)

Category 77 — Wheat: Dubbel Wit/Imperial White
Gold: WITWIT 1975 sas di Nicola Grande e C (Italy)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: No Award

Category 78 — Wheat: Dunkel Weizen
Gold: TUMMA HEILI Panimo Honkavuori (Finland)
Silver: SCHWARZBRÄU WEISSBIER DUNKEL Schwarzbräu GmbH (Germany)
Bronze: WALDHAUS SCHWARZWALD WEISSE DUNKEL Privatbrauerei Waldhaus Joh. Schmid GmbH (Germany)

Category 79 — Wheat: Dunkel Weizen(Doppel)Bock
Gold: TAP6 AVENTINUS Schneider Weisse G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH (Germany)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: No Award

Category 80 — Wheat: Gose
Gold: SALT SHAKER GOSE Suzhou City Guangtu Brewing Co., Ltd (China)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BEIJING GOSE MODERN NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)

Category 81 — Wheat: Weizen
Gold: 撕BEER WEIZEN Urbrew (China) Craft Beer Co., Ltd. (China)
Silver: TAP7 ORIGINAL Schneider Weisse G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH (Germany)
Bronze: MAISEL’S WEISSE ORIGINAL Brauerei Gebr. Maisel (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: SCHWARZBRÄU WEISSBIER HELL Schwarzbräu GmbH (Germany)
Certificate of Excellence: WEISSBIER HELL Brauerei M.C. Wieninger (Germany)

Category 82 — Wheat: White IPA/Hoppy Weizen
Gold: NIUBI WHEAT NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)
Silver: No Award
Bronze: BROMEO HOPPY WHEAT Boxing Cat Brewery (China)
Certificate of Excellence: LAGUNITAS LITTLE SUMPIN’ SUMPIN’ Heineken Spain (United States)

Category 83 — Wheat: Witbier
Gold: BLANCHE DE NAMUR Brasserie du Bocq (Belgium)
Silver: HOEGAARDEN WHITE AB Inbev Hoegaarden (Belgium)
Bronze: VEDETT EXTRA WHITE Duvel Moortgat (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: BLANCHE DE THINES Belgo Sapiens Brewers / Brasserie Ceres Belgique SPRL (Belgium)
Certificate of Excellence: LOWLANDER WHITE ALE Lowlander Beer Co. (Netherlands)

The Comac Trophy: Best in Show

bbc2019-international-revelation-comac-trophy

International Revelation
CHIMAY GRANDE RÉSERVE Bières de Chimay (Belgium)

Best American Beer

American Revelation — Fermentis Trophy
BOURBON BARREL AGED DARK STAR Fremont Brewing (United States)

Best Belgian Beer

Belgian Revelation
TER DOLEN BLOND Brouwerij Ter Dolen (Belgium)

Best Chinese Beer

Chinese Revelation
POTALA TIBETAN RED ALE NBeer Craft Brewing Co. (China)

Best Dutch Beer

Dutch Revelation
WANDERLUST Van Moll Craft Beer (The Netherlands)

Best French Beer

French Revelation
VOLCELEST OATMEAL PALE ALE Brasserie de la Vallee de Chevreuse (France)

Best Italian Beer

Italian Revelation
AMERICAN MAGUT Birrificio Lambrate (Italy)

GABF Winners 2019

November 8, 2019 By Jay Brooks

On Saturday, the winners of the 38th Great American Beer Festival were announced. A record 9,497 entries (plus 113 Pro-Am and 70 Collaboration entries were judged) in 107 (or 174 different beer styles if you include the subcategories), categories by 322 judges, of which I was again privileged to be one. Here are some more factoids on the results and the festival:

Category with the most entries: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale: 348 entries (This is the second year in a row that it’s been #1, unseating American-style IPA, which had been number #1 since 2002)
Top 5 Categories: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (348 entries); American-Style India Pale Ale (342 entries); Fruited American-Style Sour Ale (215 entries); German-Style Pilsener (183 entries); and Imperial India Pale Ale (173 entries)
Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 88
2,295 breweries in the competition from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
401 first-time breweries entered the competition
37 first-time breweries won medals
Over 800 breweries in the festival hall
Over 4,000 beers served at the festival
60,000 attendees

Medals Won by State:

California = 68
Colorado = 40
Texas = 16
TIE: Ohio = 15 / Oregon = 15
Washington = 14
Virginia = 13
North Carolina = 12
Illinois = 10
TIE: Florida = 9 / Indiana = 9
Arizona = 8

The 2018 Great American
Beer Festival Winners

GABF19-awards-02 — Charlie Papazian ready to hand out the awards.

Category 1: American-Style Wheat Beer – 80 Entries
Gold: No medal awarded
Silver: Cumberland Punch, East Nashville Beer Works, Nashville, TN
Bronze: Termes Beer, Spearfish Brewing Co., Spearfish, SD

Category 2: American-Style Fruit Beer – 144 Entries
Gold: Salt River, Historic Brewing Co., Flagstaff, AZ
Silver: Quat, Tampa Bay Brewing Co. – Ybor City, Tampa, FL
Bronze: Boom Dynamite, O.H.S.O. Brewery + Distillery, Phoenix, AZ

Category 3: Fruit Wheat Beer – 109 Entries
Gold: Bitchin’ Berry, Great Basin Brewing Co. – Production Facility, Reno, NV
Silver: Cherry Wheat, Sierra Blanca Brewing Co., Moriarty, NM
Bronze: Smash, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR

Category 4: Belgian-Style Fruit Beer – 52 Entries
Gold: Foxy Lady, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Silver: All the Goodness, Gezellig Brewing Co., Newton, IA
Bronze: Cherry Valley Farmhouse, Heritage Hill Brewhouse & Kitchen, Pompey, NY

Category 5: Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer – 51 Entries
Gold: Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, Stevens Point Brewery, Stevens Point, WI
Silver: Pumpkin Rumble, Mistress Brewing Co., Ankeny, IA
Bronze: Pumpkinator, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 6: Field Beer – 104 Entries
Gold: Scoring Discrepancies, Listermann Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Dessert Station: Cherry Almond Cookie, Corporate Ladder Brewing Co., Palmetto, FL
Bronze: Grandma’s Pecan, The Dudes’ Brewing Co., Somis, CA

Category 7: Chili Beer – 96 Entries
Gold: Jalapeno Pineapple Pils, Brickway Brewery & Distillery, Omaha, NE
Silver: Bringin’ Da Heat, Devil’s Creek Brewery, Collingswood, NJ
Bronze: Oyster Jalapeno Porter, Bull Island Brewing Co., Hampton, VA

Category 8: Herb and Spice Beer – 119 Entries
Gold: Kveik Thai Tom Kha, Shades Brewing, Park City, UT
Silver: One Night in Bangkok Smoothie IPA, Midland Brewing, Midland, MI
Bronze: Deck Daze, Vail Brewing Co. – Vail Village Pilot, Vail, CO

Category 9: Chocolate Beer – 68 Entries
Gold: Old Balltown Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Aged Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Brownie Milk Stout, PIVO Brewery, Calmar, IA
Silver: Contains Chocolate, Corporate Ladder Brewing Co., Palmetto, FL
Bronze: Somebody Else’s Dream, Fort Myers Brewing Co., Fort Myers, FL

Category 10: Coffee Beer – 97 Entries
Gold: Duluth Coffee Pale Ale, Earth Rider Brewery, Superior, WI
Silver: Clear Sky Daybreak, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, Columbus, OH
Bronze: Central Perk, Ambitious Ales, Long Beach, CA

Category 11: Coffee Stout or Porter – 100 Entries
Gold: There is No Cow Level, GameCraft Brewing, Laguna Hills, CA
Silver: Portola Breakfast Stout, Tustin Brewing Co., Tustin, CA
Bronze: White Russian, SunUp Brewing Co., Phoenix, AZ

Category 12: Specialty Beer – 67 Entries
Gold: Rye Hipster Brunch Stout, Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven, MI
Silver: Agavemente, SouthNorte Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: I Did It All For The Cookie, FiftyFifty Brewing Co., Truckee, CA

Category 13: Rye Beer – 53 Entries
Gold: Rye Dawn, Breakwater Brewing Co., Oceanside, CA
Silver: Unite the Clans, Third Space Brewing, Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Suss it Out, Level Crossing Brewing Co., South Salt Lake, UT

Category 14: Honey Beer – 66 Entries
Gold: A&M Honey Bock, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Boulder, Boulder, CO
Silver: Honey Hole, SpindleTap Brewery, Houston, TX
Bronze: Jetty, Great South Bay Brewery, Bay Shore, NY

Category 15: Non-Alcohol Beer or Alcohol-Free Beer – 17 Entries
Gold: Enough Said N/A, Two Roots Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Bravus Oatmeal Stout, Bravus Brewing Co., Newport Beach, CA
Bronze: Bravus Barrel-Aged Bourbon Stout, Bravus Brewing Co., Newport Beach, CA

Category 16: Session Beer – 50 Entries
Gold: Texas Lager, Community Beer Co., Dallas, TX
Silver: Lite It!, Light the Lamp Brewery, Grayslake, IL
Bronze: Peacekeeper, Launch Pad Brewery, Aurora, CO

Category 17: Session India Pale Ale – 94 Entries
Gold: Gravity Check, Kern River Brewing Co. – The Backyard, Kernville, CA
Silver: Trump Hands, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: That IPA, Community Beer Works, Buffalo, NY

Category 18: Other Strong Beer – 29 Entries
Gold: Northstar Imperial Porter, Twisted Pine Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Silver: False Hope, Spilled Grain Brewhouse, Annandale, MN
Bronze: Double Brown Ale, Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery, Santa Fe, NM

Category 19: Experimental Beer – 124 Entries
Gold: Fungus Shui, Meadowlark Brewing, Sidney, MT
Silver: Shibbleshabble, Primitive Beer, Longmont, CO
Bronze: Fluffernutter, Kings Brewing Co., Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Category 20: Fresh Hop Beer – 40 Entries
Gold: Fresh Hop Green Battles, Pinthouse Pizza North, Austin, TX
Silver: Hop Stalker, Fat Head’s Brewery – Canton, Canton, OH
Bronze: Aqua Seafoam Shame, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, WA

GABF19-awards-Cloudburst — Cloudburst Brewing.

Category 21: Historical Beer – 47 Entries
Gold: No medal awarded
Silver: Afterburner Smoked Lager, Four Day Ray Brewing, Fishers, IN
Bronze: Decorah Nordic Gruit, PIVO Brewery, Calmar, IA

Category 22: Gluten-Free Beer – 59 Entries
Gold: Boombastic Hazy IPA, Holidaily Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Silver: Co-Conspirator Apricot Sour, Revelation Craft Brewing Co., Rehoboth Beach, DE
Bronze: Grandpa’s Nap, Evasion Brewing – Production Facility, McMinnville, OR

Category 23: American-Belgo-Style Ale – 41 Entries
Gold: Wit-Tington, Central District Brewing, Austin, TX
Silver: Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
Bronze: White Rainbow, Red Rock Brewery – Production, Salt Lake City, UT

Category 24: American-Style Sour Ale – 42 Entries
Gold: Low pHunk, MobCraft Beer, Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Alegria, Millersburg Brewing, Millersburg, OH
Bronze: Citra Acid Test, Triple C Brewing, Charlotte, NC

Category 25: Fruited American-Style Sour Ale – 215 Entries
Gold: Roxanne, St. Elmo Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: Hoochie Mama, Storm Peak Brewing Co., Steamboat Springs, CO
Bronze: Sour Blackberry Raspberry, Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co., Charleston, SC

Category 26: Brett Beer – 58 Entries
Gold: Who’s Brett?, The Hold By Revelry Brewing, Charleston, SC
Silver: St. Eldritch, Cellar Works Brewing Co., Sarver, PA
Bronze: C’Mon Sunshine, Birds Fly South Ale Project, Greenville, SC

Category 27: Mixed-Culture Brett Beer – 94 Entries
Gold: Standard Issue, Central Standard Brewing, Wichita, KS
Silver: Farmer’s Reserve No. 5, Almanac Beer Co., Alameda, CA
Bronze: Côte d’Or – Double Cerise, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM

Category 28: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer – 66 Entries
Gold: Amburana Dream, Denver Beer Co. – Olde Town Arvada, Arvada, CO
Silver: Gran Muckle, Sun King Brewing, Indianapolis, IN
Bronze: Bourbon Barrel Aged Lady In Red, Bombshell Beer Co., Holly Springs, NC

Category 29: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – 155 Entries
Gold: Knotty Dog, Big Dog’s Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV
Silver: Double Barrel Louie, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs, CO
Bronze: Bourbon Legend, Great Heights Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 30: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout – 172 Entries
Gold: Barrel Aged Imperial Pajamas, Begyle Brewing, Chicago, IL
Silver: Ales from the Crypt: Te Quiero, O.H.S.O. Brewery – Gilbert, AZ
Bronze: Señor Rhino, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR

Category 31: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 82 Entries
Gold: Sour Brown Aged on Palo Santo, Hi-Wire Brewing – South Slope, Asheville, NC
Silver: Agent Orange – Apple Brandy Barrel, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM
Bronze: Reserve Doree, The Chamber By Wooden Robot Brewery, Charlotte, NC

Category 32: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 128 Entries
Gold: Midnight Choir, Sun King Brewing, Indianapolis, IN
Silver: Crimson Cherry Variant, Upland Brewing Co. – Bloomington Brewpub, Bloomington, IN
Bronze: Rossano, Kings Brewing Co., Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Category 33: Aged Beer – 38 Entries
Gold: A Creator’s Calling, The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Silver: Belgian Quad, Green Mountain Beer Co., Lakewood, CO
Bronze: Mob Barley, Meadowlark Brewing, Sidney, MT

GABF19-awards-Lost-Abbey — The Lost Abbey.

Category 34: Kellerbier or Zwickelbier – 96 Entries
Gold: German Pilsner, Port City Brewing Co., Alexandria, VA
Silver: Loral Zwickelbier, Haas Innovations Brewing, Yakima, WA
Bronze: Stand By, Rockwell Beer Co., St. Louis, MO

Category 35: Smoke Beer – 60 Entries
Gold: Red-Fish Rauchbock, Sockeye Brewing, Boise, ID
Silver: TF Brewing Rauch Bier, Templin Family Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Up In Smoke, Fat Head’s Brewery – Canton, Canton, OH

Category 36: American-Style Lager or American-Style Pilsener – 153 Entries
Gold: Lite Reading, Pollyanna Brewing Co., Lemont, IL
Silver: Valley Beer, Wren House Brewing Co., Phoenix, AZ
Bronze: Schaben’s, Thunderhead Brewing Co., Kearney, NE

Category 37: Contemporary American-Style Pilsener – 61 Entries
Gold: Lazy River Pils, New Trail Brewing Co., Williamsport, PA
Silver: Citra Pils, Saint Archer Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: Citraveza, Alvarado Street Brewery, Salinas, CA

Category 38: International-Style Pilsener – 108 Entries
Gold: Torcido, Barebottle Brewing Co., San Francisco, CA
Silver: Upslope Craft Lager, Upslope Brewing Co. Boulder, CO
Bronze: Party, MAP Brewing Co., Bozeman, MT

GABF19-awards-Barebottle — Barebottle Brewing Co.

Category 39: Light Lager – 90 Entries
Gold: Altitude Banquet, Altitude Chophouse and Brewery, Laramie, WY
Silver: Sif’s Light Lager, Odin Brewing Co., Tukwila, WA
Bronze: Lightner Creek Lager, Carver Brewing Co., Durango, CO

Category 40: India Pale Lager or Malt Liquor – 55 Entries
Gold: Timbo Pils, Highland Park Brewery – Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA
Silver: Go Kart Mozart, MotoSonora Brewing Co., Tucson, AZ
Bronze: Yeah Buoy IPL, Logboat Brewing Co., Columbia, MO

Category 41: American-Style Cream Ale – 87 Entries
Gold: Sea Señor! Mex Lager, SouthNorte Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Los Dudes’ Cerveza Lager Mexicana, Dudes’ Brewing Co., Somis, CA
Bronze: Gold Style, Ballast Point Brewing Co. – Chicago, Chicago, IL

Category 42: American-Style Amber Lager – 101 Entries
Gold: Märzen, Sudwerk Brewing Co., Davis, CA
Silver: Oktoberfest, Huss Brewing Co., Tempe, AZ
Bronze: Grist Maerzen, Grist Brewing Co., Highlands Ranch, CO

Category 43: German-Style Pilsener – 183 Entries
Gold: Parliament Drive, Blind Owl Brewery, Indianapolis, IN
Silver: Golden Age Pilsner, Family Business Beer Co., Dripping Springs, TX
Bronze: Pils, Hardywood West Creek, Richmond, VA

Category 44: Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 123 Entries
Gold: Bohemian Shine, Castle Island Brewing Co., Norwood, MA
Silver: Bo Pils, East Brother Beer Co., Richmond, CA
Bronze: The People’s Pilsner, Sudwerk Brewing Co., Davis, CA

GABF19-awards-East-Bros — East Brother Beer Co.

Category 45: Munich-Style Helles – 138 Entries
Gold: Altstadt Lager, Altstadt Brewery, Fredericksburg, TX
Silver: Florida Sunshine, Crooked Can Brewing Co., Winter Garden, FL
Bronze: Wayfinder Hell, Wayfinder Beer, Portland, OR

Category 46: Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest – 96 Entries
Gold: Schnitzengiggles, New England Brewing Co., Woodbridge, CT
Silver: Lindauer Lager, Wit’s End Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Bronze: Chuckanut Fest Bier, Chuckanut Brewery, Burlington, WA

GABF19-awards-Chuckanut — Chuckanut Brewery.

Category 47: Vienna-Style Lager – 93 Entries
Gold: Jomo, Starr Hill Brewery, Crozet, VA
Silver: Vienna Lager, Grains of Wrath Brewing, Camas, WA
Bronze: Moonlight Sonata, Chilly Water Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN

Category 48: German-Style Maerzen – 165 Entries
Gold: Oktoberfest, Bear Chase Brewing Co., Bluemont, VA
Silver: Rocktoberfest, Hutton & Smith Brewing Co., Chattanooga, TN
Bronze: Festie, Starr Hill Pilot Brewery & Side Stage, Roanoke, VA

Category 49: German-Style Dark Lager – 127 Entries
Gold: Pious Monk Dunkel, Church Brew Works, Lawrenceville, PA
Silver: Black Lager, Bingo Beer Co., Richmond, VA
Bronze: Don’t Drop That Dun Dun Dunkel, TAPS Brewery, Tustin, CA

Category 50: International-Style Dark Lager – 31 Entries
Gold: Dark Horse, Snake River Brewing Co., Jackson, WY
Silver: El Corn, The Post Brewing Co., Lafayette, CO
Bronze: Schwarzbier, Hofbräuhaus Cleveland, Cleveland, OH

Category 51: Bock – 45 Entries
Gold: Tackle Bock, Bobbing Bobber Brewing Co., Hutchinson, MN
Silver: Maibock, Dry Dock Brewing Co. – South Dock, Aurora, CO
Bronze: Dunkel Bock, Pilot Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC

Category 52: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock – 57 Entries
Gold: Eis Nine, Sun King Brewing – Fishers Small Batch, Fishers, IN
Silver: Doppelbock, Scorched Earth Brewing Co., Algonquin, IL
Bronze: Eis Vienne, Devils Backbone Brewing Co. – Basecamp, Roseland, VA

Category 53: Baltic-Style Porter – 51 Entries
Gold: Snap Yo’ Baltics, Freetail Brewing Co. – Brewpub, San Antonio, TX
Silver: Dark Reckoning, Morgan Territory Brewing, Tracy, CA
Bronze: Murder Ballads, Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH

Category 54: Golden or Blonde Ale – 150 Entries
Gold: 1956 Golden Ale, Bootstrap Brewing, Longmont, CO
Silver: MadeWest Standard, MadeWest Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Bronze: Luke’s Original, Lucky Luke Brewing Co., Palmdale, CA

Category 55: German-Style Koelsch – 167 Entries
Gold: Altstadt Kolsch, Altstadt Brewery, Fredericksburg, TX
Silver: Ice Cutter Kölsch, Joyride Brewing Co., Edgewater, CO
Bronze: Dry Creek Blonde Ale, Santa Clara Valley Brewing, San Jose, CA

GABF19-awards-Santa-Clara-Valley — Santa Clara Valley Brewing.

Category 56: English-Style Summer Ale – 39 Entries
Gold: Organic California Blonde Ale, Eel River Brewing Co., Scotia, CA
Silver: Quid, Rhinegeist – Innovation Brewery, Cincinnati, OH
Bronze: Breakside Wentworth by the Sea, Breakside Brewery, Portland, OR

Category 57: English-Style or International-Style Pale Ale – 104 Entries
Gold: Ferment Pale Ale, Ferment Brewing Co., Hood River, OR
Silver: Annadel Pale Ale, Third Street AleWorks, Santa Rosa, CA
Bronze: Endless Summer Nights, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, WA

Category 58: Australian-Style Pale Ale – 61 Entries
Gold: Australian For Pale, Green Cheek Beer Co., Orange, CA
Silver: Mountain Standard IPA, Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
Bronze: Pete’s Stash, Vail Brewing Co. – Vail Village Pilot, Vail, CO

Category 59: American-Style Pale Ale – 169 Entries
Gold: Johnny Utah, Georgetown Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Silver: Acclimated APA, La Cumbre Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Breakside Woodlawn Pale Ale, Breakside Brewery, Portland, OR

GABF19-awards-Breakside — Breakside Brewery.

Category 60: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale – 114 Entries
Gold: Gulp, Tribus Beer Co., Milford, CT
Silver: Itsy Bits, WeldWerks Brewing Co., Greeley, CO
Bronze: Mo-Haze-Ic, Migration Brewing Co. – Wilkes, Portland, OR

Category 61: American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 131 Entries
Gold: Superpower IPA, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: NoPac IPA, Crossbuck Brewing, Walla Walla, WA
Bronze: JAF IPA, JAFB Wooster Brewery, Wooster, OH

Category 62: Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale – 106 Entries
Gold: Breakside What Rough Beast, Breakside Brewery, Portland, OR
Silver: Kaaterskill, West Kill Brewing, West Kill, NY
Bronze: Goofy Boots, Penrose Brewing Co., Geneva, IL

Category 63: American-Style India Pale Ale – 342 Entries
Gold: More Dodge Less RAM, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Radiant Beauty, Green Cheek Beer Co., Orange, CA
Bronze: Weekend Vibes IPA, Coronado Brewing Co. – Production Facility, San Diego, CA

GABF19-awards-Coronado — Coronado Brewing.

Category 64: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale – 348 Entries
Gold: Beezer, Old Irving Brewing Co., Chicago, IL
Silver: Hazy IPA, City Lights Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Devil’s Gulch, Pond Farm Brewing Co., San Rafael, CA

Category 65: Emerging India Pale Ale – 124 Entries
Gold: Pure Tropics, Parish Brewing Co., Broussard, LA
Silver: Vladimir Brutin, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: No medal awarded

Category 66: Imperial India Pale Ale – 173 Entries
Gold: Double Cone, Alvarado Street Brewery, Salinas, CA
Silver: Westbound Double IPA, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs, CO
Bronze: Sharrow, Brew Hub, Lakeland, FL

GABF19-awards-Alvarado-St — Alvarado Street Brewing.

Category 67: Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale – 165 Entries
Gold: Extra Extra Juicy Bits, WeldWerks Brewing Co., Greeley, CO
Silver: Juice Jockey, Phantom Ales, Anaheim, CA
Bronze: Chaos Emeralds, Lone Pine Brewing Co. – Gorham, Gorham, ME

Category 68: American-Style Amber/Red Ale – 127 Entries
Gold: Diablo Rojo, Boneyard Beer, Bend, OR
Silver: 1890 Founder’s Ale, Grayton Beer Co., Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Bronze: Red Alert, Aftershock Brewing Co., Temecula, CA

Category 69: Double Hoppy Red Ale – 49 Entries
Gold: Station 101, Claremont Craft Ales, Claremont, CA
Silver: Side Hike, Kern River Brewing Co., Kernville, CA
Bronze: Cannon Ball, Migration Brewing Co. – Glisan, Portland, OR

Category 70: Imperial Red Ale – 38 Entries
Gold: Bone Head Imperial Red, Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon, North Olmsted, OH
Silver: Frogs Like Possum, King’s Court Brewing Co., Poughkeepsie, NY
Bronze: Gifted Gunslinger, Big Sexy Brewing Co., Sacramento, CA

Category 71: English-Style Mild Ale – 40 Entries
Gold: Hold The Reins, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Sliding Rock, BearWaters Brewing Co., Canton, NC
Bronze: Saddle Bronc Brown, Black Tooth Brewing Co., Sheridan, WY

Category 72: Ordinary or Special Bitter – 41 Entries
Gold: Chronic Amber Ale, Pizza Port – Bressi Ranch, Carlsbad, CA
Silver: Cousin Jack, Dostal Alley Brewpub & Casino, Central City, CO
Bronze: Milford Pub Ale, River’s Edge Brewing Co., Milford, MI

Category 73: Extra Special Bitter – 63 Entries
Gold: ESB, Hillman Beer, Asheville, NC
Silver: Bridgeview, Henderson Brewing Co., Henderson, KY
Bronze: Red Ale, The Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery, Hampton, VA

Category 74: English-Style India Pale Ale – 39 Entries
Gold: Hop’lin IPA, Southbound Brewing Co., Savannah, GA
Silver: Shanghai’d IPA, Old Town Brewing, Portland, OR
Bronze: Hoppy Poppy, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. – Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
Category 75: Scottish-Style Ale – 56 Entries
Gold: Taildragger Clan-Destine, Saddle Mountain Brewing Co., Goodyear, AZ
Silver: Yarmouth, Arkane Aleworks, Largo, FL
Bronze: Thistle Dew, Ursa Minor Brewing, Duluth, MN

Category 76: Irish-Style Red Ale – 82 Entries
Gold: Outraged Daughters, Wise Man Brewing, Winston-Salem, NC
Silver: Balefire Irish Red, Mirror Image Brewing Co., Frederick, CO
Bronze: Red Molly Irish Red Ale, Pale Fire Brewing Co., Harrisonburg, VA

Category 77: English-Style Brown Ale – 67 Entries
Gold: Bobcat Brown Ale, Bridger Brewing, Bozeman, MT
Silver: Eclipse Brown Ale, Equinox Brewing, Fort Collins, CO
Bronze: Mischievous Brown, Helltown Brewing, Export, PA

Category 78: American-Style Brown Ale – 99 Entries
Gold: Naked Sunbather, Mad Swede Brewing Co., Boise, ID
Silver: Bull Creek Brown Ale, Springfield Brewing Co., Springfield, MO
Bronze: Browner Than Ivan, Chula Vista Brewery, Chula Vista, CA

Category 79: American-Style Black Ale – 35 Entries
Gold: Alpha Force Double Tap, Überbrew, Billings, MT
Silver: Bowie Knife, Thunderhawk Alements, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Turmoil, Barley Brown’s Beer, Baker City, OR

Category 80: German-Style Sour Ale – 63 Entries
Gold: Meier, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM
Silver: Meersalz, Narrow Gauge Brewing Co., Florissant, MO
Bronze: And the Award Gose to…, Big Dog’s Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV

Category 81: Specialty Berliner Weisse – 82 Entries
Gold: Midwestern Exotic, Barrel Theory Beer Co., St. Paul, MN
Silver: Jungalow Juice, Arrow Lodge Brewing, Covina, CA
Bronze: Raspberry Vermonter Weiss, 14th Star Brewing, Saint Albans, VT

Category 82: Contemporary Gose – 102 Entries
Gold: Cruise to Nowhere, Town Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Silver: Mimosa Gose, Pilot Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Bronze: Galactic Minotaurt, True Vine Brewing Co., Tyler, TX

Category 83: German-Style Altbier – 64 Entries
Gold: Rhine Heights ALT, Vintage Brewing Co. – Madison, Madison, WI
Silver: Howitzer Amber, Red Leg Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO
Bronze: Jeremy Altbier, The Royal Oak Brewery, Royal Oak, MI

Category 84: South German-Style Hefeweizen – 150 Entries
Gold: Prosperity Wheat, Market Garden Brewery, Cleveland, OH
Silver: Hug Deal Gone Sideweiss, Gezellig Brewing Co., Newton, IA
Bronze: Leisel Weapon, Noon Whistle Brewing Co., Lombard, IL

Category 85: German-Style Wheat Ale – 37 Entries
Gold: Krystal Clear, TAPS Brewery & Barrel Room, Tustin, CA
Silver: Dunkelweisse, Swashbuckler Brewing Co., Manheim, PA
Bronze: HefeWeizen, Live Oak Brewing Co., Austin, TX

Category 86: Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale – 51 Entries
Gold: Nènette, Kern River Brewing Co. – The Backyard, Kernville, CA
Silver: Hell’s Keep, Squatters Craft Beers, Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Suddenly a Saint, Moonraker Brewing Co., Auburn, CA

Category 87: Belgian-Style Witbier – 94 Entries
Gold: Way West Wit, Zuni Street Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Boeman Belgian White, Ogopogo Brewing, San Gabriel, CA
Bronze: Under a Blood Orange Sky, Temblor Brewing Co., Bakersfield, CA

Category 88: Classic Saison – 106 Entries
Gold: Meadowlark, Metazoa Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN
Silver: Summer Opal, Firestone Walker Propagator, Marina Del Rey, CA
Bronze: Gray Matter, Aspetuck Brew Lab, Bridgeport, CT

Category 89: Specialty Saison – 91 Entries
Gold: Obeisance, Von Ebert Brewing – Glendoveer, Portland, OR
Silver: Westfield, Cellar West Artisan Ales, Lafayette, CO
Bronze: Palisade #2, Fortside Brewing Co., Vancouver, WA

Category 90: Belgian- and French-Style Ale – 47 Entries
Gold: Junebug, Echo Brewing Co., Erie, CO
Silver: Swingin’ Single, Piece Brewery, Chicago, IL
Bronze: Industrial Gris, Resident Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

GABF19-awards-Revolution — Piece Brewery.

Category 91: Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale – 95 Entries
Gold: Get The Funk Out, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Denver, CO
Silver: Olly, Free Will Brewing Co., Perkasie, PA
Bronze: Saison Apothēca, Yeast of Eden, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA

Category 92: Belgian-Style Dubbel – 26 Entries
Gold: Dedication, Vintage Brewing Co. – Madison, Madison, WI
Silver: Belgian Dubbel, Sugar Creek Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Bronze: OB Bubble Dubbel, Kilowatt Brewing, San Diego, CA

Category 93: Belgian-Style Tripel – 83 Entries
Gold: Princeps Pacis, Save The World Brewing Co., Marble Falls, TX
Silver: Marvella, Red Rock Brewery – Production, Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Triple-Whirl, 217 Brew Works, Wilson, NC

Category 94: Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale – 44 Entries
Gold: Fu Fighter, Good River Beer, Denver, CO
Silver: Sandy Dunes Saison, River Bluff Brewing, St. Joseph, MO
Bronze: Stay Gold, Bluebird Brasserie, Sherman Oaks, CA

Category 95: Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale or Belgian-Style Quadrupel – 62 Entries
Gold: Quad Damn It, Chicago Brewing Co. – Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
Silver: Séréneté Grand Cru, Bruz Beers, Denver, CO
Bronze: Sisters Quad, Bitter Sisters Brewing Co., Addison, TX

Category 96: Other Belgian-Style Ale – 30 Entries
Gold: Very, Very Far, Off Color Brewing, Chicago, IL
Silver: Conquer Then Divide, Barrage Brewing Co., Farmingdale, NY
Bronze: Pentuple, Hoppin’ Frog Brewing, Akron, OH

Category 97: Brown Porter – 61 Entries
Gold: Maduro Brown Ale, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
Silver: Brown Claw, Kern River Brewing Co. – The Backyard, Kernville, CA
Bronze: Honey Porter, Cape May Brewing Co. – Rio Grande, Cape May, NJ

Category 98: Robust Porter – 87 Entries
Gold: Tabula Rasa, Second Chance Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Powell Street Porter, Bartlett Hall, San Francisco, CA
Bronze: Shadowcaster Porter, Folklore Brewing & Meadery, Dothan, AL

Category 99: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout – 43 Entries
Gold: SeaSide Stout, Pizza Port – Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA
Silver: Shooter McMunn’s, Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Ashburn, VA
Bronze: O’Dark Thirty, 6 Bears & A Goat Brewing Co., Fredericksburg, VA

Category 100: Export Stout – 42 Entries
Gold: Correspondent, Wander Brewing, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Thor’s Shadow Imperial Stout, Odin Brewing Co., Tukwila, WA
Bronze: Void of Light, Gun Hill Brewing Co., Bronx, NY

Category 101: American-Style Stout – 55 Entries
Gold: Black Cliffs, Boise Brewing, Boise, ID
Silver: Liberty Station Cimmerian Portal, Stone Brewing, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Kilgore, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Long Beach, CA

GABF19-awards-Beachwood — Beachwood BBQ & Brewing.

Category 102: Sweet Stout or Cream Stout – 67 Entries
Gold: Moozie, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Emperor Norton’s Sweet Stout, 21st Amendment Brewery, San Leandro, CA
Bronze: Volcano Mudslide Sweet Stout, Feather Falls Brewing, Oroville, CA

GABF19-awards-21A — 21st Amendment Brewery.

Category 103: Oatmeal Stout – 69 Entries
Gold: 80 Chain Stout, MAP Brewing Co., Bozeman, MT
Silver: Yonder Mountain Stout, Vine Street Pub & Brewery, Denver, CO
Bronze: Shaman Stout, Toltec Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM

Category 104: Imperial Stout – 93 Entries
Gold: The Russian, 2SP Brewing Co., Aston, PA
Silver: Black Cauldron Imperial Stout, Grand Teton Brewing, Victor, ID
Bronze: Rescue Buoy Imperial Stout, Rip Current Brewing, San Marcos, CA

GABF19-awards-Rip-Current — Rip Current Brewing.

Category 105: Scotch Ale – 52 Entries
Gold: Knuckle Dragger, Dueces Wild Brewery, Colorado Springs, CO
Silver: Real Heavy, Real Ale Brewing Co., Blanco, TX
Bronze: Wee Heavy Metal, Hutton & Smith Brewing Co., Chattanooga, TN

Category 106: Old Ale or Strong Ale – 36 Entries
Gold: Private Stock Ale, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Old Scrooge, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Bronze: Last Will & Testament, Monday Night Brewing, Atlanta, GA

GABF19-awards-AleSmith — AleSmith Brewing.

Category 107: Barley Wine-Style Ale – 59 Entries
Gold: Old Diablo, Morgan Territory Brewing, Tracy, CA
Silver: Freebooter Barleywine, Coronado Brewing Co., Coronado, CA
Bronze: Three Ryes Men, Reuben’s Brews – The Taproom, Seattle, WA

GABF19-awards-Morgan-Territory — Morgan Territory Brewing.

Pro-Am Competition – 113 Entries
Gold: Distemper, IMBĪB Custom Brews, Reno, NV
Brewmaster: IMBĪB Brew Crew
AHA Member: Lance Newlin
Silver: Leicht, Precarious Beer Project – Beer Hall, Williamsburg, VA
Brewmaster: Greg Fleehart
AHA Member: Joel Miller
Bronze: Chess with Checkers, New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
Brewmaster: The Employee Owners of New Belgium
AHA Member: Erich Purcell

Collaboration Competition – 70 Entries
Gold: Getting By on Central Time, Sun King Brewing, Indianapolis, IN
Indiana Brewers Guild Beer Brigadiers
Silver: Are You Pricklish?, Taft’s Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Against the Grain Brewing, Louisville, KY
Bronze: Willie Big Dog, Public Coast Brewing Co., Cannon Beach, OR
Big Dog’s Brewing CO., Las Vegas, NV

2019 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM
Rowley Farmhouse Ales

Mid-Size Brewpub and Mid-Size Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs, CO
Westbound & Down Brewery Team

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Vintage Brewing Co. – Madison, Madison, WI
Drinking Fresh Thinking

Very Small Brewing Company and Very Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Brink Brew Crew

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Marks Lanham & David Lin

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Silver City Brew Team

Brewery Group and Brewery Group Brewer of the Year
Kern River Brewing Co., Kernville, CA

GABF19-awards-Kern-River-BOtY — Kern River Brewing.

California Craft Brewers Cup 2019

September 20, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Last month, I participated in judging a new beer competition in California: the California Craft Brewers Cup, put on by the California Craft Brewers Association. Over four days, 80 judges evaluated nearly 1,300 beers in 61 categories from 194 breweries in the state. The winners were announced at the annual California Beer Summit, held this year in Long Beach, September 12-14.

Below are the results of the 2019 inaugural California Craft Brewers Cup:

Winners – California Craft Brewers Cup

Category 1: Standard American Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Alvarado Street Brewery	Monterey Beer
2nd	Urban Roots Brewing	Sidework
3rd	Taps Brewery	Light

Category 2: International Lager

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Knee Deep Brewing Company	Hola Señor
2nd	Dust Bowl Brewing Co	Taco Truck Amber
3rd	Dust Bowl Brewing Co	Taco Truck Lager

Category 3: Pilsner

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Discretion Brewing	Shimmer Pils
2nd	Dust Bowl Brewing Co	Hobo
3rd	Secret Trail Brewing Company	Comanche Creek

Category 4: Bohemian-Style Pilsner (Czech Lager)

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	East Brother Beer Co	Bo Pils
2nd	Ten Mile Brewing	Swarthy Czechsman
3rd	Rip Current Brewing	Choppy Surf Czech-Style Pilsner

Category 5: Pale European Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Angel City Brewery	Eastside Export Lager
2nd	Device Brewing Company	Das Crispy
3rd	Alaro Craft Brewery	La Boheme

Category 6: Munich-Style Helles

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Bike Dog Brewing Co.	Summer Is Always Helles
2nd	Smog City Brewing Co.	South Bay Lager
3rd	The Original 40 Brewing Company	Chrispy Boi

Category 7: German/Vienna-Style Marzen

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Crooked Lane Brewing Co	Oktoberfest
2nd	Dust Bowl Brewing Co	Oktoberfest
3rd	Fiftyfifty Brewing	Oktoberfest

Category 8: European-Style Dark Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Taps Brewery	Don’t Drop That Dun Dun Dunkel
2nd	Crooked Lane Brewing Co	Thirsty Pretzels
3rd	Angel City Brewery	Black Lager

Category 9: Bock

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Rip Current Brewing	Breakline Bock
2nd	Faultline Brewing Co	Spring Bock
3rd	Main Street Brewery	Main Street Maibock

Category 10: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Crooked Lane Brewing Co	Oreamnos
2nd	Morgan Territroy Brewing	Lubricator
3rd	Phantom Ales	Phantom Doppelbock

Category 11: American Style Cream Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Unsung Brewing Company	Buzzman
2nd	Claremont Craft Ales	Norman
3rd	South Park Brewing	Jenny

Category 12: Kölsch

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Indie Brewing Company	Pacific Kolsch Highway
2nd	Standard Deviant Brewing	Kolsch
3rd	Ketch Brewing	Ketch Kolsch

Category 13: Altbier/CA Common

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Fiftyfifty Brewing	Alternate Ending
2nd	Redwood Curtain Brewing Company	Dusseldorf Altbier
3rd	Angel City Brewery	45rpm

Category 15: Baltic-Style Porter

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Angel City Brewery	Baltic Porter
2nd	Morgan Territroy Brewing	Dark Reckoning
3rd	Eppig Brewing	Natural Bridge: Baltic Porter

Category 16: American-Style Wheat Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Yorkshire Square Brewery	Water-Upon-Sea
2nd	Inc 82 Brewing	For Hef’s Sake
3rd	New Glory Craft Brewery	Gummy Worms

Category 17: German-Style Wheat Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Taps Brewery	Krystal Clear
2nd	Beachwood Bbq & Brewing	La Cabra
3rd	Island Brewing Company	Pch – Pacific Coast Hefeweizen

Category 18: Berliner-Style Weisse

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Crooked Lane Brewing Co	Street Weisse
2nd	Stereo Brewing Company	Summer Sun
3rd	Beachwood Bbq & Brewing	Tart Simpson

Category 19: Gose

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Porchlight Brewing Co	Patio Smooches
2nd	Alesmith Brewing Company	Alesmith Gose
3rd	Mraz Brewing Company Llc	Purple Plum

Category 20: Rye Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Burning Beard Brewing	Roggen the Lightning

Category 21: Fruit Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Del Cielo Brewing	Guava Dreams
2nd	Urban Roots Brewing	Chocolate Moustache Coconut Imperal Stout
3rd	Fort Rock Brewing	Gose the Destroyer

Category 23: Herb & Spice Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Moksa Brewing Co	Intemperance
2nd	Moksa Brewing Co	Summerthyme
3rd	Garage Brewing Co	Toasted Marshmallow Milk Stout

Category 24: Coffee Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Gamecraft Brewing Company	There Is No Cow Level
2nd	Ambitious Ales	Central Perk
3rd	Pizza Port Brewing Co- Bressi Ranch	Bacon and Eggs

Category 25: Chocolate Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Belching Beaver Brewery	Viva la Beaver
2nd	Beachwood Bbq & Brewing	Vanilla Fudge
3rd	Pizza Port San Clemente	Dusk Til Dawn

Category 26: Smoked Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	South Park Brewing	Bread & Smoke
2nd	Hop Dogma Brewing Company	Smoke On the Lager

Category 27: Historical

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Anaheim Brewery	Anaheim 1888 (R)
2nd	Angel City Brewery	Adambier

Category 28: Blonde or Golden Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Mountain Rambler Brewery	Venusian Blonde Ale
2nd	Dos Desperados Brewery	Surfeza Blonde Ale
3rd	Track 7 Brewing Co.	Bee Line Blonde

Category 29: British Mild & Bitters

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Burning Beard Brewing	Banksy
2nd	Thorn Brewing Co.	West Kensington
3rd	The Monk’s Cellar	Crooked Bridge Esb

Category 30: Standard British Ales

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Peter B’s Brewpub	Inclusion Amber
2nd	Porchlight Brewing Co	The O.P.
3rd	Standard Deviant Brewing	Porter

Category 31: British Strong Ales

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Morgan Territroy Brewing	Highland Marauder
2nd	Alesmith Brewing Company	Alesmith Private Stock Ale 2017
3rd	Crooked Lane Brewing Co	Gnarly Goat

Category 32: Irish/Scottish Ales

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Karl Strauss Brewing Company	Red Trolley Ale
2nd	Triple Rock Brewing Co.	Cleverpenny
3rd	Island Brewing Company	Jubilee Ale

Category 34: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Crooked Lane Brewing Co	Dark Bent
2nd	Pocock Brewing Company	It’s My Island
3rd	Societe Brewing Company	The Pugilist

Category 35: Stouts (Dry)

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Del Cielo Brewing	Smooth Ride
2nd	Seismic Brewing Company	Oatmeal Stout
3rd	Island Brewing Company	Starry Night Stout

Category 36: Stouts (Sweet)

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Super Owl Brewing	Udder Nonsense
2nd	Feather Falls Brewing Company	Volcano Mudslide Sweet Stout
3rd	Riley’s Brewing	Cowlifornia

Category 37: Imperial Stouts

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Rip Current Brewing	Rescue Buoy Imperial Stout
2nd	Rouleur Brewing Company	Niterideur Imperial Stout

Category 38: American Amber & Brown Ales

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Tortugo Brewing	Baltra Red
2nd	Institution Ale Co.	Restraint
3rd	Crooked Lane Brewing Co	Hard Headed Red

Category 39: American Porter & Stout

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Rock Bottom Brewery la Jolla	Padfoot Porter
2nd	Fiftyfifty Brewing	Donner Party Porter
3rd	Kern River Brewing Company	Brown Claw

Category 40: American Pale Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Alesmith Brewing Company	Alesmith San Diego Pale Ale .394
2nd	Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co	Figueroa Mountain Mosaic
3rd	Societe Brewing Company	The Publican

Category 41: English-Style India Pale Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Alaro Craft Brewery	Castillo
2nd	Loomis Basin Brewing Co.,inc	Vindicator IPA
3rd	Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co	Hoppy Poppy

Category 42: American-Style India Pale Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Gamecraft Brewing Company	Pay To Win
2nd	Auburn Alehouse	Gold Digger IPA
3rd	Out of Bounds Brewing Company	Joyrider

Category 43: New England-Style India Pale Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Resident Brewing	Chasing Mosaic
2nd	North Park Beer Co.	Art Is Hard
3rd	Knee Deep Brewing Company	Oopsie d’Hazy

Category 44: American Imperial IPA

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Moksa Brewing Co	Sticky Sips
2nd	Tarantula Hill Brewing Company	Batch 002
3rd	Taps Brewery	Poseidon

Category 45: Specialty IPA

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Alvarado Street Brewery	Champagne Hopi
2nd	Drake’s Brewing Co.	Aroma Coma
3rd	Knee Deep Brewing Company	Man Juice

Category 46: Strong American Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Bravery Brewing Company	Centennial Barleywine
2nd	Knee Deep Brewing Company	Imperial Tanilla
3rd	Mraz Brewing Company Llc	Operias

Category 47: Belgian-Style Witbier

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Temblor Brewing Co	Under A Blood Orange Sky
2nd	Main Street Brewery	Katarina Wit
3rd	Tarantula Hill Brewing Company	T.O. Wit

Category 48: Classic Saison

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Resident Brewing	Golden Kiss
2nd	Hillenbrand Farmhaus Brewery	Farmhaus
3rd	Alaro Craft Brewery	Rabbit Hole

Category 49: Specialty Saison

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Gilman Brewing Company	Champ Rochaux
2nd	Innovation Brew Works	Cattle Rancher
3rd	Ferment.Drink.Repeat – Fdr Brewing Company	Barbados Grapefruit Saison

Category 50: Belgian & French-Style Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Barmhaus Brewing Co.	Batch #4
2nd	Resident Brewing	Industrial Gris
3rd	Triple Rock Brewing Co.	Bid Adieu

Category 51: Belgian Strong Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Second Chance Beer Company	Glorious
2nd	Alesmith Brewing Company	Alesmith Grand Cru
3rd	Riip Beer Company	Marooned 12

Category 52: Trappist Style Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Main Street Brewery	Bishop’s Tipple Trippel
2nd	Faction Brewing Company	Defcon I
3rd	Societe Brewing Company	The Debutante

Category 53: Belgian Sour Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Soquel Fermentation Project	Red #2 -With Raspberry
2nd	Alesmith Brewing Company	Alesmith Obk
3rd	Port Brewing and the Lost Abbey	Red Poppy

Category 54: Belgian-Style Lambic

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Thorn Brewing Co.	Framboise d’Tatas
2nd	Mraz Brewing Company Llc	Black Creek
3rd	Flatland Brewing Company	Unwritten Stories

Category 55: American Wild Ale

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Original Pattern Brewing Company	Berrya 51
2nd	Chapman Crafted Beer	Absofruitly! Raspberry
3rd	Soquel Fermentation Project	Golden Sour #4 With Mango and Passionfruit

Category 56: Wood (Wine)

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Duck Foot Brewing Co.	Sour Blonde
2nd	Fiftyfifty Brewing	Old Digs Malbec
3rd	Seismic Brewing Company	Steinstrasse

Category 57: Wood (Spirit)

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Bravery Brewing Company	Bourbon Barrel-Aged the Shroud
2nd	Drake’s Brewing Co.	Santa’s Brass
3rd	Silva Brewing	Silva Stout

Category 58: Alternative Fermentable Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Morgan Territroy Brewing	Bees Better Have My Honey
2nd	Angel City Brewery	Rap On the Beezer
3rd	Discretion Brewing	Ten Million Flowers

Category 59: Experimental Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Kings Brewing Company	Fluffernutter
2nd	Burgeon Beer Company	Bird’s Milk
3rd	Silva Brewing	The Pink Stuff

Category 60: Session Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Pizza Port Brew Co. – Ocean Beach	Guillaume
2nd	Eppig Brewing	Natural Bridge: Vienna Lager
3rd	Noble Ale Works	Nose Candy

Category 61: Chili Beer

Place	Organization	Entry Name
1st	Duck Foot Brewing Co.	Slow Burn
2nd	Stereo Brewing Company	I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
3rd	Garage Brewing Co	Hatch Chile IPA

In addition to the individual awards, there were also two big awards, “Best in Show,” taken from the individual gold medal winners, and “Californa Brewery of the Year.”

CCBC: Best of Show

Rip Current Brewing’s Breakline Bock, a Traditional German-Style Bock.

California Brewery of the Year

Crooked Lane Brewing Company, located in Auburn.

In addition to the two big brewery awards, they also gave a Pioneer’s Award and the California Guild of the Year.

California Guild of the Year

Sacramento Area Brewers Guild.

2019 Pioneer

Tom McCormick.

Bistro IPA Festival Winners 2019

April 13, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Today was the 22nd annual IPA Festival and the 2nd annual Hazy IPA Festival at the Bistro. The weather cooperated and it ended up being a sunny day in Hayward, making it was perfect beer-drinking weather once we emerged from judging in the basement. This year the judging was split into two groups, regular clear IPAs and hazy IPAs. There were 32 traditional American-style IPAs and 40 hazies. The full list of winners is below.

BistroIPA19-2 — Final Round judging of Traditional IPAs.

Traditional IPAs

1st Place: Central Coast Lucky Day IPA
2nd Place: Revision IPA
3rd Place: Urban Roots Like Riding a Bike IPA

BistroIPA19-1 — Starting the first round with Hazy IPAs.

Hazy IPAs

1st Place: Lead Dog Saturdays are for Brews IPA
2nd Place: Fieldwork Dancing in the Dank IPA
3rd Place: Cellarmaker Cantaloupe Island IPA

Peoples Choice Awards

People’s Choice Award — Traditional IPA: Altamont Mau Waui
People’s Choice Award — Hazy IPA: Urban Roots Lapse of Judgement

Congratulations to all the winners.

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2019

February 2, 2019 By Jay Brooks

On Saturday the 19th annual Double IPA Festival was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California. I got there early for judging again this year, and was sequestered in the dark, dank basement out of the view of the beautiful Bay Area sun for most of the morning. We judged 66 Double IPAs and 34 Triple IPAs.

Double IPAs

1st Place: Kern River Double Church
2nd Place: Urban Roots Bigger On the Inside
3rd Place: Beachwood BBQ & Brewery Greenshift

Bistro-DIPA19-UR — Peter Hoey from Urban Roots accepting his silver medal from Double IPA.

Triple IPAs

1st Place: Morgan Territory Menace to Sobriety
2nd Place: Faction Brewing / SARA Cuddle Tent
3rd Place: Kern River YUB Trippin’

Bistro-DIPA19-MT — Craig Cauwels from Morgan Territory winning gold for his triple IPA.

Peoples Choice Awards

People’s Choice Award — Double IPA: Cellarmaker Triple Mt. Nelson
People’s Choice Award — Triple IPA: Russian River Pliny the Younger

Congratulations to all the winners.

Bistro-DIPA19-1 — It was a beautiful day at the Bistro for tasting 100 Double and Triple IPAs.

GABF Medal Streaks

September 28, 2018 By Jay Brooks

A few days ago, I posted the results of this year’s Great American Beer Festival, a list of the medal winners, along with some statistics and a few photographs from the ceremony. A comment thread ensued about the longest streak of winning medals, meaning how many years in a row has a brewery won at least one medal. Intrigued, I reached out to the BA’s economist Bart Watson to see if that was a data point that the Brewers Association tracked. They do not, but one of the leading candidates, Iron Hill Brewery’s Mark Edleson, pointed out that the GABF website could be filtered not only by year but also by “All Years” and then you could search for a particular brewery and see which years they won. One problem with that is, as Bart pointed out, is that brewery names have on occasion changed, as have some ownership situations, over the years, but apart from that you could look at some of the leading candidates, at least. Undaunted, I started noodling through the data, somewhat randomly, but having been around almost thirty years, I tried as many of the old breweries I could remember.

At first, I thought I’d spend maybe an hour or so on this, just for fun, but as is typical for me it got out of hand and I’ve been doing searches off and on for a few days now. Obviously, I don’t have the time to search every brewery that’s won a medal since 1983, but I did search a lot of them. If you know of one I missed or just want to look up your favorite brewery, start at the BA’s GABF Winners page. Set the drop-down menu to “All Years” and then type in the brewery name you want to check in the “Search” field. I’d suggest using the fewest number of names as possible to weed out name changes like brewery to brewing co., etc. If the name itself is unique then leave off brewing entirely, although if it’s a place name you’ll probably need to include it. If you do find one that has a streak of three or more years, please comment below and I’ll add it to this list. Thanks.

Current Streak

This first list is what I’m calling the “Current Streak,” meaning a streak that’s still active. This means the brewery won a medal this year, and stretching back in previous consecutive years. For purposes of compiling this, a minimum of three years of winning medals is the minimum for no better reason then it seemed sensible. One win is great, two could be a happy coincidence, but once you hit three, it feels like a streak.

22 Years: Iron Hill 1997-2018 *

19 Years: Pizza Port 2000-2018 *

17 Years: Firestone Walker 2002-2018 *^

8 Years:
- Beachwood BBQ & Brewery 2011-2018 *
- Figueroa Mountain 2011-2018 *
7 Years: Real Ale Brewing 2012-2018

6 Years:
- Cannonball Creek Brewing 2013-2018
- Karl Strauss 2013-2018 *
5 Years:
- Chuckanut 2014-2018
- Fat Head’s 2014-2018 *
4 Years:
- Alvarado Street 2015-2018
- Austin Beer Garden 2015-2018
- Boise Brewing 2015-2018
- Denver Beer Co. 2015-2018
- Grimm Brothers 2015—2018
- TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Corona 2015-2018
3 Years:
- Alesong 2016-2018
- Bruery 2016-2018
- Snake River 2016-2018
- Summit Brewing 2016-2018
- Sunriver 2016-2018
- Uberbrew 2016-2018

* = The asterisk represents an elephant in the room, meaning these medals were won by the same company, but for multiple locations. I don’t mean to detract from the awesome achievement that their streaks represent, but it feels like it needs an asterisk since having more locations, especially under the older rules of entering, represents an advantage because they entered more beers than a single brewery would have been able to enter.

^ = This is a unique situation. Firestone Walker’s Paso Robles production brewery won medals for sixteen years in a row, from 2002 to 2017. This year Firestone Walker Barrelworks, in Buellton, won a medal. However, in the new special category, without a number, the Collaboration Competition, they won a medal for their collaboration with themselves, Firestone Walker Barrelworks of Buellton won for Pixie Dusted with Firestone Walker Brewing – Paso Robles. So does that mean Paso has won 17 Years in a row, or is it only 16? I don’t really know the answer, but it’s worth a discussion.

All Streaks

This second list is what I’m calling “All Streaks,” meaning every streak, whether it’s still active or not. This means the brewery won a medal at least three years in a row. As I mentioned, I undoubtedly missed some, and I apologize in advance if I miised yours. It’s a lot of data, and I’m just one guy. If you know of one I missed, please comment below. Thanks.

22 Years:
- Anheuser-Busch 1988-2009
- Coors 1988-2009
- Iron Hill 1997-2018
19 Years: Pizza Port 2000-2018 *

17 Years: Firestone Walker 2002-2018 *^

16 Years:
- Firestone Walker – Paso Robles 2002-2017
- Goose Island 1997-2012
- Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field 1999-2014
15 Years:
- Boston Beer Co. 1985-1999
- Rock Bottom 2000-2014 *
14 Years:
- Miller Brewing 2003-2016
- New Belgium 2000-2013
13 Years: Bear Republic 2004-2016

12 Years:
- Alaskan 1987-1998
- New Glarus 1996-2007
- Steelhead 1991-2002 *
11 Years:
- BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery 2002-2012 *
- Boston Beer Co. 2004-2014
10 Years:
- Bend Brewing 2006-2015
- Dry Dock Brewing 2008-2017 *
- Russian River Brewing 2001-2010
- Stoudt’s 1988-1997
9 Years:
- Alaskan 2000-2008
- Capital Brewery Co. 2004-2012
- Big Horn Brewing/CB & Pott’s 2000-2008 *
- Pabst 1990-1998
- RAM Restaurant & Brewery 2006-2014 *
- Sierra Nevada 1987-1995
- Tröegs Brewing 2006-2014
8 Years:
- Anchor 2001-2008
- Barley Brown’s Brew Pub 2009-2016
- Beachwood BBQ & Brewery 2011-2018 *
- Deschutes 2007-2014
- Devils Backbone Brewing 2009-2016 *
- Figueroa Mountain 2011-2018
- Montana Brewing 2005-2012
- Pabst 2010-2017
- Pennsylvania Brewing 1997-2004
- Southampton Publick House 2000-2007
- Sun King Brewing 2010-2017
7 Years:
- AC Golden Brewing 2009-2015
- Anchor 1987-1993
- Celis Brewery 1992-1998
- Deschutes 1990-1996
- Flossmoor Station 1997-2003
- Flying Dog 2003-2009
- G. Heileman Brewing 1990-1996
- Laurelwood Brewing 2006-2012
- Leinenkugel 2002-2008
- Lost Abbey 2007-2013
- Marble Brewery 2011-2017
- Pacific Coast 1989-1995
- Pelican Brewery 2004-2010
- Prescott Brewing 1996-2002
- Pyramid Breweries 2004-2010
- Real Ale Brewing 2012-2018
- Schooner’s Grille and Brewery/Morgan Territory 2004-2010
- Sierra Nevada 2008-2014
- Tommyknocker 2002-2008
6 Years:
- Cannonball Creek Brewing 2013-2018
- Capital Brewery Co. 1987-1992
- Dogfish Head 2004-2009
- Elysian Brewing 2002-2007
- Gordon Biersch 2009-2014
- Hart/Pyramid/Thomas Kemper 1994-1999
- Hudepohl-Schoenling 1987-1992
- John Harvard’s Brew House 1997-2002
- Karl Strauss 2013-2018
- Moose’s Tooth Brewing 2003-2008
- Pabst 2003-2008
- Pug Ryan’s Brewery 2003-2008
- Rocky River Brewing 1998-2003
- Rogue 2007-2012
- Saint Arnold 2005-2010
- Snake River 1999-2004
- Snake River 2007-2012
- Stroh Brewery 1997-2002
- Uinta Brewing 2009-2014
5 Years:
- 21st Amendment Brewery 2009-2013
- Butterfield Brewing 1992-1996
- Chuckanut 2014-2018
- Cigar City Brewery 2009-2013
- Clipper City Brewing 2006-2010
- The Commons Brewery 2012-2016
- Deschutes 2001-2005
- Fat Head’s 2014-2018
- Glenwood Canyon 2009-2013
- Great Adirondack Brewing 2008-2012
- Marin Brewing 1989-1993
- Millstream Brewing 2003-2007
- New Glarus 2009-2013
- North Coast 1999-2003
- Pelican Brewery 2012-2016
- Piece Brewery 2005-2009
- Redrock Brewing 2010-2014
- Redwood Coast Brewing/Tied House 1990-1994
- Rogue 1990-1994
- Saxer Brewing 1994-1998
- Seabright Brewery 1991-1995
- Third Street AleWorks 2000-2004
- Widmer Brothers 2006-2010
4 Years:
- AleSmith Brewing 2011-2014
- Alvarado Street 2015-2018 *
- Angelic Brewing 2001-2004
- Austin Beer Garden 2015-2018
- Avery Brewing 2012-2015
- Big Time 1990-1993
- Blind Tiger 2009-2012
- Boise Brewing 2015-2018
- Boscos Brewing 2000-2003
- Boulevard Brewing 2011-2013
- Boundary Bay Brewery 2001-2004
- Chuckanut 2009-2012
- Coors 2014-2017
- Denver Beer Co. 2015-2018
- Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery 2014-2017
- Firehouse Grill & Brewery 2008-2011
- Flossmoor Station 2005-2008
- Frankenmuth Brewing 1989-1992
- Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing 2007-2010
- Great Lakes 1990-1993
- Grimm Brothers 2015—2018
- Heavenly Daze Brewery & Grill 1993-1996
- Left Hand Brewing 2013-2016
- Mad River Brewing 2010-2013
- Midnight Sun Brewing 2005-2008
- Miller Brewing 1992-1995
- Miller Brewing 1997-2000
- Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery 2011-2014
- Minnesota Brewing 1992-1995
- New Belgium 1995-1998
- Nodding Heading 2002-2005
- Odell 2005-2008
- Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing 2003-2006
- Pelican Brewery 1999-2002
- Plank Road Brewery 2000-2004
- Portland Brewing/MacTarnahan’s 2000-2003
- Redrock Brewing 2005-2008
- Russian River Brewing 2012-2015
- SKA Brewing 2013-2016
- Snake River 1994-1997
- Squatters Pub Brewery 2001-2004
- Steamworks Brewing 2013-2016
- St. Ides Brewing 1999-2002
- SweetWater Brewing 2000-2003
- TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Brea 2010-2013
- TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Corona 2015-2018
- Telegraph Brewing 2011-2014
- Third Street AleWorks 2007-2010
- Thirsty Dog Brewing 2000-2003
- Three Floyds Brewing 2010-2013
- Twenty Tank Brewery 1995-1998
- Wicked Weed Brewing 2013-2016 *
- Widmer Brothers 2001-2004
3 Years:
- Alaskan 2010-2012
- Alesong 2016-2018
- Allagash 2005-2007
- Allagash 2009-2011
- Allagash 2014-2016
- Anchor 1997-1999
- Anderson Valley 1994-1996
- Atwater Block Brewing 1997-1999
- Auburn Alehouse 2012-2014
- Avery Brewing 2007-2009
- Baltimore Brewing/DeGroen’s 1994-1996
- Baltimore Brewing/DeGroen’s 1998-2000
- Bitter End Bistro & Brewery 1998-2000
- Blitz-Weinhard 1999-2001
- Bluegrass Brewing 1996-1998
- Blue Moon Brewing 2006-2008
- Blue Point Brewing 2005-2007
- Boscos Brewing 2005-2007
- Bristol Brewing 2000-2002
- Bristol Brewing 2005-2007
- Bruery 2010-2012
- Bruery 2016-2018
- Cambridge Brewing 2006-2008
- Captain Lawrence Brewing 2007-2009
- Chama River Brewing 2008-2010
- Chicago Brewing (Las Vegas) 2011-2013
- Church Brew Works 1999-2001
- Commonwealth Brewing 1998-2000
- CooperSmith’s Pub 1991-1993
- Copper Tank Brewing 1996-1998
- Durango Brewing 2007-2009
- Eel River Brewing 2004-2006
- Elk Grove Brewery 1997-1999
- Epic Brewing 2010-2012
- Foothills Brewing 2009-2011
- Founders Brewing 2014-2016
- Four Peaks Brewing 2009-2011
- Genesee/High Falls 1993-1995
- Glenwood Canyon Brewing 2001-2003
- Glenwood Canyon Brewing 2005-2007
- Golden Pacific Brewing 1995-1997
- Grand Teton Brewing 2007-2009
- Great Basin 2013-2015
- Great Divide 2008-2010
- Grimm Brothers 2011-2013
- Hollister Brewing 2008-2010
- Hoptown Brewing 2002-2004
- Hub City Brewery 2001-2003
- Humboldt Brewery 1990-2000
- Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales 2008-2010
- Kona Brewing 2015-2017
- Lakefront Brewery 2006-2008
- Left Hand Brewing 2008-2010
- Lone Star 1993-1995
- Long Trail Brewing 1990-1992
- Main Street Brewery – Corona 2004-2006
- Mammoth Brewing 2000-2002
- Maui Brewing 2007-2009
- Melvin Brewing 2015-2017 *
- Mendocino 1990-1992
- Michigan Brewing 2002-2004
- Mickey Finn’s Brewery 1996-1998
- Miller Brewing 1988-1990
- Millstream Brewing 1989-1991
- Morgan Territory 2014-2016
- New Holland Brewing 2000-2002
- North Coast 1992-1994
- Oasis Brewery 1992-1994
- Old Dominion 2004-2006
- Perennial Artisan Ales 2015-2017
- P.H. Woods 2000-2002
- Pig’s Eye Brewing 2005-2007
- Powerhouse Brewing 1999-2001
- Rhino Chasers 1993-1995
- Rockies Brewing 1992-1994
- Rogue 1996-1998
- Russian River Brewing 1997-1999
- Saint Arnold 1999-2001
- Saint Arnold 2013-2015
- Schaefer Brewing 2000-2002
- Schlitz Brewing 1997-1999
- SKA Brewing 2009-2011
- SLO Brewing 2000-2002
- Sly Fox Brewing 2013-2015
- Snake River 2016-2018
- Societe 2014-2016
- Spoetzl Brewery 2004-2006
- Starr Hill Brewing 1999-2001
- Starr Hill Brewing 2003-2005
- Steamworks Brewing 2005-2007
- Stoddard’s Brewhouse & Eatery 1994-1996
- Stone Brewing 2005-2007
- Summit Brewing 2012-2014
- Summit Brewing 2016-2018
- Sunriver 2016-2018
- Sun Valley Brewing 1989-1991
- SweetWater Brewing 2011-2013
- Tabernash Brewing 1997-1999
- Telluride Brewing 2014-2016
- Thomas Kemper 1995-1997
- Titletown Brewing 2008-2010
- Triumph Brewing Co. of New Hope 2004-2006
- Triple Rock 2009-2011
- Uberbrew 2016-2018
- Uinta Brewing 1999-2001
- Wild River Brewing 1995-1997
- Willoughby Brewing 1999-2001
- Yards Brewing 2012-2014

GABF Winners 2018

September 24, 2018 By Jay Brooks

Yesterday, the winners of the 37th Great American Beer Festival were announced. A record 8,496 beers were judged in 102 categories (or 167 different beer styles if you include the subcategories), plus the ProAm and Collaboration competitions, by 293 judges, of which I was again privileged to be one. Here are some more factoids on the results and the festival:

Category with the most entries: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale: 391 entries (unseating American-style IPA, which had been number #1 since 2002)
Top 5 Categories: IPA (336 entries); Imperial IPA (208); Wood- & Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (179); Session IPA (161); and American Pale Ale (160)
Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 83
2,404 breweries in the competition from 49 states, plus Washington, D.C. (No brewery from Mississippi entered a beer.)
537 first-time breweries entered the competition
31 first-time breweries won medals
3 breweries tied for most medals won, with three apiece; 10 Barrel Brewing, Alesong Brewing and Blending, and Lewis & Clark Brewing
Over 800 breweries in the festival hall
Over 4,000 beers served at the festival
62,000 attendees
New Categories This Year: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale, Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double India Pale Ale, American-Style Pilsener, Australian-Style Pale Ale, plus a new category outsie the numbered ones, Collaboration Beers

Medals Won by State:

California = 72
Colorado = 30
Oregon = 22
Texas = 18
Washington = 17
Ohio = 14
North Carolina = 13
Minnesota = 12
Illinois = 11
Michigan = 9
Virginia = 8
TIE:
- Florida = 7
- South Carolina = 7
New Mexico = 6
TIE:
- Indiana = 5
- Massachusetts = 5
- Montana = 5
- Pennsylvania = 5
TIE:
- Georgia = 4
- Kansas = 4
- Nevada = 4
- Wisconsin = 4
TIE:
- New Jersey = 3
- New York = 3
TIE:
- Arizona = 2
- New Hampshire = 2
- Tennessee = 2
- Utah = 2
- Wyoming = 2

gabf-2018-theatre

The 2018 Great American Beer Festival Winners

Category 1: American-Style Wheat Beer – 54 Entries
Gold: Sweet As Pacific Ale, GoodLife Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Silver: Goofy Footed, Escape Brewing Co., Trinity, FL
Bronze: Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, WA

GABF-Awards18-01
Steve Luke from Cloudburst Brewing, on the left, opening his shirt to reveal his “Fuck AB-InBev” T-Shirt. I’ve judged with Steve a couple of times recently, and he’s an awesome person.

Category 2: American-Style Wheat Beer with Yeast – 37 Entries
Gold: Miner’s Gold, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT
Silver: Fuzztail, Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver, OR
Bronze: Hefeweizen, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, OR

Category 3: American-Style Fruit Beer – 140 Entries
Gold: Raspberry Twist Lager, Garage Brewing Co., Temecula, CA
Silver: Cherry Blonde, Ignite Brewing Co., Barberton, OH
Bronze: Tropic Maelstrom, Peter B’s Brewpub, Monterey, CA

Category 4: Fruit Wheat Beer – 103 Entries
Gold: Passionate Envy, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Silver: Purple Line, Smylie Brothers Brewing Co., Evanston, IL
Bronze: Cherry Wheat, Sierra Blanca Brewing Co., Moriarty, NM

Category 5: Belgian-Style Fruit Beer – 65 Entries
Gold: Foxy Lady, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Silver: Blood-Orange Wit, Great Basin Brewing Co. – Sparks, Sparks, NV
Bronze: Kumquat Saison, Smog City Brewing Wood Cellar, Torrance, CA

Category 6: Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer – 38 Entries
Gold: Gordgeous, NoDa Brewing Co. – NE, Charlotte, NC
Silver: Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale, Stevens Point Brewery, Stevens Point, WI
Bronze: Phantoms Pumpkin Spice Barleywine, Philipsburg Brewing Co.
– The Vault, Philipsburg, MT

Category 7: Field Beer – 90 Entries
Gold: Cool for the Summer, Lakes & Legends Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN
Silver: Coco Piña Gose, Coastal Empire Beer Co., Savannah, GA
Bronze: Hawaiian Lion Toasted Coconut & Coffee Porter, Big Top Brewing Co., Sarasota, FL

Category 8: Chili Beer – 96 Entries
Gold: White Legs Jalapeno Wheat, Tribute Brewing Co., Eagle River, WI
Silver: Chamuco, Künstler Brewing, San Antonio, TX
Bronze: San Antonio Hatch Lager, Ranger Creek Brewery, San Antonio, TX

Category 9: Herb and Spice Beer – 130 Entries
Gold: Pendragon, Royal Docks Brewhouse and Cannery, Massillon, OH
Silver: Hazelnut Crunch, North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery – Slaughter, Austin, TX
Bronze: Wheatstone Bridge, Tin Whiskers Brewing, St. Paul, MN

Category 10: Chocolate Beer – 59 Entries
Gold: Coco for Coxness, Copperpoint Brewing Co., Boynton Beach, FL
Silver: Genesee Brew House Pilot Batch Dark Chocolate Scotch Ale, Genesee Brew House,
Rochester, NY
Bronze: Chocolate Macadamia Nut Stout, Kilowatt Brewing, San Diego, CA

Category 11: Coffee Beer – 92 Entries
Gold: Coffee Cream Ale, Kiitos Brewing, Salt Lake City, UT
Silver: Mystery Airship 4.0: Temple Cascara Golden Ale, New Helvetia Brewing Co.,
Sacramento, CA
Bronze: First Call, Modist Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN

GABF-Awards18-02
I first met the owner of New Helvetia long before he opened his brewery, and it’s been great watching it grow.

Category 12: Coffee Stout or Porter – 113 Entries
Gold: Speargun, Snake River Brewing Co., Jackson, WY
Silver: Breakfast Stout, Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Bronze: Udder Chaos, RAM Restaurant & Brewery – Seattle, Seattle, WA

GABF-Awards18-03
If you want me to take your picture, take a flag on stage with you. I’ve known Chris Ericson from Snake River for a lot of years, but it’s the Wyoming flag thta sealed the deal.

Category 13: Specialty Beer – 55 Entries
Gold: Graham Cracker Porter, Denver Beer Co. – Canworks, Denver, CO
Silver: Double Stack, Great Notion Brewing, Portland, OR
Bronze: I Did It All For The Cookie, FiftyFifty Brewing – Production Facility, Truckee, CA

Category 14: Rye Beer – 57 Entries
Gold: Rye Dawn, Breakwater Brewing Co., Oceanside, CA
Silver: Unite the Clans, Third Space Brewing, Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Rise Up Rye, Gun Hill Brewing Co., Bronx, NY

Category 15: Honey Beer – 79 Entries
Gold: Belgian Honey Blonde, No Clue Craft Brewery, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Silver: Honey Comb Cream Ale, Rock Bottom Brewery – Pittsburgh, Denver, CO
Bronze: Basil Better Have My Honey, Low Tide Brewing, Johns Island, SC

Category 16: Session Beer – 50 Entries
Gold: Natural Bridge: Vienna Lager, Eppig Brewing, San Diego, CA
Silver: Noble Miner, Burgeon Beer Co., Carlsbad, CA
Bronze: Stonefly Session Ale, Three Creeks Production, Sisters, OR

Category 17: Session India Pale Ale – 92 Entries
Gold: The Coachman, Societe Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Little Downtown Tom, Three Mile Brewing Co., Davis, CA
Bronze: Mosaic Reprise, Little City Brewing Co., Raleigh, NC

GABF-Awards18-04
I first met Travis when he was brewing at Russian River, and it’s great to see his own place, Societe Brewing, do so well.

Category 18: Other Strong Beer – 44 Entries
Gold: Golden Prairie Doppel Alt, Argus Brewery, Chicago, IL
Silver: False Hope, Spilled Grain Brewhouse, Annandale, MN
Bronze: Lampshade Porter, Starr Brothers Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM

Category 19: Experimental Beer – 112 Entries
Gold: Feral Brute, Firestone Walker Barrelworks, Buellton, CA
Silver: Terroir Pinot Noir, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR
Bronze: Chips & Salsa Cream Ale, Cogstone Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO

GABF-Awards18-05
Matt Van Wyk, from Alesong, is one of my favorite people, and it’s great to see his new place doing so well. Alesong was one of only three breweries to win three medals.

Category 20: Historical Beer – 38 Entries
Gold: Pushing Trees, Central Standard Brewing, Wichita, KS
Silver: The BIG Lubelski, Divine Barrel Brewing, Charlotte, NC
Bronze: Zungen Brecher, Home Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 21: Gluten-Free Beer – 38 Entries
Gold: Puckerberry, High Hops Brewery, Windsor, CO
Silver: Aurochs Blonde Ale, Aurochs Brewing Co., Emsworth, PA
Bronze: Dark Ale, Ground Breaker Brewing, Portland, OR

Category 22: American-Belgo-Style Ale – 51 Entries
Gold: Whitewall Wheat, Crank Arm Brewing Co., Raleigh, NC
Silver: #4.5 Dry Hopped Saison, Brown Truck Brewery, High Point, NC
Bronze: Mischief, The Bruery, Placentia, CA

Category 23: American-Style Sour Ale – 53 Entries
Gold: Kveik 1, Shades of Pale Brewery, Park City, UT
Silver: Brevity, Brewery Silvaticus, Amesbury, MA
Bronze: Wicked Shifty, Shoe Tree Brewing Co., Carson City, NV

Category 24: Fruited American-Style Sour Ale – 148 Entries
Gold: Pink Passionfruit Sour, BearWaters Brewing Co., Canton, NC
Silver: Kirby Pucker No. 21, Eastlake Craft Brewery, Minneapolis, MN
Bronze: Flaming Fury, Captain Lawrence Brewing Co., Elmsford, NY

Category 25: Brett Beer – 61 Entries
Gold: C’mon Sunshine, Birds Fly South Ale Project, Greenville, SC
Silver: Terroir Pinot Gris, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR
Bronze: Touch of Brett Mandarina, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR

Category 26: Mixed-Culture Brett Beer – 77 Entries
Gold: Druif, pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River, OR
Silver: Citra Dry Hopped Funk Yo Couch, Wiley Roots Brewing Co., Greeley, CO
Bronze: Coming to Fruition: Cherry, Oregon City Brewing Co., Oregon City, OR

Category 27: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer – 77 Entries
Gold: Barrel Aged Japance Off, Denver Beer Co. – Olde Town Arvada, Arvada, CO
Silver: Redrum, Duck Foot Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: beWILDering C, Ten Pin Brewing Co., Moses Lake, WA

Category 28: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – 162 Entries
Gold: Santa’s Brass, Drake’s Brewing Co., San Leandro, CA
Silver: Willett Barrel-Aged Ye Old Sprinklerhead Barleywine, The Wrecking Bar Brewpub,
Atlanta, GA
Bronze: Straight Jacket, Revolution Brewing, Chicago, IL

Great to see Wil Turner from Revolution Brewing, too.

Category 29: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout – 177 Entries
Gold: 70K Amburana, Against the Grain Brewery, Louisville, KY
Silver: A Night to End All Dawns, Kane Brewing, Ocean, NJ
Bronze: Eclipse, FiftyFifty Brewing Co., Truckee, CA

Category 30: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 76 Entries
Gold: 3 Barrel Circus, River Dog Brewing Co., Bluffton, SC
Silver: Duck Duck Gooze, Port Brewing Co. / The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Bronze: Oak-Aged Sour, Propolis Brewing, Port Townsend, WA

GABF-Awards18-06
Always great to see Tomme Arthur win another medal, especially for Duck Duck Gooze, which is such a great beer.

Category 31: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 102 Entries
Gold: Réserve Dorée de Pêche, Wooden Robot, Charlotte, NC
Silver: Sour Cherry Sour, Hermitage Brewing Co., San Jose, CA
Bronze: Zoned AG Golden Raspberry, Corralitos Brewing Co., Watsonville, CA

Category 32: Aged Beer – 53 Entries
Gold: Quadtum Leap, Revelry Brewing Co., Charleston, SC
Silver: Lock, Stock and Brandy Barrel, Maize Valley Craft Brewery, Hartville, OH
Bronze: Solzhenitsyn, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – Media, Media, PA

Category 33: Kellerbier or Zwickelbier – 67 Entries
Gold: Keller Pils, Summit Brewing Co., St. Paul, MN
Silver: STS Pils, Russian River Brewing Co. – Production, Santa Rosa, CA
Bronze: NashZwickel, Nashville Brewing Co., Nashville, TN

GABF-Awards18-08
Great to see Russian Rover win for their STS Pils, one of my favorite American pilsners.

Category 34: Smoke Beer – 50 Entries
Gold: St. Chuck’s Smoke, Rogue Ales Issaquah Brewhouse, Issaquah, WA
Silver: Pro-Pro Porter, Wormtown Brewery, Worcester, MA
Bronze: Raucher, Wolverine State Brewing Co., Ann Arbor, MI

Category 35: American-Style Pilsener – 91 Entries
Gold: Rocket 100, The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: NZ Pils, Wolverine State Brewing Co., Ann Arbor, MI
Bronze: Howdy Beer, The Post Brewing Co., Lafayette, CO

Category 36: International-Style Pilsener – 86 Entries
Gold: Wooden Teeth, Turtle Mountain Brewing Co., Rio Rancho, NM
Silver: Nano – OG Lager, Market Garden Brewery, Cleveland, OH
Bronze: Cerveza Delray, Brew Detroit, Detroit, MI

Category 37: Light Lager – 63 Entries
Gold: Altitude Banquet, Altitude Chophouse and Brewery, Laramie, WY
Silver: Awesome Beer Rice Lager, State Room Brewery, San Rafael, CA
Bronze: Super Awesome Lager, Austin Beerworks, Austin, TX

Category 38: American-Style Lager or American-Style Malt Liquor – 65 Entries
Gold: Lager, Appalachian Mountain Brewery – Boone, Boone, NC
Silver: American Lager, Castle Island Brewing Co., Norwood, MA
Bronze: Lumino, Unsung Brewing Co., Tustin, CA

Category 39: American-Style Cream Ale – 92 Entries
Gold: Gateway Cream Ale, Lockport Brewery, Bolivar, OH
Silver: Dayblazer Easygoing Ale, New Belgium Brewing Co. – Ft. Collins, Fort Collins, CO
Bronze: El Sully, 21st Amendment Brewery, San Leandro, CA

GABF-Awards18-09
Sully wins for El Sully!

Category 40: American-Style Amber Lager – 91 Entries
Gold: Pecos Amber Lager, Texas Beer Co., Taylor, TX
Silver: Märzen, Sudwerk Brewing Co., Davis, CA
Bronze: Oktoberfest, Lager Heads Brewing Co., Medina, OH

Category 41: German-Style Pilsener – 159 Entries
Gold: Netflix and Pils, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Silver: Pilsner, pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River, OR
Bronze: Pilsner, Ardent Craft Ales, Richmond, VA

Category 42: Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 84 Entries
Gold: Bohemian Pilsner, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant – Tysons Corner, McLean, VA
Silver: Pompey’s Pilsner, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT
Bronze: Bird Park, North Park Beer Co., San Diego, CA

Category 43: Munich-Style Helles – 99 Entries
Gold: Hell Yes, The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: Chuckanut Helles, Chuckanut Brewery – North Nut, Bellingham, WA
Bronze: House Lager, Jack’s Abby Brewing, Framingham, MA

GABF-Awards18-10
I confess I’m not sure what brewery these guys are from, but I love their outfits.

Category 44: Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest – 67 Entries
Gold: Grandpa Tractor, Barley Forge Brewing, Costa Mesa, CA
Silver: Freiheit Oktoberfest Wiesn, Wayfinder Beer, Portland, OR
Bronze: Figtoberfest, Figueroa Mountain Brewing – Westlake Village, Westlake Village, CA

Category 45: Vienna-Style Lager – 92 Entries
Gold: Oktoberfest, SKA Brewing, Durango, CO
Silver: 13.Five Ofest, Blue Mountain Barrel House and Organic Brewery, Arrington, VA
Bronze: Vienna Lager, Grains of Wrath Brewing, Camas, WA

Category 46: German-Style Maerzen – 129 Entries
Gold: Oktoberfest, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co., Fort Worth, TX
Silver: Oktoberfest, RAM Restaurant and Brewery – Lakewood, Lakewood, WA
Bronze: Oktoberfest, Oak Highlands Brewery, Dallas, TX

Category 47: Munich-Style Dunkel or European-Style Dark Lager – 52 Entries
Gold: Chuckanut Dunkel, Chuckanut – South Nut, Burlington, WA
Silver: Duck River Dunkel, Goat Island Brewing, Cullman, AL
Bronze: Babee Bock, Brew Kettle – Production Works, Strongsville, OH

GABF-Awards18-11
Great to See Will Kemper win again, he’s such a great lager brewer.

Category 48: Dark Lager – 62 Entries
Gold: Iron Horse Lager, Great American Restaurants – Sweetwater Tavern Centreville,
Centreville, VA
Silver: The Bennie, Granite City Food & Brewery, Olathe, KS
Bronze: Nighthawk, Enegren Brewing Co., Moorpark, CA

Category 49: Bock – 49 Entries
Gold: Guten Bock, Gilded Goat Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
Silver: New Kids on Maibock, Independent Brewing Co., Bel Air, MD
Bronze: Blind Tiger Bock, Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant, Topeka, KS

Category 50: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock – 31 Entries
Gold: Smooth Like Jazz, Revelry Brewing Co., Charleston, SC
Silver: Delaminator Doppelbock, Rip Current Brewery, San Marcos, CA
Bronze: St. Nigels’ Doppelbock, Front Range Brewing Co., Lafayette, CO

GABF-Awards18-12
Paul Sangster (on the right) from Rip Current Brewing picking up his award.

Category 51: Baltic-Style Porter – 33 Entries
Gold: Odin’s Sword, Big Island Brewhaus, Kamuela, HI
Silver: Death and the Maiden, Cambridge Brewing Co., Cambridge, MA
Bronze: Bangor Slate Baltic Porter, Two Rivers Brewing Co., Easton, PA

Category 52: Golden or Blonde Ale – 127 Entries
Gold: MadeWest Standard, MadeWest Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Silver: 1956 Golden Ale, Bootstrap Brewing Co., Niwot, CO
Bronze: Pistol Pete’s 1888 Ale, Bosque Brewing Co. – Bosque North, Bernalillo, NM

Category 53: German-Style Koelsch – 149 Entries
Gold: Colorado Kölsch, Steamworks Brewing Co., Durango, CO
Silver: Kascadia, 54°40’ Brewing Co., Washougal, WA
Bronze: Veedels Bräu Kölsch, Crooked Lane Brewing Co., Auburn, CA

Category 54: English-Style Summer Ale – 61 Entries
Gold: Liquid AC, Karl Strauss Brewing Co. – La Jolla, La Jolla, CA
Silver: Provider, Steel Toe Brewing, St. Louis Park, MN
Bronze: Zest A Peel, Triple C Brewing, Charlotte, NC

Category 55: Classic English-Style Pale Ale – 33 Entries
Gold: Pale Ale, Omission Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: MacTarnahan’s Amber Ale, Portland Brewing – Portland, OR
Bronze: Prickly Pear, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT

Category 56: English-Style India Pale Ale – 50 Entries
Gold: Castillo IPA, Alaro Craft Brewery, Sacramento, CA
Silver: Silverspot IPA, Pelican Brewing Co., Pacific City, OR
Bronze: Hoppy Poppy IPA, Figueroa Mountain Brewing, Buellton, CA

GABF-Awards18-13
Darron Welch (next to Charlie), from Pelican Brewing picking his millionth award.

Category 57: Australian-Style Pale Ale – 46 Entries
Gold: Sunshine Express, Butcherknife Brewing Co., Steamboat Springs, CO
Silver: Strata IPA, Worthy Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Bronze: Flavor Country, Austin Beerworks, Austin, TX

Category 58: International-Style Pale Ale – 23 Entries
Gold: Mai Tai P.A., Alvarado Street Brewery & Grill, Monterey, CA
Silver: Guayabera, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
Bronze: The Penske File, Faction Brewing Co., Alameda, CA

GABF-Awards18-14
A very restrained Rodger Davis, from Faction Brewing.

Category 59: American-Style Pale Ale – 170 Entries
Gold: B.Right On Pale Ale, Ocean Beach Brewery, San Diego, CA
Silver: Neighborhood, Ventura Coast Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Bronze: Charlatan, Maplewood Brewing Co., Chicago, IL

Category 60: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale – 132 Entries
Gold: Voodoo, Tin Roof Brewing Co., Baton Rouge, LA
Silver: Sippin on Dank 2.0, Kings Brewing Co., Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Bronze: Madame Psychosis, Fiction Beer Co., Denver, CO

Category 61: American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 129 Entries
Gold: Green Battles IPA, Pinthouse Pizza North, Austin, TX
Silver: Easy Runaway, Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop, WA
Bronze: Lucky Day, Central Coast Brewing Co. – Higuera St., San Luis Obispo, CA

Category 62: American-Style India Pale Ale – 311 Entries
Gold: Bine, Root Down Brewing Co., Phoenixville, PA
Silver: Not an IPA (P.S. it’s an IPA), Appalachian Mountain Brewery – Portsmouth, Portsmouth, NH
Bronze: West Coast IPA is Dead!, Green Cheek Beer Co., Orange, CA

Category 63: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale – 391 Entries
Gold: Le Jus, Alarmist Brewing, Chicago, IL
Silver: Fairy Nectar London Double Dry Hopped, Kros Strain Brewing Co., La Vista, NE
Bronze: Foiken Haze, Eris Brewery and Cider House, Chicago, IL

Category 64: Imperial India Pale Ale – 157 Entries
Gold: Nobility, Noble Ale Works, Anaheim, CA
Silver: Northern Lights, Moonraker Brewing Co. – Production Facility, Auburn, CA
Bronze: Unbridled Enthusiasm, Third Space Brewing, Milwaukee, WI

Category 65: Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double India Pale Ale – 150 Entries
Gold: New England Style Double IPA, Black Market Brewing Co., Temecula, CA
Silver: DDH Double IPA, Corridor Brewery & Provisions, Chicago, IL
Bronze: Contains No Juice, Alvarado Street Brewery, Salinas, CA

Category 66: American-Style Amber/Red Ale – 124 Entries
Gold: West Coast Swing Amber, The Mitten Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Silver: Sepia Amber, Hopping Gnome Brewing Co., Wichita, KS
Bronze: Avalon Amber Ale, Slack Tide Brewing Co., Cape May Court House, NJ

Category 67: Double Hoppy Red Ale – 56 Entries
Gold: Midwest Red IPA, Masthead Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
Silver: Roundhouse, Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo, MI
Bronze: Bad Polaroid, Werk Force Brewing Co., Plainfield, IL

GABF-Awards18-15
Always great to see Larry Bell up on stage.

Category 68: Imperial Red Ale – 45 Entries
Gold: Happy Days, Claremont Craft Ales, Claremont, CA
Silver: Robot, Stereo Brewing Co., Placentia, CA
Bronze: Cinder Beast, Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver, OR

Category 69: English-Style Mild Ale – 55 Entries
Gold: Drift, First Magnitude Brewing Co., Gainesville, FL
Silver: Hold The Reins, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Bronze: Fools & Babies, Green Cheek Beer Co., Orange, CA

Category 70: Ordinary or Special Bitter – 41 Entries
Gold: Sawtooth Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, CO
Silver: Copperline Amber Ale, Carolina Brewery – Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, NC
Bronze: Saint Arnold Amber Ale, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 71: Extra Special Bitter – 72 Entries
Gold: Happy Amber, MadTree Brewing 2.0, Cincinnati, OH
Silver: ESB, Hillman Beer, Asheville, NC
Bronze: Bull Kelp ESB, San Juan Island Brewing Co., Friday Harbor, WA

GABF-Awards18-17
The Ohio Brewers Guild is very organized, and sends their Ohio Brewers up on stage with an Ohio Brewers Flag, but MadTree gets extra points for having their own flag. I’m starting to think every brewery should have their own flag.

Category 72: Scottish-Style Ale – 40 Entries
Gold: Taildragger Clan-Destine, Saddle Mountain Brewing Co., Goodyear, AZ
Silver: Saint Arnold Oktoberfest, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX
Bronze: It Takes a Tribe Red Ale, Goat Patch Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO

Category 73: Irish-Style Red Ale – 81 Entries
Gold: Scarlet > Fire, Tighthead Brewing Co., Mundelein, IL
Silver: TAPS Irish Red, TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Corona, Corona, CA
Bronze: DEFCON Red, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO

Category 74: English-Style Brown Ale – 56 Entries
Gold: Get Up Offa That Brown, Golden Road Brewing – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Silver: My Brown Eyed Girl, Thornapple Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Bronze: No. 3 Brown, The Freehouse, Minneapolis, MN

This is another brewery group that I couldn’t identify, but take a close look at their hats, which resemble MAGA hats. Another brewery had these hats, too, and they read “Make Beer Clear Again.”

Category 75: American-Style Brown Ale – 76 Entries
Gold: Davy Brown Ale, Figueroa Mountain Brewing, Buellton, CA
Silver: Groundswell Piloncillo Brown Ale, Groundswell Brewing Co., Santee, CA
Bronze: Wallops Island, Rocket Frog Brewing Co., Reston, VA

Category 76: American-Style Black Ale – 47 Entries
Gold: Alpha Force Double Tap, Uberbrew, Billings, MT
Silver: Black the Riipper, Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach, CA
Bronze: Midnight Moonlight, Fat Head’s Brewery, Middleburg Heights, OH

Category 77: Berliner-Style Weisse – 115 Entries
Gold: Baywindow, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Silver: Germophile, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Santa Fe, NM
Bronze: Nevada Weisse, IMBIB Custom Brews, Reno, NV

GABF-Awards18-19
Always great to hang out with Tonya Cornett from 10 Barrel.

Category 78: Gose – 112 Entries
Gold: Two of Tarts, Upland Brewing Co., Bloomington, IN
Silver: Salty by Nature, Root Down Brewing Co., Phoenixville, PA
Bronze: Brewer’s Day Off, D9 Brewing Co., Cornelius, NC

Category 79: German-Style Altbier – 38 Entries
Gold: Legendary Red, Golden City Brewery, Golden, CO
Silver: Little Red Cap, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Loveland, CO
Bronze: Alt 1848, Utepils Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN

Category 80: South German-Style Hefeweizen – 152 Entries
Gold: Civil Rest, Little Brother Brewing, Greensboro, NC
Silver: Hoofer’s Hef, Bankhead Brewing Co., Rowlett, TX
Bronze: Hefeweizen, Standard Deviant Brewing, San Francisco, CA

Category 81: German-Style Wheat Ale – 36 Entries
Gold: Bananenhängematte, FiftyFifty Brewing Co. – Production Facility, Truckee, CA
Silver: Alviso Mills Hefeweizen, Santa Clara Valley Brewing, San Jose, CA
Bronze: Doppel Blur, Circle Brewing Co., Austin, TX

GABF-Awards18-20
Steve Donohue picking up a medal for his newish brewery, Santa Clara Brewing.

Category 82: Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale – 56 Entries
Gold: Jean-Claude Van Blond, Wit’s End Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Singel, Hardywood West Creek, Richmond, VA
Bronze: Blonde Betty, Smuggler’s Brewpub, Telluride, CO

Category 83: Belgian-Style Witbier – 86 Entries
Gold: Biére Blanche, Pedal Haus Brewery, Tempe, AZ
Silver: Optimal Wit, Port City Brewing Co., Alexandria, VA
Bronze: Allagash White, Allagash Brewing Co., Portland, ME

Category 84: Classic Saison – 90 Entries
Gold: Saison, Bent Paddle Brewing Co., Duluth, MN
Silver: One Arm Farmhouse Ale, Hobbs Tavern & Brewing Co., West Ossipee, NH
Bronze: Hayshaker, Gunwhale Ales, Costa Mesa, CA

Category 85: Specialty Saison – 116 Entries
Gold: Apricot Saison, 105 West Brewing Co., Castle Rock, CO
Silver: Sunken City, Insight Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN
Bronze: Rustic Sunday, Birds Fly South Ale Project, Greenville, SC

Category 86: Belgian- and French-Style Ale – 39 Entries
Gold: 5 Branches Biere de Garde, Munkle Brewing Co., Charleston, SC
Silver: Biere de Garde, Blackberry Farm Brewery, Walland, TN
Bronze: Abby Blonde, Thirsty Monk Pub Brewery, Denver, CO

Category 87: Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale – 78 Entries
Gold: Funk Yeah, Beachwood Blendery, Long Beach, CA
Silver: Triad, IMBIB Custom Brews, Reno, NV
Bronze: I Am Only Memories, Orpheus Brewing, Atlanta, GA

GABF-Awards18-21
Julian’s on fire at his Beachwood Blendery.

Category 88: Belgian-Style Dubbel or Quadrupel – 57 Entries
Gold: BJ’s Quad, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery – Boulder, Boulder, CO
Silver: Kung Fu Smurf, Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak, MI
Bronze: Deduction, Taxman Brewing Co., Bargersville, IN

Category 89: Belgian-Style Tripel – 68 Entries
Gold: Tripel Carmel-ite, Flix Brewhouse – Carmel, Carmel, IN
Silver: Belgian Tripel, Village Idiot Brewing Co., Mount Holly, NJ
Bronze: Neighbor Girl, Paradigm Shift Brewing, Massillon, OH

Category 90: Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale – 65 Entries
Gold: Midwatch, Figurehead Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Silver: Qualified, Taxman Brewing Co., Bargersville, IN
Bronze: Sol Hominis (The Sun Of Man), Save the World Brewing Co., Marble Falls, TX

Category 91: Other Belgian-Style Ale – 41 Entries
Gold: Pour le Mineur, Corridor Brewery & Provisions, Chicago, IL
Silver: Call of the Void, Original Pattern Brewing Co., Oakland, CA
Bronze: Red Devil, Printer’s Ale Manufacturing Co., Carrollton, GA

Category 92: Brown Porter – 61 Entries
Gold: Maduro Brown Ale, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL
Silver: Brown Claw, Kern River Brewing Co., Kernville, CA
Bronze: Knee-Knocker Porter, Crow Hop Brewing Co., Loveland, CO

Category 93: Robust Porter – 91 Entries
Gold: Lomporter, Lompoc Brewing – The 5th Quadrant, Portland, OR
Silver: Porter, Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI
Bronze: Ghost Rider Porter, Big Ugly Brewing Co., Chesapeake, VA

Category 94: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout – 54 Entries
Gold: Shooter McMunn’s, Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Ashburn, VA
Silver: It’s My Island, Pocock Brewing Co., Santa Clarita, CA
Bronze: Know Ego, Groundswell Brewing Co., Santee, CA

GABF-Awards18-23
I confess I don’t know the folks at Lost Rhino Brewing, but I have to give it up to them for bringing a member of Star Fleet up on stage with them, who I asume works with them part-time, when he’s not on a five-year mission.

Category 95: Export Stout – 52 Entries
Gold: Dissent, Steel Toe Brewing, St. Louis Park, MN
Silver: Malpais Stout, La Cumbre Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM
Bronze: Shut Up & Adore Me, Morgan Territory Brewing, Tracy, CA

GABF-Awards18-22
Craig Cauwels quietly making great beer at Morgan Territory Brewing.

Category 96: American-Style Stout – 43 Entries
Gold: Hooligan Stout, Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop, WA
Silver: P2P, 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Bronze: Black Cliffs, Boise Brewing, Boise, ID

Category 97: Sweet Stout or Cream Stout – 56 Entries
Gold: Moozie, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Udder Love, Beachwood Brewing, Huntington Beach, CA
Bronze: Melk Stout, Columbus Brewing Co., Columbus, OH

GABF-Awards18-24
See, I told you Beachwood’s on fire.

Category 98: Oatmeal Stout – 59 Entries
Gold: Shoshone Stout, Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co., Glenwood Springs, CO
Silver: Oats, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA
Bronze: Wall of Sound, Stereo Brewing Co., Placentia, CA

Category 99: Imperial Stout – 86 Entries
Gold: Kill the Lights, The Tap Brewery, Bloomington, IN
Silver: The Shroud, Bravery Brewing, Lancaster, CA
Bronze: Shimmergloom, Loowit Brewing Co., Vancouver, WA

Category 100: Scotch Ale – 53 Entries
Gold: Real Heavy, Real Ale Brewing Co., Blanco, TX
Silver: Skag, 6th and La Brea, Los Angeles, CA
Bronze: Kilt Switch, 903 Brewers, Sherman, TX

Category 101: Old Ale or Strong Ale – 37 Entries
Gold: Drunkard’s Cloak, Banded Oak Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Old Scrooge, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Bronze: Rail Gun Wee Heavy, BNS Brewing & Distilling Co., Santee, CA

Category 102: Barley Wine-Style Ale – 52 Entries
Gold: Chicago Overcoat, Midnight Pig Beer, Plainfield, IL
Silver: Barnacled Manatee, Walking Tree Brewery, Vero Beach, FL
Bronze: Bear Temper, Trustworthy Brewing Co., Burbank, CA

GABF-Awards18-27
And finally, the folks from Walking Tree Brewery brought their Florida flag with them.

2018 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition, 101 Entries

Gold: Deer Crossing, Little Harpeth Brewing Co., Nashville, TN
Brewmaster: Jesse Brown
AHA Member: Chris Allen

Silver: Gone for a Burton, Rock Bottom Brewery – Warrenville, Denver, CO
Brewmaster: Erik Pizer
AHA Member: Jim Todd

Bronze: La Bomba, Cheluna Brewing Co., Aurora, CO
Brewmaster: Jennifer Perez
AHA Member: Chris Cardillo

2018 Great American Beer Festival Collaboration Competition, 49 Entries

Gold: Transatlantique Kriek, New Belgium Brewing Co. – Ft. Collins, Fort Collins, CO
Oud Beersel, Beersel, Belgium

Silver: Pixie Dusted, Firestone Walker Barrelworks, Buellton, CA
Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA

Bronze: Mocha Hipster Bomb, Quarter Celtic Brewpub, Albuquerque, NM
Palmer Brewery and Cider House, Albuquerque, NM

The 2018 Great American Beer Festival Brewery & Brewer of the Year Awards

Very Small Brewing Company of the Year (<1,000 barrels produced in 2017)
Brink Brewing Co.; Cincinnati, OH
Brewmaster: Kelly Montgomery

GABF-Awards18-25
See what I mean about the Ohio Brewers Flag.

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 Crew

Mid-Size Brewing Company 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

FiftyFifty
Fantastic to see how happy Brian was picking up his award for Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year.

Large Breweries or Multiple Location Breweries of the Year (15,000 – 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2017)
pFriem Family Brewers; Hood River, OR
Brewmaster: pFriem Family Brewers

pFriem

Small Brewpub of the Year (<750 barrels produced in 2017)
Ocean Beach Brewery; San Diego, CA
Brewmaster: Jim Millea & Scott Watkins

Ocean-Beach

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

ABGB

Bistro IPA Festival Winners 2018

April 14, 2018 By Jay Brooks

Today was the 21st annual IPA Festival and the Inaugural Hazy IPA Festival at the Bistro. The weather cooperated and it ended up being a cool but sunny in Hayward, making it was near perfect beer-drinking weather once we emerged from judging in the basement. This year the judging was split into two groups, regular clear IPAs and hazy IPAs. There were 41 traditional American-style IPAs. The full list of winners is below.

West Coast IPA Festival Winners

1st Place: Chain Shot (Moonraker Brewing)
2nd Place: Rakau (Triple Rock Brewing)
3rd Place: Danker Will Robinson (Alpha Acid)

For the first time, this year we separately judged Hazy, East Coast, New England IPAs, or whatever you want to call them. We had 36 in the first round, and eight in the final round.

East Coast or Hazy IPA Festival Winners

1st Place: DDH Cantaloupe Island (Cellarmaker Brewing)
2nd Place: Citra Dream (New Glory Craft Brewery)
3rd Place: Relax (Bruery Offshoot)

Bistro Double IPA Winners 2018

February 13, 2018 By Jay Brooks

On Saturday the 18th annual Double IPA Festival was held at the Bistro in Hayward, California. I got there early for judging again this year, and was sequestered in the dark, dank basement out of the view of the beautiful Bay Area sun for most of the morning. We judged 63 Double IPAs and 36 Triple IPAs.

Double IPAs

1st Place: All Hops on Deck, Moonraker Brewing
2nd Place: Greenshift, Beachwood BBQ & Brewery
3rd Place: Hop Salad, Triple Rock Brewery

Judging in the basement of the Bistro.

Triple IPAs

1st Place: Nod & Smile, Triple Rock Brewery
2nd Place: Compulsory, Iron Springs Pub & Brewery
3rd Place: Power Plant, El Segundo Brewing

It was a beautiful day at the Bistro for tasting 99 Double and Triple IPAs.

Peoples Choice Awards

People’s Choice Award — Double IPA: Oak and Rye, New Bohemia Brewing
People’s Choice Award — Triple IPA: Scarcity, Altamont Beer Works

Congratulations to all the winners.

Jeremy Marshall, from Lagunitas, and Terence Sullivan, from Sierra Nevada, with their wives, enjoying some camaraderie at the Double IPA Fest.

GABF Awards 2017

October 14, 2017 By Jay Brooks

I’m a little late on this post, but since I got home from GABF last week, we’ve had a bit of turmoil here in Sonoma County, with over 5,700 homes and buildings destroyed by wildfires and a current death toll of at least 36. It’s now officially the worst disaster in California history. So please forgive my tardiness. So let’s return to the day before the fires began, when things were still calm and worry-free. On Saturday, October 7, the winners of the 36th Great American Beer Festival were announced. A record 7,923 beers were judged in 98 categories by 276 judges, of which I was again privileged to be one. First, here are some statistics about the festival:

36th anniversary of the festival; 31st edition of the GABF competition
800 breweries in the festival hall
3,900+ beers served at the festival
60,000 attendees
4,308 volunteers (festival and competition combined)
2,217 breweries in the competition from 50 states plus Washington, D.C.
266 medal-winning breweries
293 total medals awarded
7,923 beers judged (not including 88 Pro-Am competition entries), a nearly 9 percent increase over 2015
98 style categories judged, plus the Pro-Am competition
276 judges from 13 different countries
Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 81 (excludes Pro-Am beers)
Category with highest number of entries: American-Style India Pale Ale: 408

Since 2002, the most-entered category has been American-Style India Pale Ale (IPA), which saw 312 entries in 2016 compared to 336 entries in 2015.The top five entered categories were:

American-Style India Pale Ale (408 entries)
Imperial India Pale Ale (221 entries)
American-Style Strong Pale Ale (199 entries)
American-Style Strong Pale Ale (182 entries)
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (175 entries)

gabf-medals

Only two breweries won 3 medals (Austin Beer Garden and Saint Arnold), but four won 2 (Melvin, On Tour, Rockford, Sunriver). By ratio, Missouri did best (92 entries and 8 medals) for 8.7%. In second was Pennsylvania (259 entries and 16 medals) with 6.2% and third was Indiana (163 entries and 10 medals) with 6.1%. 584 breweries entered the competition for the first time, and of those, 36 won a medal.

Medals Won by State:

California = 57
Colorado = 37
Texas = 21
Oregon = 17
Pennsylvania = 16
North Carolina = 14
TIE: Illinois / Indiana /Washington = 10
TIE: Michigan / Ohio = 9
TIE: Florida / Missouri = 8
TIE: Georgia / Minnesota / New Mexico = 6

In addition, one state won 5, five states won 4, two won 3, six won 2, and eight states plus DC won a single medal. Ten states did not win a medal.

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The 2017 Great American Beer Festival Winners

Category 1: American-Style Wheat Beer – 39 Entries
Gold: Sweet As Pacific Ale, GoodLife Brewing Co., Bend, OR
Silver: Lemon Rye, 105 West Brewing Co., Castle Rock, CO
Bronze: Fieldhouse Wheat, Triton Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN

Category 2: American-Style Wheat Beer With Yeast – 52 Entries
Gold: Fuzztail, Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver, OR
Silver: Miner’s Gold Hefeweizen, Lewis & Clark Brewing Co., Helena, MT
Bronze: Wrangler Wheat, Figueroa Mountain Brewing – Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA

Category 3: American-Style Fruit Beer – 145 Entries
Gold: Razz Against the Machine, Little Machine, Denver, CO
Silver: The Mesa, Cismontane Brewing Co., Santa Ana, CA
Bronze: Elvis Juice, BrewDog Brewing Co., Canal Winchester, OH

Category 4: Fruit Wheat Beer – 90 Entries
Gold: Sierra Blanca Cherry Wheat, Sierra Blanca Brewing Co., Moriarty, NM
Silver: Purple Line, Smylie Brothers Brewing Co., Evanston, IL
Bronze: Paradise Now, Trim Tab Brewing, Birmingham, AL

Category 5: Belgian-Style Fruit Beer – 58 Entries
Gold: Blood Orange Wit, Refuge Brewery, Temecula, CA
Silver: ZuurPruim, Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, Hood River, OR
Bronze: Cherry Busey, Sun King Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN

Category 6: Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer – 66 Entries
Gold: Saint Arnold Pumpkinator, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX
Silver: Pumpkin Ale, Schlafly Beer/The Saint Louis Brewery, Saint Louis, MO
Bronze: 5 Phantoms Pumpkin Spice Barleywine, Philipsburg Brewing Co., Philipsburg, MT

Category 7: Field Beer – 87 Entries
Gold: C Porter, LauderAle, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Silver: No Crusts, Funky Buddha Brewery, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Bronze: Spa Water Saison, Ohana Brewing Co., Los Angeles, CA

Category 8: Chili Beer – 98 Entries
Gold: Ghost Pepper Imperial Stout, ZwanzigZ Brewing, Columbus, IN
Silver: Bad Hombre, Eight & Sand Beer Co., Woodbury, NJ
Bronze: Dia de los Mangos, Beachwood Blendery, Long Beach, CA

Category 9: Herb and Spice Beer – 145 Entries
Gold: Lemon Balm and Beets Wheat, New Sarum Brewing, Salisbury, NC
Silver: 80 Acre Carrot Ale, Humble Farmer Brewing Co., Holtville, CA
Bronze: India Spring Honey Cream Ale, Broken Plow Brewery, Greeley, CO

Category 10: Chocolate Beer – 62 Entries
Gold: Imperial Smoked Porter With Cacao Nibs, Joseph James Brewing Co., Henderson, NV
Silver: Aphrodisiac Chocolate Pomegranate Imperial Stout, Cranker’s Brewery, Big Rapids, MI
Bronze: Tears of My Enemies, Monday Night Brewing, Atlanta, GA

Category 11: Coffee Beer – 89 Entries
Gold: Heritage Coffee Brown Ale, Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK
Silver: It’s 8 O’clock Somewhere, Torched Hop Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA
Bronze: Stony Joe, Stony Creek Brewery, Branford, CT

Category 12: Coffee Stout or Porter – 114 Entries
Gold: Speargun Coffee Milk Stout, Snake River Brewing Co., Jackson, WY
Silver: Udder Chaos, RAM/Big Horn Brewery – Seattle, Seattle, WA
Bronze: Kawi, Currahee Brewing Co., Franklin, NC

Category 13: Specialty Beer – 42 Entries
Gold: Barrel Aged Sweet Potato SouthNorte Rye, Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven, MI
Silver: Rye Hipster Brunch Stout, Odd Side Ales, Grand Haven, MI
Bronze: Agavamente, SouthNorte Beer Co., San Diego, CA

Category 14: Rye Beer – 49 Entries
Gold: Unite the Clans, Third Space Brewing, Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Nighthawk Rye Pale Ale, Packinghouse Brewing Co., Riverside, CA
Bronze: Breakside Rye Curious?, Breakside Brewery, Portland, OR

Category 15: Honey Beer – 69 Entries
Gold: Orange Blossom Common, Karl Strauss Brewing Co. – Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Silver: Jetty Ale, Great South Bay Brewery, Bay Shore, NY
Bronze: Honey Please, Armadillo Ale Works, Denton, TX

Category 16: Session Beer – 40 Entries
Gold: Guillaume, Pizza Port Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
Silver: Peacekeeper, Launch Pad Brewery, Aurora, CO
Bronze: Stonefly Session Ale, Three Creeks Brewing Co., Sisters, OR

Category 17: Session India Pale Ale – 130 Entries
Gold: Rome City IPA, Brew Hub, Lakeland, FL
Silver: Patio Pounder, Twisted Pine Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Bronze: Featherweight Session IPA, Boxing Bear Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM

Category 18: Other Strong Beer – 40 Entries
Gold: Imperial Cream Ale, Nexus Brewery, Albuquerque, NM
Silver: Laissez-Faire, Monday Night Brewing, Atlanta, GA
Bronze: Antwerp’s Placebo, Batch Brewing Co., Detroit, MI

Category 19: Experimental Beer – 94 Entries
Gold: Source Series Opuntia, Carolina Bauernhaus Ales, Anderson, SC
Silver: Roswell: Grudge, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Denver, CO
Bronze: Hot Pink, Four Day Ray Brewing, Fishers, IN

Category 20: Fresh or Wet Hop Ale – 44 Entries
Gold: Wet Hop Melvin, Melvin Brewing, Alpine, WY
Silver: Field to Ferment, Fremont Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Bronze: Fresh As It Gets, Mother Earth Brew Co. – Nampa, Nampa, ID

Category 21: Historical Beer – 40 Entries
Gold: Waverly Tulip, Square Peg Brewerks, Alamosa, CO
Silver: Hilltopper’s Pride Kentucky Common Ale, Ironworks Brewery & Pub, Lakewood, CO
Bronze: Spring Gruit, The BottleHouse Brewery And Meadery, Cleveland, OH

Category 22: Gluten-Free Beer – 33 Entries
Gold: Dark Ale, Ground Breaker Brewing, Portland, OR
Silver: Meteor Shower Blonde Ale, Ghostfish Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Bronze: Co-Conspirator Apricot Sour, Revelation Craft Brewing Co., Rehoboth Beach, DE

Category 23: American-Belgo-Style Ale – 53 Entries
Gold: Saison Du Bois, Lynnwood Brewing Concern – Production Facility, Raleigh, NC
Silver: Klipspringer, Metazoa Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN
Bronze: 5 & 20 IPA, Nedloh Brewing Co., Bloomfield, NY

Category 24: American-Style Sour Ale – 35 Entries
Gold: DAM Wild: Hops and Lemon Verbena, Flat Tail Brewing Co., Corvallis, OR
Silver: Disenchantment Blend #1, Bond Brothers Beer Co., Cary, NC
Bronze: Yeast of Eden – Skeptics & Believers, Alvarado Street Brewery, Salinas, CA

Category 25: Fruited American-Style Sour Ale – 105 Entries
Gold: No medal awarded
Silver: Sour Wench Blackberry Ale, Ballast Point Brewing Co. – Home Brew Mart, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Breakside Passionfruit Sour Ale, Breakside Brewery & Taproom, Milwaukie, OR

Category 26: Brett Beer – 71 Entries
Gold: Fancy Pants, Jessup Farm Barrel House, Fort Collins, CO
Silver: Saison Trystero, Our Mutual Friend Brewing, Denver, CO
Bronze: Touch of Brett Mosaic, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Eugene, OR

Category 27: Mixed-Culture Brett Beer – 65 Entries
Gold: Galaxy Dry Hopped Funk Yo Couch, Wiley Roots Brewing Co., Greeley, CO
Silver: 10 Buck Chuck, Firestone Walker Barrelworks, Buellton, CA
Bronze: CBC & Jester King’s Cor Cordium, Cambridge Brewing Co., Cambridge, MA

Category 28: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer – 70 Entries
Gold: Porter Aged on Palo Santo Wood, Spellbound Brewing, Mount Holly, NJ
Silver: Magpie Muckle, Sun King Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN
Bronze: Woody Pils, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver, CO

Category 29: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – 175 Entries
Gold: Hurly Burly Port Barrel Aged Barleywine, Out of Bounds Brewing Co., Rocklin, CA
Silver: Woods Monk, Odyssey Beerwerks, Arvada, CO
Bronze: Barrel Aged Barleywine, Charleville Vineyard & Microbrewery, Sainte Genevieve, MO

Category 30: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout – 154 Entries
Gold: Medianoche, WeldWerks Brewing Co., Greeley, CO
Silver: Maman 2017, Perennial Artisan Ales, Saint Louis, MO
Bronze: Barrel-Aged Marfa Light, Big Bend Brewing Co., Alpine, TX

Category 31: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 86 Entries
Gold: Plum Creek Sour, Rockyard American Grill & Brewing Co., Castle Rock, CO
Silver: Train to Beersel, Bruery Terreux, Anaheim, CA
Bronze: 5th Anniversary Tequila Sour, Loveland Aleworks, Loveland, CO

Category 32: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 122 Entries
Gold: Zoned AG Apricot, Corralitos Brewing Co., Watsonville, CA
Silver: BA Excommunication, Max Lager’s Wood-Fired Grill & Brewery, Atlanta, GA
Bronze: Riserva, Weyerbacher Brewing Co., Easton, PA

Category 33: Aged Beer – 26 Entries
Gold: La Muerta, Freetail Brewing Co., San Antonio, TX
Silver: Solzhenitsyn, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – Media, Media, PA
Bronze: There is No Quad, The BottleHouse Brewery And Meadery, Cleveland, OH

Category 34: Kellerbier or Zwickelbier – 54 Entries
Gold: Zwickelbier, Red Rock Brewing Co. – Production, Salt Lake City, UT
Silver: Luchesa Lager, Oasis Texas Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Bronze: Pilsner, Marble Brewery – Production, Albuquerque, NM

Category 35: Smoke Beer – 62 Entries
Gold: So long and thanks for all the (smoked) fish!, The Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field, Denver, CO
Silver: Smoke on the Lager, Chilly Water Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN
Bronze: Croydon is Burning, Neshaminy Creek Brewing Co., Croydon, PA

Category 36: American-Style Pilsener or International-Style Pilsener – 98 Entries
Gold: Rocket 100, The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: Sesión Cerveza, Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, OR
Bronze: Lemon Pils, Elk Horn Brewery, Eugene, OR

Category 37: Light Lager – 45 Entries
Gold: Super Awesome Lager, Austin Beerworks, Austin, TX
Silver: Pedal Haus Light Lager, Pedal Haus Brewery, Tempe, AZ
Bronze: Sun Grown, Sycamore Brewing, Charlotte, NC

Category 38: American-Style Lager or Malt Liquor – 75 Entries
Gold: Mexican Lager, Lone Tree Brewing Co., Lone Tree, CO
Silver: Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR), Pabst Brewing Co., Los Angeles, CA
Bronze: Sun Grown Fresh Craft Lager, The Sycamore Brewing Cannery, Charlotte, NC

Category 39: American-Style Cream Ale – 92 Entries
Gold: Buckle Bunny, Eureka Heights Brewing Co., Houston, TX
Silver: Canü, Uberbrew, Billings, MT
Bronze: Artifexican, Artifex Brewing Co., San Clemente, CA

Category 40: American-Style Amber Lager – 70 Entries
Gold: Auburn Lager, Mad Anthony Brewing Co., Fort Wayne, IN
Silver: Shiner Bock, Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX
Bronze: Rod’s Steam Bitter, Second Street Brewery, Santa Fe, NM

Category 41: German-Style Pilsener – 145 Entries
Gold: Zoigl-Pils, Zoiglhaus Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: Pilsner, Dry Dock Brewing Co. – South Dock, Aurora, CO
Bronze: Pivo, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA

Category 42: Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 93 Entries
Gold: Velvet Revolution, The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: Bohemian Pilsener, TAPS Fish House and Brewery – Corona, Corona, CA
Bronze: Torch Pilsner, Foothills Brewing Co., Winston-Salem, NC

Category 43: Munich-Style Helles – 105 Entries
Gold: Penn Gold, Pennsylvania Brewing Co., Pittsburgh, PA
Silver: Solar, Sanctum Brewing Co., Pomona, CA
Bronze: Munich Light, Emmett’s Brewing Co. – Wheaton, Wheaton, IL

Category 44: Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest – 56 Entries
Gold: Dortmunder, Lupulin Brewing, Big Lake, MN
Silver: Longboard Island Lager, Kona Brewing Co., Kailua-Kona, HI
Bronze: Northtown Native, Cinder Block Brewery, North Kansas City, MO

Category 45: Vienna-Style Lager – 87 Entries
Gold: Gustav, Taft’s Ale House, Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Vienna Lager, Lost Forty Brewing, Little Rock, AR
Bronze: Dock Time, Stony Creek Brewery, Branford, CT

Category 46: German-Style Maerzen – 122 Entries
Gold: Asheville Lager, Wedge Brewing Co., Asheville, NC
Silver: Oktoberfest, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co., Fort Worth, TX
Bronze: Oktoberfest, Beaver Island Brewing Co., Saint Cloud, MN

Category 47: Munich-Style Dunkel or European-Style Dark Lager – 47 Entries
Gold: Chuckanut Dunkel, Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Moondoor Dunkel, Wibby Brewing, Longmont, CO
Bronze: Dunkel, Pug Ryan’s Brewing Co., Dillon, CO

Category 48: Dark Lager – 74 Entries
Gold: Mischievous Black, Six Ten Brewing, Tampa, FL
Silver: DTB Schwarzbier, Desperate Times Brewing Co., Carlisle, PA
Bronze: Lighter Than I Look, Figueroa Mountain Brewing, Buellton, CA

Category 49: Bock – 36 Entries
Gold: Low Boy, On Tour Brewing Co., Chicago, IL
Silver: Rock Out with Maibock Out, Hailstorm Brewing Co., Tinley Park, IL
Bronze: Mountain Series: Maibock, Breckenridge Brewery, Littleton, CO

Category 50: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock – 51 Entries
Gold: Wobblor, Crooked Lane Brewing Co., Auburn, CA
Silver: Spectator, On Tour Brewing Co., Chicago, IL
Bronze: Goldie’s Big Bock, Lonerider Brewing Co., Raleigh, NC

Category 51: Baltic-Style Porter – 48 Entries
Gold: Public Enemy Baltic Porter, Dust Bowl Brewing Co., Turlock, CA
Silver: Herd Of Turtles, Bagby Beer Co., Oceanside, CA
Bronze: Powers of Observation, Ocelot Brewing Co., Dulles, VA

Category 52: Golden or Blonde Ale – 126 Entries
Gold: Boone Creek Blonde, Appalachian Mountain Brewery – Portsmouth, Portsmouth, NH
Silver: Firemans 4, Real Ale Brewing Co., Blanco, TX
Bronze: Blonde, Culture Brewing Co., Solana Beach, CA

Category 53: German-Style Koelsch – 154 Entries
Gold: Chuckanut Kolsch Style, Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Seafarer, Three Weavers Brewing Co., Inglewood, CA
Bronze: Downhill Kölsch, Elk Mountain Brewing Co., Parker, CO

Category 54: English-Style Summer Ale – 41 Entries
Gold: Organic California Blonde Ale, Eel River Brewing Co., Fortuna, CA
Silver: Back In The ESSA, Monkey Paw Brewing, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Bright Ale, Half Full Brewery, Stamford, CT

Category 55: Classic English-Style Pale Ale – 30 Entries
Gold: Mr. Kite’s Pale Ale, Social Kitchen & Brewery, San Francisco, CA
Silver: Extra Pale Ale, Summit Brewing Co., Saint Paul, MN
Bronze: Annadel Pale Ale, Third Street Aleworks, Santa Rosa, CA

Category 56: English-Style India Pale Ale – 41 Entries
Gold: Punjabi, CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing, Fort Collins, CO
Silver: Hoppy Poppy IPA, Figueroa Mountain Brewing, Buellton, CA
Bronze: Jacaranda Rye IPA, Claremont Craft Ales, Claremont, CA

Category 57: Australian-Style or International-Style Pale Ale – 105 Entries
Gold: Triumvirate, Reuben’s Brews Taproom, Seattle, WA
Silver: Pure Intention Pale Ale, HopSaint Brewing Co., Torrance, CA
Bronze: Cannonball Australian-Style Pale Ale, Scottsdale Beer Co., Scottsdale, AZ

Category 58: American-Style Pale Ale – 199 Entries
Gold: Monterey Street, Central Coast Brewing Co., San Luis Obispo, CA
Silver: Mosaic Pale Ale, Lynnwood Brewing Concern – Production Facility, Raleigh, NC
Bronze: Triple Tail, SweetWater Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA

Category 59: American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 182 Entries
Gold: Hubert MPA, Melvin Brewing, Alpine, WY
Silver: Wolfback Ridge, Headlands Brewing Co., Mill Valley, CA
Bronze: Breakside Stay West, Breakside Brewery + Beer Hall, Portland, OR

Category 60: American-Style India Pale Ale – 408 Entries
Gold: Prairie Madness, Hailstorm Brewing Co., Tinley Park, IL
Silver: Gold Digger IPA, Auburn Alehouse, Auburn, CA
Bronze: Breakside IPA, Breakside Brewery & Taproom, Milwaukie, OR

Category 61: Imperial India Pale Ale – 221 Entries
Gold: Manta Ray, Ballast Point Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Lupulin River, Knee Deep Brewing Co., Auburn, CA
Bronze: Chux, Danville Brewing Co., Danville, CA

Category 62: American-Style Amber/Red Ale – 90 Entries
Gold: F-Town Amber, Copper Club Brewing Co., Fruita, CO
Silver: Legally Red, Second Chance Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: Blue Bridge, Galveston Island Brewing, Galveston, TX

Category 63: Double Red Ale – 72 Entries
Gold: Hop Donkey, Auburn Alehouse, Auburn, CA
Silver: St. James, Coldfire Brewing, Eugene, OR
Bronze: Midwest Red IPA, Masthead Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH

Category 64: Imperial Red Ale – 41 Entries
Gold: Cinder Beast, Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver, OR
Silver: Hop Zombie, Lone Tree Brewing Co., Lone Tree, CO
Bronze: Jagged Shard, Boise Brewing, Boise, ID

Category 65: English-Style Mild Ale – 44 Entries
Gold: Hold the Reins, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Mamoot English Mild, Logboat Brewing Co., Columbia, MO
Bronze: Nemo, Bonn Place Brewing, Bethlehem, PA

Category 66: Ordinary or Special Bitter – 34 Entries
Gold: Three Tun, Brew Hub, Lakeland, FL
Silver: Mooey, Bonn Place Brewing, Bethlehem, PA
Bronze: Saint Arnold Amber Ale, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 67: Extra Special Bitter – 73 Entries
Gold: 14° ESB, Bent Paddle Brewing Co., Duluth, MN
Silver: Extra Special Ale, Yards Brewing Co., Philadelphia, PA
Bronze: Holler ESB, Holler Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 68: Scottish-Style Ale – 53 Entries
Gold: Taildragger’s Clan-Destine, Saddle Mountain Brewing Co., Goodyear, AZ
Silver: McGarvey’s Scottish Ale, Oggi’s Sports Brewhouse Pizza, San Clemente, CA
Bronze: Heavy 80 Scotch Ale, Coal Creek TAP, Laramie, WY

Category 69: Irish-Style Red Ale – 80 Entries
Gold: Ridgetop Red, Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, WA
Silver: Bomber Mountain, Black Tooth Brewing Co., Sheridan, WY
Bronze: Riley’s Irish Red, Packinghouse Brewing Co., Riverside, CA

Category 70: English-Style Brown Ale – 63 Entries
Gold: Boulder Garden Brown, Orlison Brewing Co., Airway Heights, WA
Silver: Shaven Yak Brown, Wichita Brewing Co. – Production, Wichita, KS
Bronze: Rogue River Brown, Rockford Brewing Co., Rockford, MI

Category 71: American-Style Brown Ale – 90 Entries
Gold: Bull Creek Brown Ale, Springfield Brewing Co., Springfield, MO
Silver: FRB Brown, Fort Rock Brewing, Rancho Cordova, CA
Bronze: Machine Gun Teddy, Goldwater Brewing Co., Scottsdale, AZ

Category 72: American-Style Black Ale – 54 Entries
Gold: Hoppa Emeritus, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Long Beach, CA
Silver: Black 28, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: Midnight Moonlight, Fat Head’s Brewery, Middleburg Heights, OH

Category 73: Berliner-Style Weisse – 72 Entries
Gold: Kalliope, Captain Fatty’s, Goleta, CA
Silver: Ringmaster Raspberry Berliner, Big Top Brewing Co., Sarasota, FL
Bronze: Blackberry Table Sour, Baere Brewing Co., Denver, CO

Category 74: Leipzig-Style Gose or Contemporary Gose – 96 Entries
Gold: Mermaid’s Scorn, Benchtop Brewing Co., Norfolk, VA
Silver: No. 33 Gose, The Freehouse, Minneapolis, MN
Bronze: Passionfruit Gose, Perrin Brewing Co., Comstock Park, MI

Category 75: German-Style Altbier – 53 Entries
Gold: Glacier Ale, Red Lodge Ales Brewing Co., Red Lodge, MT
Silver: It’s Your Fault, Piece Brewery, Chicago, IL
Bronze: Little Red Cap, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Loveland, CO

Category 76: South German-Style Hefeweizen – 128 Entries
Gold: Hefeweizen, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant – Navy Yard, Broomfield, CO
Silver: Big Horn Hefeweizen, RAM/Big Horn Brewery – Lakewood, Lakewood, WA
Bronze: Hornet’s Nest, The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, Charlotte, NC

Category 77: German-Style Wheat Ale – 41 Entries
Gold: AlpenGlow, Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon, North Olmsted, OH
Silver: Hidden Gem, OB Brewery, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Saint Arnold Weedwacker, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX

Category 78: Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale – 64 Entries
Gold: Squatters Hell’s Keep, Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT
Silver: Breton Blonde, Metazoa Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN
Bronze: Belgian Pale Ale, Redwood Curtain Brewing Co., Arcata, CA

Category 79: Belgian-Style Witbier – 78 Entries
Gold: Wild Wacky Wit, Moon River Brewing Co., Savannah, GA
Silver: Suntrip, New Terrain Brewing Co., Golden, CO
Bronze: Witte Ale, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY

Category 80: Classic Saison – 103 Entries
Gold: Saison, Funkwerks, Fort Collins, CO
Silver: Matisse, Night Shift Brewing, Everett, MA
Bronze: One Arm Farmhouse Ale, Hobbs Tavern & Brewing Co., West Ossipee, NH

Category 81: Specialty Saison – 81 Entries
Gold: Rye Saison, Base Camp Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: Make Hay, Cellar West Artisan Ales, Boulder, CO
Bronze: Farmhouse Saison, CO-Brew, Denver, CO

Category 82: Belgian- and French-Style Ale – 53 Entries
Gold: Grisette Summer Ale, Sly Fox Brewing Co., Pottstown, PA
Silver: Biere de Voleur, Horse Thief Hollow Brewery, Chicago, IL
Bronze: Working Title, Perennial Artisan Ales, Saint Louis, MO

Category 83: Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale – 77 Entries
Gold: El Sur, Casa Agria Specialty Ales, Oxnard, CA
Silver: Blended 2017, Side Project Brewing, Maplewood, MO
Bronze: Drinking with Friends, Mraz Brewing Co., El Dorado Hills, CA

Category 84: Belgian-Style Dubbel or Quadrupel – 75 Entries
Gold: #QuadGoals, 515 Brewing Co., Clive, IA
Silver: Deduction, Taxman Brewing Co., Bargersville, IN
Bronze: Four Fat Baby, Hillman Beer, Asheville, NC

Category 85: Belgian-Style Tripel – 77 Entries
Gold: Tripel Dog Dare, Big Dog’s Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV
Silver: Rapunzel, Corridor Brewery & Provisions, Chicago, IL
Bronze: Tripel Horse, River Horse Brewing Co., Ewing, NJ

Category 86: Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale – 74 Entries
Gold: Amandus, Lazarus Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Silver: It’s Always Something, Peticolas Brewing Co., Dallas, TX
Bronze: Smells Like Money, BearWaters Brewing Co., Canton, NC

Category 87: Other Belgian-Style Ale – 42 Entries
Gold: Witty Moron, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station, San Diego, CA
Silver: Lux Mundi, Save the World Brewing Co., Marble Falls, TX
Bronze: Cousin Stoopid, Stickman Brews, Royersford, PA

Category 88: Brown Porter – 57 Entries
Gold: Porter, Back East Brewing, Bloomfield, CT
Silver: Pinch Hit Porter, Stadium Pizza Main St., Lake Elsinore, CA
Bronze: Man Full of Trouble, Dock Street Brewery, Philadelphia, PA

Category 89: Robust Porter – 97 Entries
Gold: Tabula Rasa Toasted Porter, Second Chance Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Black Strap Molasses Porter, Waikiki Brewing Co., Honolulu, HI
Bronze: JFP, Rivertowne Pour House, Monroeville, PA

Category 90: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout – 30 Entries
Gold: Bearded Seal, Pinthouse Pizza North, Austin, TX
Silver: Sheehan’s Stout, Rockford Brewing Co., Rockford, MI
Bronze: Boulder Stout, PT’s Brewing Co., Las Vegas, NV

Category 91: Export Stout – 48 Entries
Gold: Correspondent, Wander Brewing, Bellingham, WA
Silver: Z-Man Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Bronze: Black Rock Stout, Crossroads Brewing Co., Athens, NY

Category 92: American-Style Stout – 60 Entries
Gold: Cholo Stout, Marble Brewery – Mav Lab, Albuquerque, NM
Silver: American Stout, Wild Wolf Brewing Co., Nellysford, VA
Bronze: Night of the Living Stout, Full Pint Brewing Co., North Versailles, PA

Category 93: Sweet Stout or Cream Stout – 69 Entries
Gold: Oatmeal Milk Stout, Finkel & Garf Brewing Co., Boulder, CO
Silver: Milk Bone, Pinellas Ale Works, Saint Petersburg, FL
Bronze: McPoyle, Mile Wide Beer Co., Louisville, KY

Category 94: Oatmeal Stout – 57 Entries
Gold: Wall of Sound, Stereo Brewing Co., Placentia, CA
Silver: The Ferguson, Studio Brew, Bristol, VA
Bronze: Fat Pug, Maplewood Brewing Co., Chicago, IL

Category 95: Imperial Stout – 80 Entries
Gold: The Russian, 2SP Brewing Co., Aston, PA
Silver: Russian Imperial Stout, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant – Media, Media, PA
Bronze: Duke Snider’s Imperial Stout, Walking Tree Brewery, Vero Beach, FL

Category 96: Scotch Ale – 70 Entries
Gold: Real Heavy, Real Ale Brewing Co., Blanco, TX
Silver: Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale, Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, NC
Bronze: AleSmith Wee Heavy, AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, CA

Category 97: Old Ale or Strong Ale – 43 Entries
Gold: 10&2 Barleywine, Fifty West Brewing Co., Cincinnati, OH
Silver: Heini’s Good Cheer, Roundabout Brewery, Pittsburgh, PA
Bronze: Pilgrim’s Dole, New Holland Brewing Co., Holland, MI

Category 98: Barley Wine-Style Ale – 49 Entries
Gold: Shipfaced, Silver Harbor Brewing Co., Saint Joseph, MI
Silver: No. 20 Barleywine, The Freehouse, Minneapolis, MN
Bronze: Behemoth, One Barrel Brewing Co., Madison, WI

Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition – 118 Entries
Gold: Just Another Pretty Face, Denver Beer Co., Denver, CO
     Brewmaster Jason Buehler and Denver Beer Co. Brewing Team, AHA Member Doug Thiel
Silver: Lichtenhainer, Black Bottle Brewery, Fort Collins, CO
     Brewmaster Black Bottle Scuba Squad, AHA Member Daniel Tomkins
Bronze: Eluxansis, Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
     Brewmaster Odell Brew Team, AHA Member Mark Boelman

2017 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Packaging Breweries

Very Small Brewing Company and Very Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year = <1,000 BBLS

On Tour Brewing Co., Chicago, IL
Mark Poffenberger & Mark Legenza

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year = 1,000 – 14,999 BBLS

Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver, OR
Sunriver Brewing Team

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year = 15,000 – 6,000,000 BBLS
st-arnold-new
Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX
Saint Arnold Brew Crew

Brewpubs

Small Brewpub and Brewmaster of the Year = <750 BBLS

Rockford Brewing Co., Rockford, MI
Rockford Brewing Company

Mid-Size Brewpub and Brewmaster of the Year = 750 – 1,500 BBLS
moon-river-wh
Moon River Brewing Co., Savannah, GA
Moon River Brewing Company

Large Brewpub and Brewmaster of the Year = 1,500+ BBLS
abgb
The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Amos Swifty Kim

Large Breweries or Multiple Location Breweries

Brewery Group and Brewmaster of the Year
melvin
Melvin Brewing, Alpine, WY
Melvin Brewing

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The 2019 Brussels Beer Challenge Winners

The Comac Trophy: Best in Show

Best American Beer

Best Belgian Beer

Best Chinese Beer

Best Dutch Beer

Best French Beer

Best Italian Beer

Medals Won by State:

The 2018 Great AmericanBeer Festival Winners

2019 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Winners – California Craft Brewers Cup

Category 1: Standard American Beer

Category 2: International Lager

Category 3: Pilsner

Category 4: Bohemian-Style Pilsner (Czech Lager)

Category 5: Pale European Beer

Category 6: Munich-Style Helles

Category 7: German/Vienna-Style Marzen

Category 8: European-Style Dark Beer

Category 9: Bock

Category 10: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock

Category 11: American Style Cream Ale

Category 12: Kölsch

Category 13: Altbier/CA Common

Category 15: Baltic-Style Porter

Category 16: American-Style Wheat Beer

Category 17: German-Style Wheat Ale

Category 18: Berliner-Style Weisse

Category 19: Gose

Category 20: Rye Beer

Category 21: Fruit Beer

Category 23: Herb & Spice Beer

Category 24: Coffee Beer

Category 25: Chocolate Beer

Category 26: Smoked Beer

Category 27: Historical

Category 28: Blonde or Golden Ale

Category 29: British Mild & Bitters

Category 30: Standard British Ales

Category 31: British Strong Ales

Category 32: Irish/Scottish Ales

Category 34: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout

Category 35: Stouts (Dry)

Category 36: Stouts (Sweet)

Category 37: Imperial Stouts

Category 38: American Amber & Brown Ales

Category 39: American Porter & Stout

Category 40: American Pale Ale

Category 41: English-Style India Pale Ale

Category 42: American-Style India Pale Ale

Category 43: New England-Style India Pale Ale

Category 44: American Imperial IPA

Category 45: Specialty IPA

Category 46: Strong American Ale

Category 47: Belgian-Style Witbier

Category 48: Classic Saison

Category 49: Specialty Saison

Category 50: Belgian & French-Style Ale

Category 51: Belgian Strong Ale

Category 52: Trappist Style Ale

Category 53: Belgian Sour Ale

Category 54: Belgian-Style Lambic

Category 55: American Wild Ale

Category 56: Wood (Wine)

Category 57: Wood (Spirit)

Category 58: Alternative Fermentable Beer

Category 59: Experimental Beer

Category 60: Session Beer

Category 61: Chili Beer

CCBC: Best of Show

California Brewery of the Year

California Guild of the Year

2019 Pioneer

Traditional IPAs

Hazy IPAs

Peoples Choice Awards

Double IPAs

Triple IPAs

Peoples Choice Awards

The 2018 Great American
Beer Festival Winners