Congratulations to the 2018 Great American Beer Festival Winners!
This past Saturday, the Brewers Association (BA) awarded 306 medals to 280 breweries across the United States at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition. In a ceremony at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, award-winning breweries received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 102 beer categories covering 167 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the country and earning a symbol of brewing excellence.
Every year the GABF celebrates United States breweries. The GABF is not only about sampling quality beer but is also a beer competition. Breweries enter their beers to be judged by the festival’s Professional Judge Panel.
The GABF invites industry professionals from around the world to sit together in small groups and, without knowing the brand name, taste beers in specified style categories. The goal of the Great American Beer Festival Judge Panel is to identify the three beers that best represent each beer-style category as described and adopted by the GABF.
2018 was the 32nd GABF competition. 2,404 breweries competed in this year’s competition from 49 states plus Washington, DC. There were no entries from the state of Mississippi. 537 of the entrants were first time participants.
There were 8,496 competition entries plus 101 Pro-Am and 49 Collaboration entries. 306 medals were awarded to 280 medal-winning breweries. You can see the complete list of winners by clicking here.
Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards
Packaging Breweries
Very Small Brewing Company of the Year – Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
<1,000 barrels produced in 2017
Brink Brewing Co. – Cincinnati, OH; Brewmaster: Kelly Montgomery
Small Brewing Company of the Year – Sponsored by ABS Commercial
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 – Sponsored by MicroStar Logistics
15,000 – 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2017
pFriem Family Brewers – Hood River, OR; Brewmaster: pFriem Family Brewers
Brewpubs
Small Brewpub of the Year – Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients
<750 barrels produced in 2017
Ocean Beach Brewery – San Diego, CA; Brewmaster: Jim Millea & Scott Watkins
Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year – Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
750 – 1,500 barrels produced in 2017
Root Down Brewing Co. – Phoenixville, PA; Brewmaster: Root Down Brew Team
Large Brewpub of the Year – Sponsored by The Country Malt Group
Over 1,500 barrels produced in 2017
The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. – Austin, TX; Brewmaster: Amos Swifty Kim
Large Breweries or Multiple Location Breweries
Brewery Group of the Year – Sponsored by Live Oak Bank
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