Congratulations to the 2019 Great American Beer Festival Winners!
Today the Brewers Association (BA) awarded 318 medals to 283 breweries across the United States at the 2019 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 107 beer categories covering 174 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. This year there were 322 judges from 18 countries that participated in evaluating the beer entries.
| Award Criteria | ||
|---|---|---|
| If judges believe that no beer in the category meets the quality and style-accuracy criteria, they may elect not to award a medal. Judges may award a beer with a silver or bronze medal and yet not award a gold medal. | ||
| Gold | A world-class beer that accurately exemplifies the specified style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma and appearance. | |
| Silver | An excellent beer that may vary slightly from style parameters while maintaining close adherence to the style and displaying excellent taste, aroma and appearance. | |
| Bronze | A fine example of the style that may vary slightly from style parameters and/or have minor deviations in taste, aroma or appearance. | |
Photo © Brewers Association
2019 was the 33rd GABF competition. The judges evaluated 9,497 entries from 2,295 breweries representing all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. This year’s GABF included 401 first-time GABF entrants and 37 first-time GABF winners. The state of California won the most medals with 68 award winners.
You can see the complete 2019 Great American Beer Festival list of winners by clicking here.
Photo © Brewers Association
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 2018
Brink Brewing Co. – Cincinnati, OH; Brewmaster: Brink Brew Crew
Small Brewing Company of the Year – Sponsored by ABS Commercial
1,000 – 14,999 barrels produced in 2018
Comrade Brewing Co. – Denver, CO; Brewmaster: Marks Lanham & David Lin
Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year – Sponsored by MicroStar Logistics
15,000 – 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2018
Silver City Brewery – Bremerton, WA; Brewmaster: Silver City Brew Team
Brewpubs:
Small Brewpub of the Year – Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.
<750 barrels produced in 2018
Rowley Farmhouse Ales – Santa Fe, NM; Brewmaster: Rowley Farmhouse Ales
Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year – Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
750 – 1,500 barrels produced in 2018
Westbound & Down Brewing Co. – Idaho Springs, CO; Brewmaster: Westbound & Down Brewery Team
Large Brewpub of the Year – Sponsored by The Country Malt Group
Over 1,500 barrels produced in 2018
Vintage Brewing Co. – Madison – Madison, WI; Brewmaster: Drinking Fresh Thinking
Large Breweries or Multiple Location Breweries:
Brewery Group of the Year – Sponsored by Live Oak Bank
Over 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2018 or multi-location breweries wishing to compete as a group
Kern River Brewing Co. – Kernville, CA; Brewmaster: KRBC Brew Team