Great American Beer Festival Competition Opens

Registration for the 38th Great American Beer Festival Competition Opened Today (June 11th)

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***Nation‘s largest professional beer competition adds cider categories to judging***

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PRESS RELEASE…

Great American Beer Festival Competition Opens…

Boulder, Colo. — Registration for the 2024 Great American Beer Festival® (GABF™) competitionOpens in new window opens Tuesday, June 11, at 10:00 am MT and runs through July 12, or until capacity is reached.

Produced by the Brewers Association (BA)—the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers—GABF is the nation’s largest professional beer competition. Its medals are globally acknowledged as an emblem of brewing excellence and among the most sought-after accolades within the brewing community.

In 2023, 9,298 entries spanning 99 beer categories across 175 styles were judged, and 263 breweries were awarded 303 medals.

Photo courtesy of The Brewers Association.

Each year, the competition’s beer style guide is reviewed by a committee of industry peers and updated to reflect industry trends. Major updates for the 2024 edition include the addition of five new cider categories: Tannic Cider (Cat. 201), No/Low-Tannin Cider (Cat. 202), Fruited or Botanical Cider (Cat. 203), Experimental or Barrel-Aged Cider (Cat. 204), and Single Varietal Cider (Cat. 205).

“The Great American Beer Festival competition serves as a platform for the finest beers (and now ciders) from across the nation to undergo rigorous scrutiny from a highly-qualified sensory panel of their peers and vie for the title of ‘Best in Class,’” remarked Chris Williams, competition director for the Great American Beer Festival. “This year, we are pleased to invite the more than 1,300 commercial cider producers to compete for medals in the inaugural cider categories.”

Complete competition information can be found at the links below.

The 2024 awards ceremony will be held at the Bellco Theatre in Denver on Saturday, October 12, as part of the Great American Beer Festival and live-streamed on The Brewing Network.