Winners of 2020 Great American Beer Festival® Competition Revealed During First-Ever Virtual Ceremony
BOULDER, Colo. — The Brewers Association (BA) awarded 272 medals* to 240 breweries across the country during the 2020 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition awards ceremony. The best beers in 91 beer categories covering 170 different beer styles (including all subcategories) were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals during a virtual ceremony hosted on The Brewing Network.
Judges for the 34th edition of the celebrated competition evaluated 8,806 entries from 1,720 breweries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Socially distanced judging took place in 35 sessions over 18 days with strict safety measures in place. The awards ceremony was held virtually on Friday evening, kicking off the two-day online programming portion of the Great American Beer Festival.
“This year’s GABF competition may have looked a little different, but the beers entered into the competition were as impressive and innovative as ever,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, Great American Beer Festival. “This has arguably been one of the most challenging years breweries have ever faced, so we hope these awards serve as a symbol not only of brewing excellence but also the resiliency of the craft brewing community as a whole.”
GABF COMPETITION STATISTICS
- 34th edition of the GABF competition
- 8,806 beers judged
- 1,720 breweries in the competition from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.
- 115 judges from 21 states
- Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 97
- Category with the highest number of entries: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (377)
- 272 total medals awarded
- 240 medal-winning breweries
- 337 first-time GABF entrants
- 19 first-time GABF winners
MOST-ENTERED STYLE CATEGORIES
The winners of the top five most-entered categories were:
Category 58: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (377 entries) – Sponsored by The Cincinnati Insurance Companies
GOLD: Spellbinder, Wren House Brewing Co., Phoenix, AZ
SILVER: Yojo, Moonraker Brewing Co., Auburn, CA
BRONZE: Wicked Pawesome, Metazoa Brewing Co. – Stringtown Production Facility, Indianapolis, IN
Category 57: American Style India Pale Ale (355 entries) – Sponsored by The Ardagh Group
GOLD: IPA, Perry Street Brewing, Spokane, WA
SILVER: Updrift India Pale Ale, Pelican Brewing Co. – Tillamook, Tillamook, OR
BRONZE: Nothing Noble, Von Ebert Brewing – Pearl, Portland, OR
Category 39: German Style Pilsener (200 entries) – Sponsored by Micro Matic
GOLD: Sprockets, Gravely Brewing Co., Louisville, KY
SILVER: Prost Pils, Prost Brewing Co., Denver, CO
BRONZE: Pils, Kansas City Bier Co., Kansas City, MO
Category 28: Wood & Barrel-Aged Strong Stout (199 entries) – Sponsored by BeerHole
GOLD: A Night to End All Dawns, Kane Brewing Co., Ocean, NJ
SILVER: Ruckus, Melvin Brewing – Thai Me Up, Jackson, WY
BRONZE: Grasp of Oak, Moksa Brewing Co., Rocklin, CA
Category 60: Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale (192 entries) – Sponsored by The Alison Group
GOLD: The Hopsplainer, Burke-Gilman Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
SILVER: Not A Scientist, Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle, WA
BRONZE: Sugar on My Tongue, Highland Park Brewery, Los Angeles, CA
MOST MEDALED BREWERIES
The most medals won by individual breweries included:
Sun King Brewery – Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN – 4 medals
GOLD – Afternoon Delight, Category 26 – Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer
BRONZE – Cherry Busey, Category 30 – Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
BRONZE – Pachanga, Category 34 – Light Lager
BRONZE – Sunlight Cream Ale, Category 49 – Golden or Blonde Ale
Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO – 3 medals
GOLD – Featherweight Pale Ale, Category 53 – American-Style Pale Ale
BRONZE – Vladimir Brutin, Category 18 – Experimental India Pale Ale
BRONZE – Let’s Talk About Mex, Category 37 – American-Style Cream Ale
Chuckanut Brewery – North Nut, Bellingham, WA – 3 medals
GOLD – Chuckanut Maibock, Category 47 – Bock
SILVER – Chuckanut Chuck Lite, Category 34 – Light Lager
BRONZE – Chuckanut Rye, Category 12 – Rye Beer
Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach, CA – 3 medals
GOLD – Tangible Passion, Category 82 – Belgian-Style Specialty Ale
SILVER – The Riizzo, Category 10 – Coffee Stout or Porter
SILVER – Black the Riipper, Category 69 – American-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout
23 individual breweries won 2 medals
213 individual breweries won 1 medal
BREWERY AND BREWPUB OF THE YEAR AWARDS
(See criteria here)
PACKAGING BREWERIES:
Very Small Brewing Company of the Year – Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
<1,000 barrels produced in 2019
Five Branches Brewing, Tarpon Springs, FL; Jerry Brown
Small Brewing Company of the Year –?Sponsored by ABS Commercial
1,000 – 14,999 barrels produced in 2019
Big aLICe Brewing Co., Long Island City, NY; Big aLICe Production Team
Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year –?Sponsored by MicroStar Logistics
15,000 – 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2019
Lost Forty Brewing, Little Rock, AR; Lost Forty Brewing Team
BREWPUBS:
Small Brewpub of the Year –?Sponsored by?Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.
<750 barrels produced in 2019
The Good Society, Seattle, WA; Phil Cammarano & Nick Berger
Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year –?Sponsored by?Brewers Supply Group
750 – 1,500 barrels produced in 2019
Monkless Belgian Ales, Bend, OR; Todd Clement & Chris Dinsdale
Large Brewpub of the Year –?Sponsored by Ska Fabricating
Over 1,500 barrels produced in 2019
The Freehouse, Minneapolis, MN; The Freehouse Team
LARGE BREWERIES AND MULTIPLE LOCATION BREWERIES:
Brewery Group of the Year –?Sponsored by Live Oak Bank
Over 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2019 or multi-location breweries wishing to compete as a group
Three Creeks Brewing Co., Sisters, OR; Team Three Creeks
Editor’s note: Photos for media use are available on the GABF website.
*Out of a possible 273 medals in 91 beer style categories, 272 were awarded. The bronze medal was not given in Category 20, Gluten-Free Beer.
The 2020 Great American Beer Festival was made possible in part by the generous support of its sponsors.
About the Brewers Association
The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The BA represents 5,400-plus U.S. breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. The BA organizes events including the World Beer Cup®, Great American Beer Festival®, Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America®, SAVOR™: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, Homebrew Con™, National Homebrew Competition and American Craft Beer Week®. The BA publishes The New Brewer® magazine, and Brewers Publications® is the leading publisher of brewing literature in the U.S. Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com® and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association® and the free Brew Guru® mobile app. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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