These Colorado beers won awards at Great American Beer Festival competition

DENVER (KDVR) — Dozens of locally crafted beers won awards at the nation’s largest professional beer competition over the weekend.

The Great American Beer Festival competition had 1,550 breweries and cidermakers across the nation submit 8,300 entries, and 24 businesses from Colorado were recognized for their exceptional brews.

Local breweries garnered 36 awards total, including three “Brewery of the Year” awards and 16 gold medals. This year brought the most gold medals to Colorado breweries since 2018 when the state’s businesses earned 17 gold medals.

“It was a great showing for Colorado’s craft breweries at the GABF awards ceremony. With three brewery of the year awards and 16 gold medals, Colorado craft breweries continue to prove that they consistently brew some of the best beers in the country,” Colorado Brewers Guild Executive Director Shawnee Adelson said in a press release. “The diversity of styles shows that breweries in Colorado can make exceptional beer for all types of palates.” 

Brewery of the Year awards

The Colorado Brewers Guild said this year was the first time that three local craft breweries won brewery of the year. Those include:

• Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. (501-1,000 barrels)
• River North Brewery (1,000-2,000 barrels)
• Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Westbound Mill (5,001-15,000 barrels)

Local beers that won medals

For seven days, 250 judges analyzed thousands of beers across 108 different styles, awarding medals as an “emblem of brewing excellence,” as the brewers guild describes it.

According to the Colorado Brewers Guild, these local brews won awards:

Gold medals:

• Fritz Family Brewers/Christopher Owens – Christopher’s Bier (Pro-Am)
• River North Brewery – Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun (Coffee Beer)
• Diebolt Brewing – Vladislav (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout)
• Aspen Brewing Co. – Casa Bonita (Mexican-Style Pale Lager) – new category
• Westbound & Down Brewing Co. Westbound Mill – Westbound Italian Pils (Italian-Style Pilsener)
• Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co. – Festbier (Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest)
• Prost Brewing Co., Northglenn – Prost Vienna Lager (Vienna-Style Lager)
• Prost Brewing Co., Northglenn – Prost Schwarzbier (German-Style Schwarzbier)
• Oskar Blues Brewery – Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale (English Ale)
• River North Brewery – River North White (Belgian-Style of French-Style Specialty Ale)
• Steamworks Brewing Co. – Backside Stout (Oatmeal Stout)
• Left Hand Brewing Co. – Breakfast in Brussels (Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine)
• Westbound & Down Brewing Co. Westbound Mill – Parallel Pale (American-Style Pale Ale)
• Westbound & Down Brewing Co. – How the West Was One: Mosaic (West Coast-Style India Pale Ale)

Silver medals:

• The Empourium Brewing Company – Animals Strike Curious Poses (Honey beer)
• Denver Beer Co. Canworks – NA Tangerine Cream (Specialty Non-Alcohol Beer)
• Westbound & Down Brewing Co. Westbound Mill – Scenic Route (Session India Pale Ale)
• Cerebral Brewing, Aurora Arts – Neon Lite (American-Style Light Lager)
• Westbound & Down Brewing Co. Westbound Mill – Infinity Pils (Hoppy Lager)
• Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. – Mindbender (American-Style Strong Pale Ale)
• Our Mutual Friend Brewing – Time’s Arrow (American-Style India Pale Ale)

Bronze medals:

• Joyride Brewing Co. – Black Razz Blonde (American Fruit Beer)
• Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. – Trump Hands (Session India Pale Ale)
• Ratio Beerworks – Dear You (American-Belgo-Style Ale)
• Long Table Brewhouse – Thinking of You (Brett Beer)
• Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co. – Moroccan Christmas (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer)
• Banded Oak Brewing Company – Manny’s Way Mexican Lager (Contemporary American-Style Lager)
• New Terrain Brewing Company – Suntrip (Belgian-Style Witbier)
• Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. – Deer Pallet (International-Style Pale Ale)
• Westbound & Down Brewing Co. Westbound Mill – Westbound IPA (American-Style Strong Pale Ale)

Westbound and Down won seven awards, including brewery of the year, which ties for the most awards that a Colorado brewery has won at a single Great American Beer Festival competition with Rock Bottom in 2010 and the Sandlot Brewery in 2005, according to the guild.