Great American Beer Festival 2022 Awards Winners: Oregon 18 medals, Washington with 19
Von Ebert Brewing won a silver medal at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival for their Pils
At the 40th annual Great American Beer Festival from August 6-8th over 40,000 attendees gathered in Denver, Colorado for the first time since the pandemic. The world’s largest beer competition however never stopped being held, at first virtually in 2020 and then at the Craft Brewers Conference in 2021. This year marked the first in-person awards ceremony since 2019. People were excited to be back, but there was the sense that many vendors/brewers still decided to sit this one out or are conserving their money and time to scale back on booths or attending in person.
At this years awards Oregon continued to do well winning 18 medals, and Washington slightly topped that with 19 medals! These were just a few of the takeaways that include the continued and even increasing dominance of California IPA and some major new breweries cleaning up, as well as a strong showing from Florida and as usual Colorado.
As presented by the Brewers Association, the trade organization representing small and independent American craft brewers, the Great American Beer Festival is the premier U.S. beer competition, showcasing the finest examples of more than 100 beer styles. The GABF has grown exponentially since 1982, where just 24 breweries and 47 beers were present. This year’s event featured 500 breweries and more than 2,000 beers.
Award-winning breweries received prestigious gold, silver, and bronze medals in 98 beer categories covering 177 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the country. In addition, three GABF Collaboration medals pairing two professional breweries, and three GABF Pro-Am medals pairing homebrewers with professional brewers, were announced.
Photo © Brewers Association
GABF COMPETITION STATISTICS
36th edition of the GABF competition
9,904 beers judged
177 beer styles
2,154 breweries in the competition from 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico
235 judges
310 volunteers
Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 99
Category with the highest number of entries: American Style India Pale Ale (423 entries)
300 total medals awarded, including 3 Pro-Am and 3 Collaboration medals
268 medal-winning breweries
301 first-time GABF entrants
18 first-time GABF winners
Breakside Brewing came home with 3 medals at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival
18 Medals were awarded to Oregon breweries:
American Sour Ale
🥇GOLD Hot Break by Little Beast Brewing
American Wheat Beer
🥈SILVER Sweet As! by Goodlife Brewing
American-Style Pale Ale
🥇GOLD Rippin by Sunriver Brewing
🥈SILVER Woodlawn Pale Ale by Breakside Brewing
Australasian, Latin American or Tropical Light Lager
🥇GOLD Mexican Lager by pFriem Family brewers
Deschutes Brewery had a stellar showing at the 2022 GABF with 3 total medals, 2 from the Portland brewpub and 1 from Bend
English Ale
🥉BRONZE Otter Encounter by Deschutes Brewery – Bend Brewery & Public House
Experimental Beer
🥈SILVER Edgefield Coolship no. 5 by McMenamins Breweries
German Sour Ale
🥉BRONZE Riviera by 10 Barrel Brewing Co. – Bend Pub
German-Style Pilsener
🥈SILVER Pils by Von Ebert Brewing – Pearl
Great Notion Brewing won a Gold medal for an unexpected style: “Feniks” is a Gratzer-style german ale
Historical Beer
🥇GOLD Feniks by Great Notion Brewing
Honey Beer
🥇GOLD Hachimitsu Mai by Deschutes Brewery – Portland Brewery & Public House
Alesong Brewing & Blending’s Matt Van Wyk celebrates a bronze medal at the 2022 GABF
Mixed-Culture Brett Beer
🥉BRONZE Oregon Sunrise by Alesong Brewing & Tasting Room
Specialty Beer
🥇GOLD I Purple You by Breakside Brewing - NW Slabtown
Coldfire Brewing out of Eugene won a silver medal in the 2ood and barrel-aged sour beer category
Specialty Berliner-Style Weiss
🥇GOLD Gindulgence by 10 Barrel Brewing Co. – Bend Pub
🥈SILVER Passionfruit Sour Ale by Breakside Brewery & Taproom
🥉BRONZE Coming to Fruition: Cherry by Oregon City Brewing
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer
🥈SILVER Sensationator by Deschutes Brewery – Portland Brewery & Public House
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
🥈SILVER Genièvre by Coldfire Brewing
Washington Breweries win 19 Medals at the 2022 GABF:
Belgian-Style Sour Ale
🥈SILVER Foxy Lady by Silver City Brewery
Brown Porter
🥇GOLD Transporter by Kulshan Brewing
Coffee Beer
🥉BRONZE Gusto Crema Coffee Ale by Georgetown Brewing
English-Style Brown Ale
🥉BRONZE Brown Ale by Lowercase Brewing
Field Beer
🥉BRONZE Rachelle by Fair Isle Brewing
Fresh Hop Beer
🥇GOLD Mistadobalina by Perry Street Brewing
🥈SILVER Hyperion by Varietal Beer Co.
German Dark Lager
🥉BRONZE Schwarzbier by Rainy Daze Brewing Co.
German Sour Ale
🥇GOLD Gose by Kulshan Brewing Co. – Trackside
🥈SILVER Champagne Toast by Wander Brewing
German-Style Altbier
🥇GOLD Lithium by Resonate Brewery + Pizzeria
Gluten-Free Beer
🥉BRONZE Gosefish Hibiscus-Cranberry Gose by Ghostfish Brewing Co.
Golden or Blonde Ale
🥈SILVER Blonde Ale Toast by Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro
Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale
🥈SILVER Alpenhaze by Icicle Brewing Co. – Production
Light Lager
🥇GOLD Chuck Light by Chuckanut Brewery
🥉BRONZE Wrath Premium American Lager by Grains Of Wrath
Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine
🥇GOLD Three Ryes Men by Reuben’s Brews – Production Brewery
Pumpkin Beer
🥇GOLD Night Own by Elysian Brewing Co.
Session Beer or Belgian-Style Table Beer
🥉BRONZE First To Fall by The Good Society Brewing
Reuben’s Brews wins GOLD for Three Ryes Men
The awards ceremony was held at the Bellco Theatre in Denver during the 40th anniversary Great American Beer Festival.
The competition took place in three phases over a period of nine days and was judged by 235 beer experts from seven countries, including the U.S. In addition to 9,904 commercial brewery entries, the judging panel also evaluated 35 Pro-Am entries and 94 Collaboration entries. The competition was made possible with the help of 310 volunteers.
“Each year the Great American Beer Festival showcases the best that American brewers have to offer,” said Chris Williams, competition director, Great American Beer Festival. “With 9,904 entries, this year’s competition was the most competitive to date. Congratulations to all the winners who truly demonstrated why the U.S. is the best brewing nation in the world.”
MOST-ENTERED STYLE CATEGORIES
The winners of the top five most-entered categories were:
Category 64: American Style India Pale Ale (423 entries) – Sponsored by Micro Matic
GOLD: More Dodge Less RAM | Comrade Brewing Co. | Denver, CO
SILVER: Dankster Squad | Riip Beer Co. | Huntington Beach, CA
BRONZE: Hop-Fu! | North Park Beer Co. | San Diego, CA
Category 65: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (375 entries) – Sponsored by Antigo Zeon
GOLD: Anhyzer Kush | Flatland Brewing Co. | Elk Grove, CA
SILVER: IPO IPA | White Rock Alehouse & Brewery | Dallas, TX
BRONZE: RAD AF | City Barrel Brewing Co. | Kansas City, MO
Category 45: German-Style Pilsener (233 entries)
GOLD: Industry | The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. | Austin, TX
SILVER: Pils | Von Ebert Brewing – Pearl | Portland, OR
BRONZE: German Pilsner | Shred Monk Brewery and Coffeehouse | Bozeman, MT
Category 81: German Wheat Ale (209 entries)
GOLD: Alpenglow | Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon | North Central, OH
SILVER: Kristal Weizen | Bearded Tang Brewing | Stanton, CA
BRONZE: Wild Pitch | SandLot Brewery | Denver, CO
Category 50: German-Style Maerzen (207 entries)
GOLD: Oktoberfest | Mighty Squirrel Brewing Co. | Waltham, MA
SILVER: Docktoberfest | Dry Dock Brewing Co. – North Dock | Aurora, CO
BRONZE: Great Dane Oktoberfest | Great Dane Pub and Brewing Co. – Downtown | Madison, WI
MOST-MEDALED BREWERY
North Park Beer Co. | San Diego, CA
GOLD: English India Pale Ale or New Zealand India Pale Ale (Cat. 59)
SILVER: Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale (Cat. 67)
BRONZE: American-Style India Pale Ale (Cat. 64)
BRONZE: Imperial India Pale Ale (Cat. 66)
COLLABORATION COMPETITION (94 entries)
GOLD: Templin Family Guava Coconut | Templin Family Brewing / Shades Brewing | Salt Lake City, UT
SILVER: Chicago Peaks Kölsch | Westbound & Down Brewing Co. / Bierstadt Lagerhaus | San Diego, CA
BRONZE: Guns Out For Grain Out | Pizza Port Ocean Beach / Chula Vista Brewery | Karl Strauss | Nickel Beer | San Diego, CA
PRO-AM COMPETITION (35 entries)
Sponsored by Country Malt Group, Briess Malt & Ingredients, and White Labs
GOLD: Kaltrauch | Confluence Brewing Co. | AHA members Randy Daniels & KC McKinney | Des Moines, IA
SILVER: Sticky Fingers Saison | CooperSmith’s Pub and Brewing | AHA Member Mark Pennick | Fort Collins, CO
BRONZE: Alt Ale | Shoe Tree Brewing Co. | AHA Member Eric Coffman |Carson City, NV