Great American Beer Festival 2023 Winners include 23 from Oregon
The Brewers Association (BA) unveiled the best beers of 2023 during an awards ceremony at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF®). GABF is the nation’s largest professional beer competition, with its medals globally acknowledged as an emblem of brewing excellence and among the most sought-after accolades within the brewing community. This year, there were 303 medals awarded to 263 breweries, and 23 of those medals went to Oregon breweries.
The big Oregon winners were Breakside Brewery, pFriem Family Brewers, Bend Brewing, Deschutes Brewery, and the now officially craft brewery 10 Barrel Brewing.
Breakside was Oregon’s biggest winner this year:
Gold for The Trappings and the Suits of Woe in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout category
Gold for LIFE barleywine in Other Strong Beer
Gold for Cheat Codes in American Black Ale or American Stout category
Silver for Breakside IPA in American-style IPA
pFriem came home with 3 medals:
Bronze for Amaro Barrel Aged Barleywine in Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
Gold for Frambozen in Belgian Fruit Beer
Silver for Druif Blanc in Brett Beer
Deschutes Brewery had a great year:
Bronze for Neon Butterfly in Brett Beer
Silver for Co-Munichator in German style Doppelbock or Eisbock
Gold for Prinz Crispy in Munich-style Helles
10 Barrel Brewing wins:
Silver for Cucumber Crush in Field Beer
Gold for Riviera in German Sour
Gold for Brilliant in American Sour Ale
Bend Brewing also had a great run, including out of GABF competition Alpha King where they picked up a silver medal for Make It Big IIPA:
Bronze for Old Normal in the Brown Porter category
Silver for Bendelo Especial in American-style Lager.
Other notable Oregon beer GABF winners:
Little Beast got a bronze for Saison Parfait in Classic Saison.
Hopworks got a much deserved Gold for their ESB, which is now probably their most award-winning beer and in a style that you would not normally associate with the Northwest focused brand.
Grand Fir Brewing earned their first medal, a bronze for Heart Stout in the Field Beer category.
Immersion Brewing of Bend, Oregon got a Silver for Poggers in Fruited American Sour.
Grains of Wrath earned likely their last medal for their Oregon brewery (which closed earlier this year), a Silver for Weizenheimer in German Wheat Ale
Ninkasi Brewing won a Gold for Ice Raptor in Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine
Falling Sky Brewing got a Bronze for Upside Brown Ale in American-style Brown Ale category.
Alesong Brewing has earned atleast one GABF medal for every year they have been in business, Raspberry Parliament winning a bronze this year is their 8th medal in a row.
Grand Fir Brewing collecting their first GABF medal
Top-tier brews spanning 99 beer categories across 175 beer styles (including all subcategories) received prestigious gold, silver, and bronze medals. In addition, three GABF Collaboration medals for beers created by a team of two or more professional breweries, and three GABF Pro-Am medals for beers developed by teams of professional brewers and amateur homebrewers were announced.
The competition took place in three phases over nine days and was judged by 250 beer experts from 10 countries, including the U.S. In addition to evaluating 9,298 commercial brewery entries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, the judging panel assessed 95 Collaboration and 50 Pro-Am entries. The competition was made possible with the help of more than 300 volunteers.
"The Great American Beer Festival competition serves as a platform for the finest beers from across the nation to undergo rigorous scrutiny and vie for the title of ‘Best in Class,’” remarked Chris Williams, competition director for the Great American Beer Festival. "The beer community's unwavering commitment to pushing the frontiers of innovation and quality is truly commendable. The Brewers Association takes great pride in recognizing the achievements of this year's winners."
The awards ceremony was held at the Bellco Theatre in Denver on Saturday, September 23, 2023, as part of the Great American Beer Festival and was livestreamed on The Brewing Network.
GABF COMPETITION STATISTICS
37th edition of the GABF competition
9,298 beers judged
2,033 breweries in the competition from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico
250 judges
300+ volunteers
Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 92
Category with the highest number of entries: 65: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (365)
303 total medals awarded
263 medal-winning breweries
325 first-time GABF entrants
16 first-time GABF winners
TOP 5 MOST-ENTERED STYLE CATEGORY WINNERS
Category 65: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (365 entries) – Sponsored by Antigo Zeon
GOLD: Away Days | 1852 Brew Co. | Visalia, CA
SILVER: Juicy Mid-Tones | Corn Coast Brewing Co. | Lincoln, NE
BRONZE: Make It Rain | Side Hustle Brewing Co. | Hilton Head Island, SC
Category 66: West Coast-Style India Pale Ale (301 entries)
GOLD: Westbound Select | Westbound & Down Brewing Co. | Idaho Springs, CO
SILVER: Untold Prophecy | Slice Beer Co. | Lincoln, CA
BRONZE: Bright Side IPA | Uprise Brewing Co. | Spokane, WA
Category 36: Light Lager (284 entries)
GOLD: Nashville Light | Nashville Brewing Co. | Nashville, TN
SILVER: Mexican Lager | Lone Tree Brewing Co. | Lone Tree, CO
BRONZE: Legendary Lager | MadTree Brewing | Cincinnati, OH
Category 45: German-Style Pilsener (228 entries) – Sponsored by Tripleseat
GOLD: Prodigal Pils | Lazarus Brewing Co.-Laz 2 | Austin, TX
SILVER: Prost Pilsner | Prost Brewing Co. | Denver, CO
BRONZE: Don’t Fear The Answer | Tenma Beer Project | Oakland, CA
Category 64: American-Style India Pale Ale (206 entries) – Sponsored by Micro Matic
GOLD: Head Hunter | Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon | North Olmsted, OH
SILVER: Breakside IPA | Breakside Brewery & Taproom | Milwaukie, OR
BRONZE: Downtown Tom | Three Mile Brewing Co. | Davis, CA
MOST-MEDALED BREWERY
Third Eye Brewing Co. | Sharonville, OH
GOLD: Herb and Spice Beer (Cat.7)
GOLD: Chocolate Beer (Cat. 8)
SILVER: Pumpkin Beer (Cat. 5)
SILVER: Collaboration Competition
COLLABORATION COMPETITION (95 entries) See criteria here.
GOLD: Luna Mexican Export Lager | Cheluna Brewing Co. & Prost Brewing Co.
SILVER: Mounds of Importance | Third Eye Brewing Co. & Narrow Path Brewing Co.
BRONZE: Two’s Daze | Attic Brewing Co. & Two Locals Brewing Co.
PRO-AM COMPETITION (50 entries) See criteria here.
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients, Country Malt Group, and White Labs
GOLD: She Fancies Herself A Little Bit French | CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing and Mark Pennick
SILVER: Rob’s Baltic Porter | New Belgium Brewing Co. and Rob Hardisty
BRONZE: What Is That? | Decipher Brewing Co. and Joel Miller
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 5,600-plus U.S. breweries and more than 36,000 homebrewers. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers from small and independent craft brewers. The BA organizes events, including the World Beer Cup®, Great American Beer Festival®, Craft Brewers Conference™ & BrewExpo America®, Homebrew Con™, National Homebrew Competition , and American Craft Beer Week®. The BA publishes The New Brewer® and Zymurgy® magazines, 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®. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Brewers Association is an opportunity equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital/familial status. The BA complies with provisions of Executive Order 13672 and the Secretary of Labor's rules, regulations, and appropriate orders.