Colorado Brewers Collect A Whopping 40 Medals At The Great American Beer Festival

An award from the Great American Beer Festival is one of the highest honors a brewer can receive. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

The 2023 Great American Beer Festival may not have made as much of a splash as previous years, but Colorado breweries put on their most impressive showing in recent memory at the awards ceremonies held Saturday morning.

The judges evaluated 9,300 beers from more than 2,033 breweries in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, said competition director Chris Williams. Colorado brewers collected a total of 40 medals, including 15 gold medals, a significant increase over the 27 awards brewers brought home from the 2022 competition.

Speaking to the Denver Post, Shawnee Adelson, executive director of the Colorado Brewers Guild, expressed her pride in representing the winners. While the number of beers entered into this year’s competition declined, Adelson said brewers are more thoughtful about submitting recipes they consider exemplary, and the awards reflect that.

Westbound IPA from Westdown & Down Mill in Lafayette, Colorado on Friday, January 20th.

“Colorado did a great job this year, not just in the number of awards, but in the breadth of the awards,” Adelson said. “It shows that our brewers here can brew very diverse beers and produce award-winning beers in some of the most competitive styles.”

Westbound & Down Brewing Co., which has three locations across the Front Range, emerged as the state’s biggest winner of the day with three medals, including a gold medal in the all-new West Coast-Style IPA category. The brewery’s Westbound Select beat out 300 other beers to secure the award in the competition’s second strongest category.

Westbound & Down also won silver for Spirit of the West, a New Zealand India pale ale, and bronze for The Coloradan, an American cream ale.

Longmont’s Wibby Brewing also made an impact, earning a gold medal for its American pilsner Wiibby Jibby and the prestigious title of Brewery of the Year among establishments producing between 5,000 and 15,000 barrels of beer annually.

Also of note, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. in Golden, which has won at least one GABF medal every year since opening in 2013, continued its streak with a gold medal in the American-Style Pale Ale category. Local businesses Avery Brewing Co., Cheluna Brewing Co. and Prost Brewing Co. each received two medals.

Sen. John Hickenlooper — who founded Denver’s first brewpub, Wynkoop Brewing Co., in 1988 — opened the awards ceremony by acknowledging the difficulties breweries have experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic and encouraging them to remain optimistic in the face of a difficult economic climate .

Adelson expects local beer makers to be hot on the heels of Saturday’s awards.

“We make great beers and these kinds of awards just prove that,” she said. “I think this will add new energy to our Colorado breweries.”

Check out the full list of award-winning local beers below. The entire list of winners can be found at greatamericanbeerfestival.com.

And a big one: congratulations to @WibbyBrewing for being named Brewery of the Year (5,000 to 15,000 barrels in size)!!
Repping CU, I see, haha pic.twitter.com/RKZ4DnrqHf
– Tiney Ricciardi (@tineywristwatch) September 23, 2023

gold

American Amber/Red Ale – punctured tire, Knuckle Puck BrewingLongmont

American Pilsener – Wibby Jibby, Wibby BrewingLongmont

American Style Pale Ale – Featherweight, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co.Golden

Belgian style witbier – White Rascal, Avery Brewing Co.boulders

Community Beer – Luna Mexican Export Lager, Cheluna Brewing Co. And Cheers Brewing Co.Aurora and Denver/Highlands Ranch

English Mild or Bitter – Sawtooth Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co.Longmont

Feldbier – King of the Carrots, Ratio BeerworksDenver

German Dopplebock or Eisbock – Execrator, Resolute Brewing Co.Centenary celebration

Märzen the German style – seed Marches, Seedstock BreweryDenver

Pro-Am – She introduces herself a bit French, CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing with home brewer Mark PennickFort Collins

Rugged Porter – Foggy London City, Rock Bottom BreweryDenver

Strong red ale – wreak havoc, Bootstrap BrewingLongmont

Westbound Style India Pale Ale – Westbound Select, Westbound & Down Brewing Co.Idaho Springs

Beer aged in wood and barrels – Ye Olde Ale, Banded Oak Brewing Co.Denver

Silver

American fruit beer – Big Sippin’, Odell Brewing Co.Denver

American Pilsner – Cerveza Mechanica, Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co.Lafayette

American Sour Ale – The Sauer House Project: Ellie’s Version, Dostal Alley Brewpub & CasinoCapital city

Belgian fruit beer – Island Rascal, Avery Brewing Co.boulders

Chili Beer – Green Chile Honey Kolsch, Bent Barley Brewing Co.Aurora

Chocolate beer – midnight hike, River North BreweryDenver

Coffee beer – Kurt’s Mile High Malt, Wynkoop Brewing Co.Denver

Experimental IPA – Forager IPA, Pumphouse BreweryLongmont

German dark lager – Wunder beer, Red Leg Brewing Co.Colorado Springs

German-style Kölsch – Rise & Climb, New Terrain Brewing Co.Golden

German-style Pilsner – Prost Pils, Cheers Brewing Co.Denver

India Pale Lager or Cold India Pale Ale – Orizaba Cold IPA, Cheluna Brewing Co.Aurora

Pale lager – Mexican lager, Lone Tree Brewing Co.Lonely tree

New Zealand India Pale Ale – Spirit of the West, Westbound & Down Brewing Co.Lafayette

Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine – Populator, Diebolt Brewing Co.Denver

Other strong beer – stingray juice, Hideaway Park BreweryWinter park

Pro-Am Competition – Rob’s Baltic Porter, New Belgium Brewing Co. with home brewer Rob HardistyFort Collins

Scotch Ale – Scottish Wildcat, Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co.Castle rock

Scottish Style Ale – Laughing Lab Scottish Ale, Bristol Brewing Co.Colorado Springs

Specialty of the season – Freedom Fries with cherry, Call Arms Brewing Co.Denver

Wood and barrel-aged beer – barrel-aged Maibock, Blue Moon Brewing Co.Denver

Bronze

American Cream Ale – The Coloradon, Westbound & Down Brewing Co.Lafayette

Coffee beer – conditions of my probation, The Empourium Brewing Co.Denver

Experimental IPA – Pina Colada Milkshake IPA, 14er Brewing Co.Denver

Scotch Ale – Old Chub Scotch Ale, Oskar Blues Brewery and Tasty Weasel TaproomLongmont