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<\/p>\nThe 2023 Great American Beer Festival may not have garnered as much hype as previous years, but Colorado breweries made their most impressive showing in recent memory at the awards, which took place Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
Judges evaluated 9,300 beers from more than 2,033 breweries in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, competition director Chris Williams said. Colorado beer makers collected a total of 40 medals, including 15 gold, a significant increase from the 27 awards breweries brought home from the 2022 competition.<\/p>\n
Speaking to The Denver Post, Shawnee Adelson, executive director of the Colorado Brewers Guild, expressed the pride she had in representing the winners. While the number of beers entered into this year\u2019s competition was down, Adelson said brewers are more carefully submitting those recipes they feel are exemplary, and the awards reflect that.<\/p>\n
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\u201cColorado did a great job this year not only in the number of awards, but the breadth of awards,\u201d Adelson said. \u201cIt shows our brewers here can brew very diverse beers and make medal-winning beers in some of the most competitive styles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Westbound & Down Brewing Co., which boasts three locations on the Front Range, proved the state\u2019s biggest winner of the day with three medals, including a gold in the brand-new West Coast-style IPA category. The brewery\u2019s Westbound Select beat out 300 other beers to earn the accolade in the second most competitive category of the competition.<\/p>\n
Westbound & Down also took home silver for Spirit of the West, a New Zealand India pale ale, and bronze for The Coloradan, an American cream ale.<\/p>\n
Longmont\u2019s Wibby Brewing also made an impression, earning a gold medal for its Wiibby Jibby American pilsner and the esteemed title of \u201cbrewery of the year\u201d among operations that make between 5,000 and 15,000 barrels of beer annually.<\/p>\n
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 outfits Avery Brewing Co., Cheluna Brewing Co., and Prost Brewing Co. garnered two medals each.<\/p>\n
Sen. John Hickenlooper \u2013 who founded Denver\u2019s first brewpub, Wynkoop Brewing Co., in 1988 \u2013 opened the awards ceremony by acknowledging the hardship breweries have experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic and encouraged them to stay optimistic in the face of a challenging economic climate.<\/p>\n
Adelson expects local beer makers will be riding high on the heels of Saturday\u2019s awards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe make great beers and these types of awards just prove that,\u201d she said. \u201cI think this will energize our Colorado breweries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Check out the full list of award-winning local beers below. You can find the whole list of winners at greatamericanbeerfestival.com.<\/p>\n
American Amber\/Red Ale \u2013 Blown Tire, Knuckle Puck Brewing<\/strong>, Longmont<\/p>\n American Pilsener \u2013 Wibby Jibby, Wibby Brewing<\/strong>, Longmont<\/p>\n American-style Pale Ale \u2013 Featherweight, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Golden<\/p>\n Belgian-style Witbier \u2013 White Rascal, Avery Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Boulder<\/p>\n Collaboration Beer \u2013 Luna Mexican Export Lager, Cheluna Brewing Co. <\/strong>and Prost Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Aurora and Denver\/Highlands Ranch<\/p>\n English Mild or Bitter \u2013 Sawtooth Ale, Left Hand Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Longmont<\/p>\n Field Beer \u2013 King of Carrots, Ratio Beerworks<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n German-style Dopplebock or Eisbock \u2013 Execrator, Resolute Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Centennial<\/p>\n German-style Maerzen \u2013 Seedstock Maerzen, Seedstock Brewery<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n Pro-Am \u2013 She Fancies Herself a Little Bit French, CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing with homebrewer Mark Pennick<\/strong>, Fort Collins<\/p>\n Robust Porter \u2013 Foggy London Town, Rock Bottom Brewery<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n Strong Red Ale \u2013 Wreak Havoc, Bootstrap Brewing<\/strong>, Longmont<\/p>\n West Coast-style India Pale Ale \u2013 Westbound Select, Westbound & Down Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Idaho Springs<\/p>\n Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer \u2014 Ye Olde Ale, Banded Oak Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n American Fruit Beer \u2013 Big Sippin\u2019, Odell Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n American Pilsener \u2013 Cerveza Mechanica, Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Lafayette<\/p>\n American Sour Ale \u2013 The Sauer House Project: Ellie\u2019s Version, Dostal Alley Brewpub & Casino<\/strong>, Central City<\/p>\n Belgian Fruit Beer \u2013 Island Rascal, Avery Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Boulder<\/p>\n Chili Beer \u2013 Green Chile Honey Kolsch, Bent Barley Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Aurora<\/p>\n Chocolate Beer \u2013 Midnight Hike, River North Brewery<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n Coffee Beer \u2013 Kurt\u2019s Mile High Malt, Wynkoop Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n Experimental IPA \u2013 Forager IPA, Pumphouse Brewery<\/strong>, Longmont<\/p>\n German Dark Lager \u2013 Wunder Bier, Red Leg Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Colorado Springs<\/p>\n German-style Kolsch \u2013 Rise & Climb, New Terrain Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Golden<\/p>\n German-style Pilsener \u2013 Prost Pilsner, Prost Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n India Pale Lager or Cold India Pale Ale \u2013 Orizaba Cold IPA, Cheluna Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Aurora<\/p>\n Light Lager \u2013 Mexican Lager, Lone Tree Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Lone Tree<\/p>\n New Zealand India Pale Ale \u2013 Spirit of the West, Westbound & Down Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Lafayette<\/p>\n Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine \u2013 Populator, Diebolt Brewing Co.<\/strong>, Denver<\/p>\n Other Strong Beer \u2013 Skate Juice, Hideaway Park Brewery<\/strong>, Winter Park<\/p>\nSilver<\/h4>\n