Breweries with the Most GABF Medals and More Competition Trends
Tomorrow night marks the 34th iteration of the competition portion of the Great American Beer Festival. And while this GABF week looks and feels unlike any other, tomorrow night’s awards are still sure to usher in socially distanced causes for celebration among breweries across the entire country.
And while in normal years we’d be prepping guided routes for folks to enjoy at the festival, a list of external events happening around town, and a rundown of rare beer releases, this year we decided instead to focus on past award winners.
First, we’ve tallied up a historical look at breweries who have earned the most GABF medals since the competition started in 1987. Keep in mind, unlike the competition we included breweries with multiple outposts like Pizza Port and Rock Bottom and grouped their medal count together. Here’s the list of the top 20 breweries with the most GABF medals earned prior to this year’s competition.
As a reminder, be sure to pick up or place your orders for some award-winning beers from our sponsors at Molly’s Spirits to enjoy while you watch this year’s Great American Beer Festival Awards Ceremony tomorrow night at 5pm Mountain.
Most GABF Medals Earned Through 2019
| GABF Medals | Brewery Name | City | State | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98 | Pizza Port Brewery | Various | CA | |||
| 83 | Rock Bottom Breweries | Various | CO | |||
| 76 | Anheuser-Busch, Inc | Saint Louis | MO | |||
| 73 | Pabst Brewing Co. | Los Angeles | CA | |||
| 64 | Miller Brewing Co. | Milwaukee | WI | |||
| 54 | Firestone Walker Brewing Co. | Paso Robles | CA | |||
| 49 | Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co. | Juneau | AK | |||
| 45 | Boston Beer Co. | Boston | MA | |||
| 43 | Coors Brewing Co. | Golden | CO | |||
| 43 | Deschutes Brewery | Bend | OR | |||
| 41 | Pelican Pub & Brewery | Pacific City | OR | |||
| 39 | Snake River Brewing Co. | Jackson | WY | |||
| 34 | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Chico | CA | |||
| 33 | New Belgium Brewing Co. | Fort Collins | CO | |||
| 33 | New Glarus Brewing Co. | New Glarus | WI | |||
| 32 | Rogue Ales | Newport | OR | |||
| 31 | Marin Brewing Co. | Larkspur | CA | |||
| 30 | Russian River Brewing Co. | Santa Rosa | CA | |||
| 30 | Stoudt's Brewing Co. | Adamstown | PA | |||
| 29 | Goose Island Beer Co. | Chicago | IL | |||
Most GABF Medals Earned by Individual Beers Through 2019
| Brewery | Beer | Total Medals | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co. | Alaskan Smoked Porter | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | |
| Boston Beer Co. | Samuel Adams Double Bock | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | |
| Bristol Brewing Co. | Laughing Lab Scottish Ale | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | |
| Coors Brewing Co. | Coors Light | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
| New Glarus Brewing Co. | Raspberry Tart | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Miller Brewing Co. | Miller Genuine Draft | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| New Belgium Brewing Co. | Abbey Belgian Style Ale | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| Pabst Brewing Co. | Pabst Blue Ribbon | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| Anheuser-Busch, Inc | Budweiser | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| Miller Brewing Co. | Miller High Life | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |
| Pabst Brewing Co. | Old Milwaukee Light | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| Genesee/High Falls Brewing | Genesee Cream Ale | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
| Pelican Pub & Brewery | Kiwanda Cream Ale | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| Pabst Brewing Co. | Old Style | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |
| Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Sierra Nevada Pale Ale | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
| Anheuser-Busch, Inc | O'Doul's | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| Pete's Brewing Co. | Pete's Wicked Ale | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. | Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| Saint Arnold Brewing Co. | Saint Arnold Summer Pils | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | |
| Pabst Brewing Co. | Rainier | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Co. | Little Kings Cream Ale | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. | Hefeweizen | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| AleSmith Brewing Co. | AleSmith Old Numbskull | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Marin Brewing Co. | Pt. Reyes Porter | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| New Belgium Brewing Co. | La Folie | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Midas Touch | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Grimm Brothers Brewhouse | Little Red Cap | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Snake River Brewing Co. | Zonker Stout | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Anheuser-Busch, Inc | Bud Light | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| New Glarus Brewing Co. | Belgian Red | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tröegs Brewing Co. | Troegenator | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Boston Beer Co. | Samuel Adams Octoberfest | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Pelican Pub & Brewery | Doryman's Dark Ale | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Coors Brewing Co. | Keystone Light | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pelican Pub & Brewery | Tsunami Stout | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anheuser-Busch, Inc | O'Doul's Amber | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Left Hand Brewing Co. | Sawtooth Ale | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| Real Ale Brewing Co. | Real Heavy | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Millstream Brewing Co. | Schild brau Amber | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| Seabright Brewery | Seabright Oatmeal Stout | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Miller Brewing Co. | Red Dog | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
Breweries with the Longest Active GABF Medal Streaks
| Brewery Name | Current Streak |
|---|---|
| Pizza Port | 2020-2000 |
| Firestone Walker Brewing | 2020-2002 |
| Figueroa Mountain Brewery | 2020-2001 |
| Fat Head's Brewery | 2020-2009 |
| Cannonball Creek Brewing | 2020-2013 |
| Chuckanut Brewery | 2020-2014 |
| Denver Beer Co | 2020-2015 |
| TAPS Fishhouse & Bewery | 2020-2015 |
| Alvarado Street Brewery | 2020-2015 |
| Uberbrew | 2020-2016 |
| Alesong Brewing & Blending | 2020-2016 |
| Save the World Brewing | 2020-2017 |
| Claremont Craft Ales | 2020-2017 |
| Brink Brewing | 2020-2017 |
| Pinthouse Pizza | 2020-2017 |
| Saddle Mountain Brewing | 2020-2017 |
| Kern River Brewing Co. | 2020-2018 |
| Lost Rhino Brewing Co. | 2020-2018 |
| Comrade Brewing | 2020-2018 |
| Triple C Brewing | 2020-2018 |
| Moonraker Brewing | 2020-2018 |
| Cloudburst Brewing | 2020-2018 |
| Gun Hill Brewing Co. | 2020-2018 |
| Great Basin Brewing Co. | 2020-2018 |
| Santa Clara Valley Brewing | 2019-2018 |
| BJ's Restaurant & Brewery | 2020-2018 |
| The Post Brewing | 2020-2018 |
| Port City Brewing | 2020-2018 |
| Altitude Chophouse | 2020-2018 |
| IMBIB Custom Brews | 2020-2018 |
| New Belgium Brewing | 2020-2018 |
| Grains of Wrath Brewing | 2020-2018 |
Read More | One Colorado Brewery Has Medaled at Every GABF & World Beer Cup Since Opening
The 2020 GABF Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday, October 16 at 5pm Mountain. Tune in LIVE via The Brewing Network’s Live Stream
As a reminder, be sure to pick up or place your orders for some award-winning beers from our sponsors at Molly’s Spirits to enjoy while you watch this year’s Great American Beer Festival Awards Ceremony tomorrow night at 5pm Mountain.
*This article has been updated to reflect Fat Head’s Brewery’s active consecutive medal streak extending to 2009, which as initial missed due to a punctuation error in the source data.
**This post was made possible with research and support from Scott Weikert.
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