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Colorado Breweries Who Won Big at the 2024 GABF Competition

Westbound & Down Brewing GABF

Colorado breweries boasted another impressive showing at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival. This year, Colorado breweries took home 38 medals with 34 different brewery locations celebrating awards, nearly matching the impressive outing of 40 medals coming from the Centennial State. An additional three medals were awarded to a pair of Colorado cideries, in Haykin Family Cider (Aurora, CO) and Snow Capped Cider (Austin, CO), the first time cideries were awarded medals at the competition with support from the American Cider Association.

For the third year in a row, Westbound & Down Brewing took home multiple medals, and for the second year in a row, the Colorado brewery took home three medals to be exact, earning a Gold for Western Justice in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout category, a Gold for Infinity Pils in the  Hoppy Lager category, and a silver medal for Don’t Hassel the Hef in the South German-Style Hefeweizen category. Coincidentally Aspen Brewing, which was recently acquired by Westbound & Down, also earned a bronze medal for Independence Pass in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category.

“We couldn’t be prouder of our team,” said Jake Gardner, Director of Brewing Operations. “Competing in GABF & World Beer Cup is kind of like fishing, where the best breweries can do everything right and they still aren’t guaranteed to win, but breweries who commit to consistency and quality are the most likely to succeed.”

Cannonball Creek GABF

Cannonball Creek continued its impressive streak of winning medals at 12 consecutive GABF competitions, officially the longest active streak for a brewery that has won medals every year since opening. This year, Cannonball Creek the Golden, CO-based brewery earned a gold medal for More than a Zealand in the New Zealand India Pale Ale category as well as a silver medal for Featherweight in the American Pale Ale category, the fifth time that beer has medaled at GABF.

On the topic of streaks, this was also the third year in a row that Left Hand Brewing, New Terrain Brewing Company, River North Brewery, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., and Resolute Brewing have medaled at GABF with Resolute Brewing’s Execrator medaling for the third year in a row in the German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock category.

Other breweries who tallied multiple medals at this year’s competition include Bull & Bush Brewery which managed to take home gold AND silver medals in the Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer category for Ghoul Fuel: Rum Diaries, and Temporary Paradise: Rum Diaries respectively. Glenwood Canyon Brewing took home a pair of medals earning a gold for Festbier in the Dortmunder or German-style Oktoberfest category, and silver for Crystal River in the Munich-style Helles category. And River North Brewery took home gold for Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun in the Coffee Beer category, and silver for Pumpkin Spice J. Marie in the Pumpkin Beer category. Denver Beer Co. took home multiple medals between two of its locations with a gold for Fennel Rye Ale in the Field Beer category and a gold for Coppermind in the Irish-style Red Ale category.

It was also the first time earning medals at GABF for Alpine Beer Company, Burns Family Artisan Ales, Eagle River Brewing Company, Long Table Brewhouse, Second Dawn Brewing, and Stodgy Brewing Company.

“Colorado’s breweries continue to shine with their high-quality beers in a variety of styles. Especially noteworthy this year is that five different breweries won medals in five different German-style lager categories,” says CBG Executive Director Shawnee Adelson. 

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Colorado Breweries That Medaled at 2024 Great American Beer Festival

Category 3. Fruit Wheat Beer 

Silver: Enduro – Cheluna Brewing

Category 4. Field Beer

Gold: Fennel Rye Ale – Denver Beer Co. – Canworks

Category 5. Pumpkin Beer

Silver: Pumpkin Spice J. Marie – River North Brewing

Category 6. Chili Beer

Bronze: Palisade Peak – Station 26 Brewing

Category 6. Chili Beer

Gold: El Poblano Boracho – Liquid Mechanics Brewing

Category 9. Coffee Beer

Gold: Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun – River North Brewing

Category 13. Honey Beer

Bronze: Animals Strike Curious Poses – The Empourium Brewing CO

Category 24. Gluten-Free Beer

Gold: Fat Randy – Holidaily Brewing

Category 25. American-Belgo-Style Ale

Silver: Mirage – New Terrain Brewing

Category 25. American-Belgo-Style Ale

Gold: Silver Medal Worthy – Launch Pad Brewery

Category 27. Fruited American Sour Ale

Bronze: Cactus Juice – 12Degree Brewing

Category 30. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer

Silver: Temporary Paradise Rum Diaries – Bull & Bush Brewery

Category 30. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer

Gold: Ghoul Fuel – Rum Diaries – Bull & Bush Brewery

Category 32. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout

Gold: Western Justice – Westbound & Down Brewing

Category 33. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer

Bronze: 5 on It – Long Table Brewery

New Belgium GABF

Category 36. Smoke Beer

Gold: Smoke and Embers – New Belgium Brewing

Category 44. Hoppy Lager

Gold: Infinity Pils – Westbound & Down Brewing -Westbound Mill

Category 45. American Amber Lager

Silver: Las Cruces – Wild Blue Yonder Brewing

Category 48. Italian-Style Pilsener

Bronze: Wolf of the Woods – Second Dawn Brewing

Category 49. Munich-Style Helles

Silver:  Crystal River – Glenwood Canyon Brewing

Category 50. Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest

Gold: Festbier – Glenwood Canyon Brewing

Category 52. German-Style Maerzen

Bronze: Oktoberfest – Left Hand Brewing

Category 54. International Dark Lager

Silver: Czech-6 – Eagle River Brewing

Category 56. German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock

Bronze: Execrator – Resolute Brewing

Category 61. German-Style Altbier

Bronze: Altruism – Rock Cut Brewing

Category 63. South German-Style Hefeweizen

Silver: Don’t Hassel The Hef – Westbound & Down Brewing – Westbound Mill

Bronze: Polterweiss Hefeweizen – Green Mountain Beer Co – Lakewood, CO

Category 68. Scottish-Style Ale

Silver: Scottish Ale – Stodgy Brewing

Category 69. Irish-Style Red Ale

Gold: Coppermind – Denver Beer Co. – Lowry

Category 87. Scotch Ale

Bronze: Old Chub – Oskar Blues

Category 88. Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine

Bronze: Artemesia – Burns Family Artisan Ales

Category 88. Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine

Silver: Grow Old With You – Verboten Brewing

Category 90. New Zealand India Pale Ale 

Gold: More Than a Zealand – Cannonball Creek Brewing

Category 91. American-Style Pale Ale

Silver: Featherweight – Cannonball Creek Brewing

Category 93. American-Style Strong Pale Ale

Bronze: Independence Pass – Aspen Brewing

Category 94. Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale

Bronze : Windows Up – Alpine Beer Co.

Category 96. Strong Red Ale

Gold: Wreak Havoc – Bootstrap Brewing

On Tap Credit Union
The article was supported by On Tap Credit Union. Enjoy a $150 bonus when you sign up for a personal checking account with the promo code “PORCH”

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Comments

  1. Jay C. Hansen

    I didn’t see any reference to the Coors family. Good.

  2. Jay C. Hansen

    I didn’t see any reference to the Coors family. Good. Yeah. I said it once, schmucks.

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