Eel River Brewing’s California Blonde Ale Earns Bronze Medal at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival

Fortuna, CA • September, 2021 — Eel River Brewing Company was awarded a Bronze Medal at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition, presented by the Brewers Association®. The best beers in 97 beer categories covering 175 different beer styles (including all subcategories) were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals at a ceremony at the Bellco Theatre in Denver on Friday evening during the Craft Brewers Conference® and livestreamed on The Brewing Network.

Eel River Brewing was recognized in the English Ale beer-style category for its organic California Blonde Ale a is light and crisp ale with a touch of citrusy spice from Pacific Northwest organic hops. Eel River Brewing is a 10,000 barrel brewpub located in Fortuna, California that prides itself in being America’s First 100% Certified Organic Brewery.

“Our organic California Blonde Ale has been one of my favorites for a long time,” said Matt Vivatson, owner at Eel River Brewing “It was surprising and humbling to earn the Bronze in this category and we could not be more proud.”

Judging took place in 34 sessions over 17 days with strict health and safety measures in place. 170 judges evaluated 9,680 entries from 2,192 breweries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

“Despite being forced to cancel the festival portion of GABF, our brewing community rallied together to make this year’s GABF competition one for the books — our largest competition judged to date,” said Chris Swersey, competition director, Great American Beer Festival. “Judges continue to be impressed with the quality and innovation of all entries they evaluated. The Brewers Association is proud to honor this year’s deserving winners.”

For more information on the GABF competition, including a complete 2021 winners list and photos, visit GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.