Great American Beer Festival Competition Winners Announced

Competition continues to grow; 2010 entries up nine percent

The 2010 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition drew an impressive field of competitors, with 2010 topping last year’s entries by nine percent. GABF remains the largest commercial beer competition in the world, with 3,523 beers vying for medals (compared to 3,308 entries in 2009).

View the 2010 winners list or download a PDF list of the winners.

This year’s GABF competition attracted 151 beer judges from 10 countries. Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 79 beer categories covering 133 beer styles, establishing the best examples of each style in the U.S.

Among the highlights:

• The most competitive category was again American-Style India Pale Ale with 142 entries and a broader geographic distribution of winners than in the past.
• TAPS Fish House & Brewery was the first-ever winner of the new Brewpub Group of the Year category, with Brewmaster Victor Novak taking home the honors.
• The competition saw increased geographic diversity among medal winners, with an emerging trend of winners from the Midwest and the Southeast alongside the traditionally successful states like California and Colorado. “Other states appear to be emerging as the craft beer producer and consumer markets mature in their regions,” said GABF competition manager Chris Swersey.

2010 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Microstar Keg Management

Mad River Brewing Company Brewing Team
Mad River Brewing Company

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Crosby & Baker Ltd.

UBC Brewers
Utah Brewers Cooperative

Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year

Dr. David Ryder
Blue Moon Brewing Company (owned by Miller Coors)

Brewpub Group and Brewpub Group Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Country Malt Group

Victor Novak
TAPS Fish House & Brewery

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.

Noah Regnery
Pizza Port San Clemente

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group

Pizza Port Brew Guys
Pizza Port Carlsbad

View the complete 2010 winners list here.

Style Categories

The most competitive category was again American-Style India Pale Ale with 142 entries and a broader geographic distribution of winners than in the past. The gold medal went to “Pseudo” IPA from Pizza Port San Clemente. The second most hotly contested category was American-Style Pale Ale with 109 entries. The gold medal went to Mission Street Pale from Firestone Walker Brewing Company.

Three new categories were judged in this year’s GABF competition: Imperial Porter (nine entries), Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout (34 entries), and American Style India Black Ales (with an impressive 53 entries in its first year as a category).

The top five entered categories were:

• American-Style India Pale Ale – 142 entries
• American-Style Pale Ale – 109 entries
• Imperial India Pale Ale – 97 entries
• Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beer – 91 entries
• American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 84 entries

2010 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition

Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co and HopUnion

Gold, silver and bronze medals were also awarded in the GABF Pro-Am competition, which pairs amateur brewers with professional brewers, who scale up the award-winning homebrew recipes. The medal winners, including the winning professional brewers and American Homebrewers Association (AHA) member homebrewers are:

GABF Pro-Am Competition Gold Medal
Red Velvet, Eagle Rock Brewery, Los Angeles, CA
Brewmaster: Eagle Rock Brewery Brew Team
AHA member: Donny Hummel

GABF Pro-Am Competition Silver Medal
Ryed Hard & Put Away Wet, Rockyard Brewing Company, Castle Rock, CO
Brewmaster: Jim Stinson
AHA member: Adam Glaser

GABF Pro-Am Competition Bronze Medal
Bronze: Robust Porter, Wormtown Brewing Company, Worcester, MA
Brewmaster: Ben Roesch
AHA member: Keith Antul

Great American Beer Festival 2010 Statistics

• 455 breweries in the festival hall
• 2,200+ beers served at the festival
• 49,000 attendees
• 3,400 volunteers
• 516 breweries in the competition from 48 states (including Washington, D.C.)
• 3,523 beers judged (includes 75 Pro-Am competition entries)
• 79 style categories judged, plus the Pro-Am competition
• 151 judges from 10 countries
• Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 44
• Category with highest number of entries: 142, American Style India Pale Ale