GABF Winners 2021

There hasn’t been a Great American Beer Festival in two years, but the GABF beer competition continues on. Last night at the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver organizers announced the latest winners. At this point the website is so good you can just go see how your state or favorite brewery fared—no need for a bloggy interpretive guide.

In the Pac Northwest, Washington had the better go this year, winning 22 medals to Oregon’s 15. Cloudburst won one of the breweries of the year (though interestingly, mostly on the strength of their lagers). California picked up sixty and CO 21 (poor by their usual standards). North Carolina also did very well with 15.

 
 

In great moments in Oregon brewing, Von Ebert picked up the gold in American IPA with Beervana Show IPA Smackdown!-winning Volatile Substance. (See, we’re not idiots!) Folks were gathered at the brewery and some genius filmed the moment it was announced via livestream. If you ever wondered what winning gold in the American IPA category feels like to a brewery, this ought to settle the matter. Definitely click through and watch the scene.

(In the manner of a very proud Oregonian I have to point out that this is the third gold medal in American IPA Oregon has won in the last nine years. Barley Brown’s Pallet Jack won in 2013 and Breakside IPA the year later.)

Congrats to all the winners near and far!

Jeff Alworth