Dry Dock Brewing's Remarkable String of GABF Medal Wins Comes to an End

Over a decade, it won 24 awards.

October 4, 2018

Dry Dock Brewing co-founder Kevin DeLange pours beer at GABF in 2015. Dry Dock Brewing

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One of the most remarkable streaks in Colorado craft-beer history has come to an end. Dry Dock Brewing, which medaled at the Great American Beer Festival for ten years in a row, starting with a silver for its USS Minnow Mild Ale in 2008, didn't come home with any prizes at this year's competition.

But owners Kevin DeLange and Michele Redding aren't crying. Instead, they're celebrating.

"We were all bummed at first," says DeLange, who attended the awards ceremony with senior brewers Alan Simons and Martin Vargas. "But then it was, 'Can you believe we got one ten years in a row?' Then all our colleagues and customers said the same thing. And the whole attitude shifted in just ten or fifteen minutes."

Not only that, but Dry Dock took home a grand total of 24 GABF awards in those ten years, along with another seven at the even more competitive World Beer Cup, which takes place every two years (and that's after an initial win in 2006). In fact, the brewery's streak has been uninterrupted at the WBC, DeLange points out; Dry Dock won bronze this year for Bligh's Barleywine Ale in the Barrel-Aged Strong Beer category.

What's even more amazing is that Dry Dock has been able to medal so consistently despite how much competition increased between 2008 and 2017. In 2008, there were about 75 categories and 3,000 entries at GABF. There are now more than 100 categories — and 8,600 beers.

Only a few other breweries can boast longer streaks. The Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in Delaware is going on 22 years of consecutive medals, while the famed Firestone Walker has won a GABF medal for the past seventeen years. In Colorado, Rock Bottom had a fifteen-year streak from 2000 to 2014, while the Coors-owned Sandlot at Coors Field medaled for sixteen years consecutively. Coors itself had a 22-year-long streak.

Read below to see all of Dry Dock's GABF and WBC awards.

click to enlarge

Dry Dock Brewing

WBC awards
Bligh's Barleywine Ale
Bronze
Barrel-Aged Strong Beer 2018

Pilsner
Silver
German-Style Pilsener 2016

Amber
Gold
Ordinary or Special Bitter 2016

Apricot Blonde
Silver
Fruit Beer 2014

Wee Heavy
Gold
Scotch Ale 2012

Three Heavy
Silver
Scotch Ale 2010

HMS Bounty Old Ale
Bronze
Old Ale 2008

HMS Victory ESB
Gold
Special Bitter or Best Bitter 2006

GABF awards
Pilsner
Silver
German-Style Pilsener 2017

Helles
Silver
Munich-Style Helles 2016

Apricot Blonde
Bronze
American-Style Fruit Beer 2015

Pilsner
Bronze
German-Style Pilsener 2015

S.S. Minnow Mild Ale
Bronze
English-Style Mild Ale 2014

Apricot
Bronze
American-Style Fruit Beer 2014

Extra Pale Summer Ale
Silver
English-Style Pale Ale 2013

Enterprise IPA
Bronze
English-Style India Pale Ale 2013

S.S. Minnow Mild
Gold
English-Style Mild Ale 2013

HMS Victory Amber
Silver
Ordinary or Special Bitter 2013

Wee Heavy
Gold
Scotch Ale 2013

S.S. Minnow Mild Ale
Bronze
English-Style Mild Ale 2012

Dry Dock Apricot Blonde
Gold
Fruit Beer 2012

Kriek
Bronze
Pro-Am Competition 2011

Hefeweizen
Gold
South German-Style Hefeweizen 2011

Coffee Milk Stout
Bronze
Coffee Beer 2011

U-Boat Hefeweizen
Silver
South German-Style Hefeweizen 2010

Whale Tail Wit
Silver
Belgian-Style Witbier 2010

Noble Stuff Export
Silver
Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest 2010

Bismarck Altbier
Silver
German-Style Altbier 2010

U-Boat Hefeweizen
Silver
South German Style Hefeweizen 2009

Bismarck Altbier
Gold
German Style Altbier 2009

Reines Marzen
Silver
Märzen 2009

USS Minnow Mild Ale
Silver GABF
Session Beer 2008

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