The accolades were earned by a wide range of breweries. Cannonball Creek continued its incredible run of twelve medal-winning years in a row. The brewery took home two medals this year: a gold for More Than New Zealand and a silver for Featherweight Pale, the fifth time the latter has won.
Westbound & Down had another huge year, with four total medals. Western Justice, its barrel-aged stout, and Infinity Pils, a hoppy lager, both won gold. Further, Don't Hassle the Hef, a Hefeweizen, took silver, and Aspen Brewing's Independence Pass ale took a bronze. (Westbound acquired Aspen Brewing in December 2023.)
Burns Family Artisan Ales took home its first GABF medal, with a bronze for Artemesia, an old ale. GABF hardware is no stranger to Burns Family's co-owner and head brewer, Wayne Burns, however, as he has a gold medal from back in 1999 and a handful of other medals over the past 25 years.
Besides Westbound & Down, three other breweries won medals for the third year in a row: Resolute Brewing, River North Brewery and New Terrain Brewing. Resolute did this with one single beer; its Execrator has medaled in all three recent competitions in the German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock category.
Second Dawn's Wolf of the Woods, which was our last beer of the week in 2023, won bronze in the Italian Pilsner category.
The complete list of 2024 Colorado brewery winners at GABF:
Gold Medal Winners:Denver Beer Co. Canworks — Fennel Rye Ale (Field Beer)
Liquid Mechanics Brewing Company — El Poblano Borracho (Chili Beer)
River North Brewery — Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun (Coffee Beer)
Holidaily Brewing Company — Fat Randy (Gluten-Free Beer)
Launch Pad Brewery — Silver Medal Worthy (American-Belgo-Style Ale)
Bull & Bush Brewery — Ghoul Fuel - Rum Diaries Edition (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer)
Westbound & Down Brewing Company — Western Justice (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout)
Westbound & Down Brewing Co. Mill — Infinity Pils (Hoppy Lager)
Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co. — Festbier (Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest, 4th most entered category)
Denver Beer Co. (Lowry Field) — Coppermind (Irish-Style Red Ale)
Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. — More Than a Zealand (New Zealand India Pale Ale)
Bootstrap Brewing — Wreak Havoc (Strong Red Ale)
Silver Medal Winners:
Cheluna Brewing Company — Enduro (Fruit Wheat Beer)
River North Brewery — Pumpkin Spice J. Marie (Pumpkin Beer)
Bull & Bush Brewery — Temporary Paradise-Rum Diaries Edition (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer)
Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co. — Las Cruces (American Amber Lager)
Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co. — Crystal River (Munich-Style Helles)
Eagle River Brewing Co. — Czech-6 (International Dark Lager)
Westbound & Down Brewing Co. — Don't Hassle the Hef (South German-Style Hefeweizen)
Stodgy Brewing Co. — Scottish Ale (Scottish-Style Ale)
Verboten Brewing — Grow Old With You (Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine)
Cannonball Creek — Featherweight Pale (American-Style Pale Ale)
Blue Moon Brewing Co. — Kristal Moon (German Wheat Ale)
Bronze Medal Winners:
Station 26 Brewing Company — Palisade Peak (Chili Beer)
The Empourium Brewing Company — Animals Strike Curious Poses (Honey Beer)
New Terrain Brewing Company — Mirage (American Sour Ale)
12Degree Brewing — Cactus Juice (Fruited American Sour Ale)
Long Table Brewhouse — 50 On It (Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer)
Second Dawn Brewing Company — Wolf of the Woods (Italian-Style Pilsener, new category)
Left Hand Brewing Co. — Oktoberfest (German-Style Maerzen)
Resolute Brewing Co. — Execrator (German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock)
Rock Cut Brewing Co. — Altruism - Rock Cut Brewing Co. (German-Style Altbier)
Green Mountain Beer Company — Polterweiss Hefeweizen (South German-Style Hefeweizen)
Oskar Blues Brewery — Old Chub (Scotch Ale)
Burns Family Artisan Ales — Artemesia (Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine)
Aspen Brewing Company — Independence Pass Ale IPA (American-Style Strong Pale Ale)
Alpine Beer Co. — Windows Up (Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale)
Cider at GABF
This year, cider was added to the GABF competition for the first time and two Colorado cideries took home medals: Colorado's Haykin Family Cider won gold for its Mountain Rose and the Western Slope's Snow Capped Cider won silver for Gravenstein and gold for the Russets. These are two well-established cider makers who usually perform quite well nationally, so it was no surprise to see them taking home hardware.Lager and Hop Competitions
Two lesser-known and smaller competitions also took place this week. The third Krispy King Lager competition took place, with 35 breweries vying for the crown. Hosted by Barrels & Bottles, this event brought together some incredible lager-focused breweries from around the country. Colorado was shut out of the top three, with Portland's Wayfinder Beer taking home gold, followed by Texas brewery Live Oak and Formula Brewing out of Washington state.
Denver's Seedstock Brewery took fourth place, however, and there's no shame in being beaten out by breweries and brewers with the pedigree of the top three.
Alpha King is another non-GABF competition that takes place during GABF. It's been held 26 times now, and this year's top winners were all from California, including Bearded Tang Brewing, which took first place. Russian River took second, while Ghost Town Brewing took third. Colorado wasn't shut out completely, though, as Amalgam Brewing's Coastal Bias IPA received the "Jesse's Pick" award.
