Great American Beer Festival Awards 2012 Winners

The 2012 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition, held in Denver, Col., awarded 254 medals to some of the best commercial breweries in the United States. Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the largest commercial beer competition in the world and a symbol of brewing excellence.

Award-winning brewers received gold, silver and bronze medals in 84 beer categories covering 134 different beer styles. Winners were chosen from 4,338 competition entries from 666 breweries, hailing from 48 states, Washington, D.C. and Guam, indicating that ambitious brewers are opening breweries and producing extremely high-quality beer brands in once unlikely locations.

Wyoming had the most number of entries, with 17.4 percent of the state's 46 entries earning medals. Three of the six Brewery of the Year award-winning breweries were located in the Mid-Atlantic region. 

Since 2001, the most-entered category has been American-Style India Pale Ale (IPA), which saw 203 entries in 2012. Beer lovers around the country have shown their preference for hop-forward beers, and breweries are rising to meet demand with an ever-increasing selection of IPAs.

 

The winners in the top-five most-entered categories were:

American-Style India Pale Ale

Gold: Tap It Brewing Company, San Louis Obispo, Calif., Tap It Brewing IPA
Silver: Barley Brown's Brew Pub, Baker City, Ore., Pallet Jack IPA
Bronze: Alpine Beer Co., Alpine, Calif., Duet

Imperial India Pale Ale

Gold: Thai Me Up Brewery, Jackson, Wyo., 2 X 4
Silver: Bear Republic Brewing Co. - Healdsburg, Calif., Caf Racer 15
Bronze: Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, Calif., Double Jack

Herb and Spice Beer

Gold: Burnside Brewing Co., Portland, Ore., Sweet Heat
Silver: Cambridge Brewing Co., Cambridge, Mass., CBC Heather Ale
Bronze: Epic Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah Sage Saison

American-Style Strong Pale Ale

Gold: Thai Me Up Brewery, Jackson, Wyo., Melvin
Silver: Lumberyard Brewing Co., Flagstaff, Ariz., Lumberyard IPA
Bronze: Laughing Dog Brewing, Ponderay, Idaho, Laughing Dog IPA

American-Style Pale Ale

Gold: Brickstone Brewery, Bourbonnais, Ill., Brickstone APA
Silver: Piece Brewery, Chicago, Ill., The Weight
Bronze: Three Floyds Brewing Co., Munster, Ind., Zombie Dust

The 2012 GABF competition featured the new Fresh Hop Ale category, with 34 entries. This category showcases ales that are hopped exclusively with fresh, undried, "wet" hops.

Matching its largest field of entries to date, this year's GABF competition saw its biggest panel of judges ever, with 185 beer experts from 11 countries participating.

Official sponsors of this year’s GABF included Snyder’s of Hanover and Yard House Restaurants.

For a complete list of GABF winners and sponsors, click here.