Great American Beer Fest 2014 Awards Wrap Up

They came; they drank; … they chomped on cheese and jerky necklaces…

We didn’t count all of them individually in this video, but this might be all 49,000 attendees that came in droves to the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. America’s largest celebration of craft beer keeps getting larger — and it was announced at the show that the 2015 festival, to take place from Sept. 24-26, will add an additional 90,000 square feet to its footprint.

The awards

The award competition field was huge. One thousand three hundred and nine breweries entered brews (5,507 beers judged in all) across 90 style categories — and a whopping 35 percent identified as first-time entrants.

As always, the American-style India Pale Ale category was one of the most popular with 279 entries. But there could be only three:

Gold: Breakside IPA, Breakside Brewery (Oregon)
Silver: Heyoka, Half Acre Beer Co. (Illinois)
Bronze: Bodhi, Columbus Brewing Co. (Ohio)

The other top category winners, in terms of number of entrants:

Herb and Spice Beer (150 entries)
Gold: Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant, Basil Beer
Silver: 5 Stones Artisan Brewery, Aloha Piña
Bronze: Coastal Empire Beer Co., Dawn Patrol Breakfast Stout

American-Style Pale Ale (145 entries)
Gold: Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits–Scripps Ranch, Grunion
Silver: Peekskill Brewery, NYPA
Bronze: Tampa Bay Brewing Co., Reef Donkey APA

American-Style Amber/Red Ale (140 entries)
Gold: Canteen Brew House, Dougie Style Amber Ale
Silver: Capitol City Brewing Co., Amber Waves Ale
Bronze: Bootlegger’s Brewery, Rocco Red Ale

Imperial India Pale Ale (135 entries)
Gold: Columbus Brewing Co., Creeper
Silver: Port Brewing Co., Hop 15
Bronze: Russian River Brewing Co., Pliny the Elder

The most hilarious winner of the night would have to be Miller Lite in the category of American-Style Lager or Light Lager.

Be sure to check out the full list of winners here

2014 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year (Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.)
Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak, Mich.
Rockne Van Meter

Mid-Size Brewpub and Mid-Size Brewpub Brewer of the Year (Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group)
Brasserie Saint James, Reno, Nevada
Josh Watterson & Matt Watterson

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year (Sponsored by Country Malt Group)
Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Long Beach, Calif.
Julian Shrago & Ian McCall

Very Small Brewing Company and Very Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year (Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group)
Draught Works, Missoula, Mont.
Draught Works Brew Team

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year (Sponsored by O-I)
Marble Brewery, Albuquerque, N.M.
Team Marble

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year (Sponsored by MicroStar Keg Management)
Devils Backbone Brewing Co. – Outpost, Lexington, Va.
DB Brewery Team

Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year (Sponsored by Beer Institute)
AC Golden, Golden, Colo.
AC Golden Brewing Team

Random Competition Notes

Fifty-two first-time entering breweries won awards.

Four breweries tied for most medals won, with three medals each:

• 10 Barrel Brewing Co.
• Barley Brown’s Brew Pub
• Devils Backbone Brewing Co.–Outpost
• Left Hand Brewing Co.

Top three states by ratio of medals to entries by state:

• New Jersey: 19 percent with 16 entries and three medals
• Alaska: 13 percent with 16 entries and two medals—tied with federal district Washington, D.C.: 13 percent with 8 entries and one medal
• New Mexico: 10 percent with 84 entries and eight medals