USA: Largest beer competition ever at Great American Beer Festival

For the 38th consecutive year, beer lovers gathered last weekend in Denver, Colorado, at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the country’s preeminent beer festival and competition.

The GABF, which was founded in 1982, and has been growing and evolving along with the American craft brewing industry ever since is the American brewing industry’s top public tasting opportunity and competition.

This year’s GABF offered about 62,000 attendees the opportunity to choose from more than 4,000 beers from about 800 breweries. Alongside the festival there was again a competition of the finest beers in America. 9,497 entries from 2,295 breweries representing all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, along with 113 Pro-Am Competition and 70 Collaboration Competition entries were judged over the course of three days, with awards presented at a ceremony held Saturday morning at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

“This year’s GABF competition was the largest and most competitive to date,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, Great American Beer Festival. “The beers and talent were as impressive as ever, and we congratulate this year’s winners for their achievements in brewing.”

The American Brewers Association awarded 318 medals to 283 breweries at the 2019 GABF competition in Denver. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded in 107 beer categories covering 174 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the country.

A list of all winners can be found here.

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