The Brewers Association, the trade association representing America’s small and independent brewers, has announced the 263 breweries that won the 303 medals at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival, the largest beer competition in America.
The annual competition is open to America’s craft breweries. The winners are announced on the last day of the annual three-day Great American Beer Festival, one of the largest beer festivals in America.
This year, 2,033 breweries from all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico entered 9,298 beers into the competition. The beers were entered among 99 categories, ranging from Abbey Ale to Zwickelbier. The enormity of the competition requires them to be judged over weeks by hundreds of beer judges and experts from ten countries.
A complete list of winners is available on the Brewers Association website.
In addition to the individual beer awards, the Great American Beer Festival awards “Brewery of the Year” honors to breweries of different sizes, based on their success in the competition. The 2023 Great American Beer Festival Brewery of the Year Winners are:
- 0-250 Barrels Brewery of the Year: Shred Beer Company – Rocklin, CA
- 251–500 Barrels Brewery of the Year: The Big Friendly – Oklahoma City, OK
- 501–1,000 Barrels Brewery of the Year: Balter Beerworks – Knoxville, TN
- 1,001–2,000 Barrels Brewery of the Year: Third Eye Brewing Co. Sharonville, OH
- 2,001–5,000 Barrels Brewery of the Year: Liquid Gravity Brewing – San Luis Obispo, CA
- 5,001–15,000 Barrels Brewery of the Year: Wibby Brewing – Longmont, CO
- 15,001–100,000 Barrels Brewery of the Year: Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX
- Brewery of the Year: Allagash Brewing Co., Portland, ME
The most-medaled brewery was Third Eye Brewing Co. of Sharonville, OH, which won two gold medals (Herb and Spice Beer, and Chocolate Beer) and two silver medals (Pumpkin Beer and Collaboration Competition).