Great American Beer Fest Winners

The Great American Beer Festival is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association held at the end of September or the beginning of October in Denver. The GABF brings visitors from around the world to sample more than 1,600 different American beers. Over 100 beer judges from the US and abroad participate in the evaluations of one or more beer styles, ultimately judging 2,300 beers entered by more than 450 domestic breweries. Gold, silver and bronze medals in 69 beer-style categories are awarded, though not every medal is awarded in each category.

The 2007 GABF was this weekend. Here are the winning beers from Wisconsin:

Fruit Beer or Vegetable Beer - 94 Entries
Gold: Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., Chippewa Falls, WI
Silver: The Great Pumpkin, Elysian Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Bronze: Raspberry Tart, New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, WI

Herb and Spice Beer - 58 Entries
Gold: Summertime 69, Gunnison Brewery, Gunnison, CO
Silver: Sigda’s Green Chili, CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing Co., Fort Collins,CO
Bronze: Frederick Miller Classic Chocolate Lager, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI

Gluten Free Beer - 8 Entries
Gold: RedBridge, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., St. Louis, MO
Silver: New Grist, Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Shakparo Ale, Sprecher Brewing Co., Glendale, WI

I didn't realize that Sprecher made a gluten free beer. That is a definite Lakefront copycat rip-off. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but is Milwaukee a big enough town for TWO gluten free microbrews?

American Style Lager - 33 Entries
Gold: Hamm’s, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: McHenry Lager, Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MA

American Style Specialty Lager - 16 Entries
Gold: Icehouse, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Silver: Mickey’s Ice, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Mickey’s Malt Liquor, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI

Whoo-hoo! A Miller sweep. Too bad I don't like any of those beers.

European Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel - 18 Entries
Gold: Dunkelstilsken, CB & Pott’s Restaurant & Brewery (Highlands Ranch),
Silver: Capital Munich Dark, Capital Brewery Co., Inc., Middleton, WI
Bronze: Munich Dunkel, Redrock Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT

American-Style Dark Lager - 12 Entries
Gold: Roadrunner Red Lager, Thunder Canyon Brewery, Tucson, AZ
Silver: Henry Weinhard’s Classic Dark, Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI
Bronze: Elevator Dark Horse, Elevator Brewing Co., Columbus, OH

Baltic-Style Porter - 13 Entries
Gold: Killer Kowalski, Flossmoor Station Brewing Co., Flossmoor, IL
Silver: Foothills Baltic Porter, Foothills Brewing, Winston-Salem, NC
Bronze: Amnesia, The Grumpy Troll Restaurant & Brewery, Mount Horeb, WI


The entire list of categories and winners is here: http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf/pdf/gabf07_winners.pdf


Update: The eight medals Miller won at the Brewers Association's annual Great American Beer Festival were more than any other beer brewer that took part in the competition.

Since 1996, Miller has won 113 awards between both the Great American Beer Festival and the bi-annual World Beer Cup, more than any other large brewer, according to the company.