This has been another great year for the home state of the Great American Beer Festival. Colorado breweries took home a whopping 40 medals and two brewery/brewer of the year awards at this year’s GABF. Of the 40 medals, 13 of them were gold medals, 21 silver and six bronze. Without further ado, let’s deep dive into this some of this year’s winners.

Westbound & Down Brewing Co. (Idaho Springs, CO) brought home two silver medals for Double Barrel Louie in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer and Westbound Double IPA in the Imperial India Pale Ale categories. They were also named Mid-Sized Brewpub and Mid-Sized Brewpub Brewer of the Year. Double Barrel Louie was one that they’d undoubtedly put a lot of effort into creating. It’s a Barrel-Aged English Barleywine they aged in port-finished rye whiskey barrels and were then finished in Breckenridge Peach Bourbon Barrels. And yes, it’s as boozy as it sounds, coming in at 11.5% ABV.

(READ: 2019 GABF Awards Results | Who Won Big at This Year’s Competition)

Comrade Brewing (Denver, CO) brought home two gold medals this year and was named Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year. Comrade won medals for Superpower IPA in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category and More Dodge Less RAM in the American-Style India Pale Ale category, which had a whopping 342 entries. The American-Style India Pale Ale category is the second-most entered category behind Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale category, which had 348 entries. Comrade took Superpower IPA and added an extra round of dry-hopping to create More Dodge Less RAM and received it’s name after a Dodge Ram plowed into the brewery back in October 2016. What a great way to celebrate the three year anniversary of that event, by taking home a gold medal at GABF for the beer’s namesake.

It was no surprise that local favorite, WeldWerks Brewing Co. (Greeley, CO), walked away with two medals this year, for two of their well-known derivations of their flagship, Juicy Bits. The Greeley local took home gold for Extra Extra Juicy Bits in the Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale category and silver for Itsy Bits in the Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale category. Both beers are incredibly outstanding, clean, and refreshing. Not to mention, deliciously hoppy. Extra Extra Juicy Bits is brewed with just about 14 lbs per barrel of Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado hops. “Despite the ridiculous hop rates (kids, don’t try this at home), this absurdly hopped Double IPA manages to find balance, thanks to the soft, creamy mouthfeel and smooth finish contributed by the white wheat malt, flaked oats, and flaked wheat,” shares WeldWerks, “With notes of tangerine, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, peach, and grapefruit, Extra Extra Juicy Bits is bursting with so much fruit juice character that it makes you question whether or not actual fruit was added (we assure you, no fruit was added).”

Other notable wins include Shibbleshabble from Primitive Beer (Longmont, CO) who took home silver in the Experimental Beer category, Lindauer Lager from Wit’s End Brewing Co. (Denver, CO) with a silver in the Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest category, Get The Funk Out by Crooked Stave Artisan Project (Denver, CO) won gold in the Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale category, Grist Maerzen from Grist Brewing Co. (Highlands Ranch, CO) took bronze in the American-Style Amber Lager category, Westfield from Cellar West Artisan Ales (Lafayette, CO) took silver in the Specialty Saison category, and Ice Cutter Kölsch by Joyride Brewing Co. (Edgewater, CO) walked away with a silver in the German-Style Koelsch category.

Here’s a full list of the Colorado winners from the 2019 Great American Beer Festival:

Beer Name	Brewery	Category	Medal
Belgian Quad	Green Mountain Beer Co.	Aged Beer	Silver
Grist Maerzen	Grist Brewing Co.	American-Style Amber Lager	Bronze
More Dodge Less RAM	Comrade Brewing Co.	American-Style India Pale Ale	Gold
Superpower IPA	Comrade Brewing Co.	American-Style Strong Pale Ale	Gold
Mountain Standard IPA	Odell Brewing Co.	Australian-Style Pale Ale	Silver
Pete's Stash	Vail Brewing Co. - Vail Village Pilot	Australian-Style Pale Ale	Bronze
Junebug	Echo Brewing Co.	Belgian- and French-Style Ale	Gold
Séréneté Grand Cru	Bruz Beers	Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale or Belgian-Style Quadrupel	Silver
Get the Funk Out	Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project	Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale	Gold
Fu Fighter	Good River Beer	Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale	Gold
Way West Wit	Zuni Street Brewing Co.	Belgian-Style Witbier	Gold
Maibock	Dry Dock Brewing Co. - South Dock	Bock	Silver
Lindauer Lager	Wit's End Brewing Co.	Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest	Silver
Vladimir Brutin	Cannonball Creek Brewing Co.	Emerging India Pale Ale	Silver
Eclipse Brown Ale	Equinox Brewing	English-Style Brown Ale	Silver
Shibbleshabble	Primitive Beer	Experimental Beer	Silver
Hoochie Mama	Storm Peak Brewing Co.	Fruited American-Style Sour Ale	Silver
Howitzer Amber	Red Leg Brewing Co.	German-Style Altbier	Silver
Ice Cutter Kölsch	Joyride Brewing Co.	German-Style Koelsch	Silver
Boombastic Hazy IPA	Holidaily Brewing Co.	Gluten-Free Beer	Gold
1956 Golden Ale	Bootstrap Brewing	Golden or Blonde Ale	Gold
Deck Daze	Vail Brewing Co. - Vail Village Pilot	Herb and Spice Beer	Bronze
A&M Honey Bock	BJ's Restaurant & Brewery - Boulder	Honey Beer	Gold
Westbound Double IPA	Westbound & Down Brewing Co.	Imperial India Pale Ale	Silver
El Corn	The Post Brewing Co.	International-Style Dark Lager	Silver
Upslope Craft Lager	Upslope Brewing Co. - Flatiron Park	International-Style Pilsener	Silver
Balefire Irish Red	Mirror Image Brewing Co.	Irish-Style Red Ale	Silver
Extra Extra Juicy Bits	WeldWerks Brewing Co.	Juice or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale	Gold
Itsy Bits	WeldWerks Brewing Co.	Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale	Silver
Lightner Creek Lager	Carver Brewing Co.	Light Lager	Bronze
Yonder Mountain Stout	Vine Street Pub & Brewery	Oatmeal Stout	Silver
Cousin Jack	Dostal Alley Brewpub & Casino	Ordinary or Specialty Bitter	Silver
Northstar Imperial Porter	Twisted Pine Brewing Co.	Other Strong Beer	Gold
Chess with Checkers	New Belgium Brewing Co.	Pro-Am Competition	Bronze
Knuckle Dragger	Deuces Wild Brewery	Scotch Ale	Gold
Peacekeeper	Launch Pad Brewery	Session Beer	Bronze
Trump Hands	Cannonball Creek Brewing Co.	Session India Pale Ale	Silver
Westfield	Cellar West Artisan Ales	Specialty Saison	Silver
Amburana Dream	Denver Beer Co. - Olde Town Arvada	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer	Gold
Double Barrel Louie	Westbound & Down Brewing Co.	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer	Silver

Feature image courtesy of Stacey McMahan. 

---

Can't visit the site everyday like us? Bummer! No worries, we've got you covered. Submit your email below to receive our monthlyish newsletter on reviews, tours, events and more!

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human: