home - beer news - Great American Beer Festival Awards 2008
by Rick Mazzola
10/23/08
At this years Great American Beer Festival, 2,902 beers from 472 breweries gave their best to the discriminating palates of a distinguished group of judges. More beers than ever lusted after the 222 awards handed-out during the well-observed ceremony on the last day of the festival. 356 beers from Colorado breweries reeled in 34 awards, including 11 golds. The Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field led the honored group of Colorado award winners with 4 medals and Rock Bottom Brewery in Louisville snagged 3 medals, all of them gold!
The fermentation artists from Firestone Brewery in California seized the coveted gold for their American-Style IPA, the most prolific category with 104 entries. Hopheads should feel reassured that their hop-saturated style-of-choice is still running rampant throughout the country, regardless of the flailing hop industry! Pumpkin, apricot, blueberry, cherry, and a host of others proclaimed fruit and vegetable beers as the second-most popular category, with 90 entries. On average 38 beers were entered in each of the 75 recognized categories.
Congratulations to all those who won awards! All of the Colorado breweries who took home medals can be found below. A full listing can be found at the Brewers Associationwebsite.
Mike LaCroix from Amicas accepts a bronze for their Weekender Red Ale
Peter Bouckaert from New Belgium
accepts a gold for their Mothership Wit
Photos captured by the crew at Motion Pixel Lab
Gold
Category: 6 Coffee Flavored Beer Java the Hut CB & Potts Restaurant & Brewery Broomfield, CO
Category: 11 Other Strong Beer Derail Ale Durango Brewing Co. Durango, CO
Category: 24 Bohemian-Style Pilsener Pleasantville Pils Durango Brewing Co. Durango, CO
Category: 35 German-Style Schwarzbier B3K Wynkoop Brewing Co. Denver, CO
Category: 36 Bock Goat Rancher The SandLot Denver, CO
Category: 45 American-Style Strong Pale Ale Hop Bomb Rock Bottom Brewing Louisville, CO
Category: 53 Irish-Style Red Ale Red Rocks Red Ale Rock Bottom Brewing Louisville, CO
Category: 54 English-Style Dark Mild Ale or Brown Ale Sweet George’s Brown Dillon DAM Brewery Dillon, CO
Category: 57 South German-Style Hefeweizen Wixa Weiss Wynkoop Brewing Co. Denver, CO
Category: 59 Belgian-Style Witbier Mothership Wit/Organic Wheat Beer New Belgium Brewing Co. Fort Collins, CO
Category: 69 American-Style Stout Terminal Stout Rock Bottom Brewing Louisville, CO
Silver
Category: 6 Coffee Flavored Beer Big Shot Espresso Stout Twisted Pine Brewing Co. Boulder, CO
Category: 10 Session Beer USS Minnow Mild Ale Dry Dock Brewing Aurora, CO
Category: 12 Experimental Beer Fifteen Avery Anniversary Ale Avery Brewing Co. Boulder, CO
Category: 14 American-Belgo Style Ale Brush Fire Ale Pump House Restaurant & Brewery Longmont, CO
Category: 17 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer Legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial Stout Bull & Bush Brewery Denver, CO
Category: 22 International-Style Pilsener Yep, Still Boneheads The SandLot Denver, CO
