Southern California Breweries dominate at this year’s Great American Beer Festival
by BeachRock Bill and the SCCB Blogger
Around the same time Munich’s Oktoberfest is being held, here in the States there is a pretty impressive celebration of beer as well–the annual Great American Beer Festival weekend in Denver, Colorado–this year was the 40th Annual GABF. More a beer TASTING event versus Munich’s beer-CHUGGING counterpart, the GABF sessions offer attendees access to more than 2,000 different samples of beer from 500 of the nation’s finest breweries. As the GABF website states the festival represents “the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served in a public tasting event, plus a private competition. GABF brings together the brewers and diverse beers that make the U.S. the world’s greatest brewing nation”.
Well if that’s true, then with over 35 medals won at this year’s GABF, Southern California Breweries continue to be a part of the World’s greatest brewing region–no great shock to us at the So Cal Craft Beer Blog, since we regularly pontificate and wax poetic on So Cal’s superior brews.
First, we’ll tell you about San Diego’s newest GABF Brewery of the Year, then we’ll provide a list of medalists that we’ve covered on our blog this year.
San Diego’s North Park Beer Co.
Brings Home the Bling
We were excited to see Brewery of the Year honors (in the 2,001-5,000 barrel category) go to San Diego’s own North Park Beer Company. That’s in addition to garnering one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. North Park Beer is one of BeachRock Bill’s favorite San Diego Breweries and was the subject of his second post ever for the SCCBB. One of North Park’s GABF medals this year was for its IPA called Hop-Fu!
“One damn good beer!”
BRB found Hop-Fu! to be “refreshingly clean and chug worthy, with flavors of tropical fruit and a hint of pepper rolling off the tongue… with a sublimely bitter finish.” and he deemed it “One damn good beer!” So if BRB liked it, it is no surprise the GABF judges did too.
North Park also won medals for some of our other favorite IPA styles–New Zealand IPA, Imperial IPA, and Imperial Hazy IPA. They are obviously masters of all things IPA, and so it looks like BeachRock and his crew (Wife Helen, Son Carl, and Fiance Cassie the Exotic Dancer) will be making a trip back in the very near future.
in Kearney Mesa
Other San Diego Breweries to take home some hardware were some familiar names like Stone, Pizza Port, Lost Abbey, Societe, and Bagby. It also was exciting to see a couple extremely small local breweries get some recognition–Rouleur Brewing–winning a gold medal for their “Domestique” Belgian Ale, and silver medals going to Gravity Heights Brewing (English Bitter) and Kilowatt Brewing (Specialty Ale). Even Miramar’s Athletic Brewing, makers of non-alcoholic beer, nabbed a silver in the best non-alcoholic category, and finally, BNS Brewery in Santee grabbed a Gold in the Red Strong Ale category with a beer called “My Bloody Nightmare.” Just in time for halloween!
It looks like BRB has his work cut out for him, posting about all these breweries in the near future.
Until next time,
Cheers,
C.C. Hansen and BeachRock Bill
A Curated List of the Winning
Breweries We’ve Covered This Year
Brewery and Brewer of the Year (2,001–5,000 Barrels)
*North Park Beer Co – San Diego, CA*
North Park Beer Co Brew Team
SCCBB Post: Tasting at North Park Beer Co.
Category 5: Pumpkin Beer – 77 Entries
Gold: Night Owl, Elysian Brewing Co., Seattle, WA
Silver: 5 Phantoms, Philipsburg Brewing Co., Philipsburg, MT
Bronze: Molasses Pumpkin Märzen, Whistle Hop Brewing Co.,
Fairview, NC
SCCBB Post: Out of My Gourd for Fall Beers!
Category 15: Session Beer or Belgian-Style Table Beer – 84 Entries
Gold: Oblique and Bent, The Big Friendly, Oklahoma City, OK
Silver: Guillaume, Pizza Port Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
Bronze: First To Fall, The Good Society, Seattle, WA
SCCBB Post: San Diego West Coast IPA (at a store near you)
Category 16: Session India Pale Ale – 89 Entries
Gold: The Next Chapter, Original Pattern Brewing Co., Oakland, CA
Silver: The Coachman, Societe Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: Tectonic Session IPA, Hutton & Smith Brewing Co.,
Chattanooga, TN
SCCBB Post: San Diego West Coast IPA (at a store near you)
Category 29: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – 133 Entries
Gold: Flesh to Stone, Bottle Logic Brewing, Anaheim, CA
Silver: Ivoire, The Bruery, Placentia, CA
Bronze: 1314, Black Tooth Brewing Co., Sheridan, WY
SCCBB Post: Hazy September – Part 3
Category 32: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 93 Entries
Gold: Plumonary Groove, Lenny Boy Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Silver: Intinction – Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Brewing Co. – Santa
Rosa, Santa Rosa, CA
Bronze: Peach Afternoon, Port Brewing Co. / The Lost Abbey, San
Marcos, CA
SCCBB Post: Sour Beer Genies
Category 33: Kellerbier or Zwickelbier – 64 Entries
Gold: Waxing and Waning, MadeWest Brewing Co., Ventura, CA
Silver: Templin Family Granary KellerBier, Templin Family Brewing,
Salt Lake City, UT
Bronze: Keller Pils, Triumph Brewing Co. – Red Bank, Red Bank, NJ
SCCBB Post: Hazy September-Part 3
Category 39: International-Style Pilsener – 123 Entries
Gold: Alright, Alright, Alright, Roadmap Brewing Co., San Antonio, TX
Silver: Dos Topas, Topa Topa Brewing Co. – HQ, Ventura, CA
Bronze: Holy Ghost, Laughing Monk Brewing, San Francisco, CA
SCCBB Post: SCCBB Archives-Ventura
Category 43: India Pale Lager – 52 Entries
Gold: Cold IPA, Legion Brewing Co., Charlotte, NC
Silver: Cave Dweller, Ghost Town Brewing, Oakland, CA
Bronze: DDH Timbo, Highland Park Brewery – Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA
From a tasting visit by BeachRock Bill, Eleanor, and SCCBB
Category 46: Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 186 Entries
Gold: The People’s Pilsner, Sudwerk Brewing Co., Davis, CA
Silver: Pohick Bay Pilsener, Fair Winds Brewing Co., Lorton, VA
Bronze: Battlesnakes, Brewery X, Anaheim, CA
SCCBB Post coming, end of October
Category 58: International-Style Pale Ale – 136 Entries
Gold: Nix, Ogopogo Brewing, San Gabriel, CA
Silver: New Cleveland, Platform Beer Co. – Production Facility,
Cleveland, OH
Bronze: Pale 586, Faction Brewing, Alameda, CA
SCCBB Post: Lions and Tigers and Beers, Oh My!
Category 59: English India Pale Ale or New Zealand India Pale Ale – 88
Entries
Gold: NZ-Fu!, North Park Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Silver: Spirit of the West, Westbound & Down Brewing Co.,
Idaho Springs, CO
Bronze: Hoppy Poppy IPA, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Buellton, CA
SCCBB Post: Tasting at North Park Beer Co.
Category 62: American-Style Strong Pale Ale – 145 Entries
Gold: Mordant, Ghost Town Brewing, Oakland, CA
Silver: Secret Beach, Meanwhile Brewing Co., Austin, TX
Bronze: Eyes are Mosaic, Casa Agria Specialty Ales, Oxnard, CA
SCCBB Post: Sour Beer Genies
Category 63: Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale – 153 Entries
Gold: Neon Lites, Slice Beer Co., Lincoln, CA
Silver: So Into You, Radiant Beer Co., Anaheim, CA
Bronze: Green New Zeal, Armistice Brewing Co., Richmond, CA
SCCBB Post: Radiant Brewing-An SCCBB Collaboration
Category 64: American-Style India Pale Ale – 423 Entries
Gold: More Dodge Less RAM, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver, CO
Silver: Dankster Squad, Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach, CA
Bronze: Hop-Fu!, North Park Beer Co., San Diego, CA
SCCBB Post: Tasting at North Park Beer Co.
Category 66: Imperial India Pale Ale – 156 Entries
Gold: Nose Goblin, Ghost Town Brewing, Oakland, CA
Silver: Hop Diggity, Mother Earth Brew Co., Nampa, ID
Bronze: Double-Fu!, North Park Beer Co., San Diego, CA
SCCBB Post: Tasting at North Park Beer Co.
Category 67: Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale – 165 Entries
Gold: Pillow, Highland Park Brewery – Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA
Silver: X-Raying Citra, North Park Beer Co., San Diego, CA
Bronze: Citra Soaker, Corn Coast Brewing Co., Lincoln, NE
SCCBB Post: Tasting at North Park Beer Co.
Category 76: American Black Ale or American Stout – 62 Entries
Gold: Hooked On Onyx, Ten Mile Brewing Co., Signal Hill, CA
Silver: Stone Cimmerian Portal, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens –
Liberty Station, San Diego, CA
Bronze: Black the Riipper, Riip Beer Co., Huntington Beach, CA
SCCBB Post: We’re Tasting at We’re Pouring;
Sayonara Stone Brewing
Category 89: Belgian Fruit Beer – 66 Entries
Gold: Grandissant – Montmorency Cherry, Rowley Farmhouse Ales,
Santa Fe, NM
Silver: Second Hand Lions, Platform Beer Co. – Phunkenship,
Cleveland, OH
Bronze: Atrial Rubicite, Jester King Brewery, Austin, TX
SCCBB Post: Sour Beer Genies
Full GABF 2022 Winners List [click to view]
We don’t know who these people are, but at least three of them represent Pizza Port
and this photo was at the top of the GABF 2022 press release.
BeachRock Bill likes to promote the SD Brewing scene, and lives pretty close to Pizza Port,
who were some early mentors on his beer-making journey.
Is your favorite brewery on the list? Tell us about it! We want to hear from you. Comment on this post or drop us a line at socalcraftbeer@gmail.com.
Cheers,
–BeachRock Bill and C.C. Hansen
So Cal Craft Beer Blog 
Let’s meet up in Denver for next year’s festival!
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