The Great American Beer Festival, a premier U.S. beer festival and competition held in Denver, awarded gold, silver and bronze medals during a virtual ceremony. The Brewers Association (BA) awarded 272 medals* to 240 breweries across the country, including four breweries in Coastal Virginia.
Smartmouth Brewing took gold in the Kellerbier or Zwickelbier category for Safety Dance. Norfolk’s O’Connor Brewing Co. won gold in the Stout category for ODIS. Precarious Beer Project, out of Williamsburg, was awarded silver for Fortune & Glory in the Behemian-style Pilsner category. Big Ugly Brewing in Chesapeake earned bronze in the Contemporary Gose category for Steady As She Gose.
Judges for the 34th edition of the celebrated competition evaluated 8,806 entries from 1,720 breweries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.
“This has arguably been one of the most challenging years breweries have ever faced, so we hope these awards serve as a symbol not only of brewing excellence but also the resiliency of the craft brewing community as a whole,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager of the Great American Beer Festival.
Click here for the full list of winners.
*Out of a possible 273 medals in 91 beer style categories, 272 were awarded. The bronze medal was not given in Category 20, Gluten-Free Beer.