It was a history in the making for craft beer as the Great American Beer Festival celebrate its 30th anniversary. The GABF awards were handed out this afternoon in Denver, CO with big wins from California and host state Colorado. The awards were given out by beer industry judges raking over 4,000 beers submitted for the competition.

Winners!

TAPS Fish House & Brewery from Brea, CA took home Brewpub Group and Brewpub Brewer of the Year. Victor Novak of TAPS had this to say about winning, “It is as exciting as it looks, it’s pretty frigging awesome.” Orange County’s The Bruery won gold for their Papier beer in the Strong Ale category. Firestone Walker Brewing Company won Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year plus seven medals. Brewmaster Matt Brynildson was delight, he tells us “We’re proud, we’re happy for the guys.” Pizza Port Carlsbad took home Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year and Pizza Port Ocean Beach won Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year. Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing Co. took home good for their American-Style Sour Ale, Le Terroir. San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery won two gold medals. Kern River Brewing from Kernville, CA won gold for their Citra Imperial IPA. Kern River Brewing Owner Eric Giddens said he was amazed, proud of Head Brewer Kyle (Smith), super happy and speechless.




The List

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA
Will Kemper

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
Firestone Walker Brewing Co, Paso Robles, CA
Matthew Brynildson

Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Pabst Brewing Company, Woodridge, IL
Bob Newman

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Pizza Port Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
Yiga Miyashiro

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA Pizza
Port Brew Guys

Brewpub Group and Brewpub Group Brewer of the Year
TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Brea, CA
Victor Novak

See the complete GABF winners list here.

Additional Information
Drink Eat Travel’s full coverage of GABF 2011
http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com

Photo: TAPS Fish House & Brewery from Brea, CA