(LANSING, Mich) –Seven Michigan Brewers Guild member breweries were awarded a collective nine medals this past weekend at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) Competition, in Denver, Colorado—the largest commercial beer competition in the world and a symbol of brewing excellence, presented by the Brewers Association.
The Brewers Association (BA) awarded 306 medals to 280 breweries across the United States with award-winning breweries receiving prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 102 beer categories covering 167 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the country and earning a symbol of brewing excellence. Read more about the competition below.
Michigan Brewers Guild member received the following awards:
GOLD
- West Coast Swing Amber – American Style Amber/Red Ale: The Mitten Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
SILVER
- NZ Pilz (American Style Pilsener): Wolverine State Brewing Company, Ann Arbor
- Kung Fu Smurf (Belgian Style Dubbel or Quadruple): Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak
- Breakfast Stout (Coffee Stout or Porter): Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
- Roundhouse (Double Hoppy Red Ale): Bell’s Eccentric Café, Kalamazoo
- My Brown Eyed Girl (English Style Brown Ale): Thornapple Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
- Porter (Robust Porter): Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
BRONZE
- Cerveza Delray (International Style Pilsener): Brew Detroit, Detroit
- Raucher (Smoke Beer): Wolverine State Brewing Company, Ann Arbor
The Great American Beer Festival is the granddaddy of all U.S. beer festivals, offering the largest collection of U.S. beer ever assembled. The judging panel awards gold, silver or bronze medals that are recognized around the world as symbols of brewing excellence. These awards are among the most coveted in the industry and heralded by the winning brewers in their national advertising. Medal distinctions are as follows:
- GOLD: A world-class beer that accurately exemplifies the specified style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma and appearance.
- SILVER: An excellent beer that may vary slightly from style parameters while maintaining close adherence to the style and displaying excellent taste, aroma and appearance.
- BRONZE: A fine example of the style that may vary slightly from style parameters and/or have minor deviations in taste, aroma or appearance.
GABF Competition Statistics:
- 32nd edition of the GABF competition
- 8,496 entries plus 101 Pro-Am and 49 Collaboration entries
- 2,404 breweries in the competition from 49 states plus Washington, D.C. (no Mississippi)
- 293 judges from 13 countries
- Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 83
- Category with the highest number of entries: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (391 entries)
- 280 medal-winning breweries (including Pro-Am and Collaboration)
- 306 total medals awarded plus three (3) each for Pro-Am and Collaboration
- 537 first-time GABF entrants
- 31 first-time GABF winners
The Michigan Brewers Guild is the network of innovative and passionate brewers that serves as the recognized advocate for the Michigan craft beer industry. The mission of the Michigan Brewers Guild is to promote and protect the Michigan craft beer industry with an overarching goal to help craft beer acquire 20% of the market by 2025.
Michigan’s thriving brewing industry conservatively contributes more than $144 million in wages with a total economic contribution of more than $600 million. In terms of overall number of breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs, Michigan ranks #6 in the nation – thus supporting its claim as “The Great Beer State.”
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Summer Beer Festival: July 27-28 – Ypsilanti
UP Fall Beer Festival: September 8 – Marquette
Detroit Fall Beer Festival: October 26-27 – Detroit
Winter Beer Festival: February 22-23 – Grand Rapids
Michigan Brewers Guild is a proud member and supporter of the following organizations:
Brewers Association | Michigan Agri-Tourism Association | Michigan Association of Society Executives | Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association | Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development | Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) | Michigan Festivals & Events Association | Michigan Grocers Association | Michigan Licensed Beverage Association | Michigan Lodging & Tourism Association | Michigan Restaurant Association | Michigan Snowsports Industries Association | Michigan State University – Extension | Michigan Trails | The Nature Conservancy | Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan (TICOM) | Travel Michigan (MEDC — Pure Michigan) | West Michigan Tourist Association