Texas at the Great American Beer Festival Recap 2023
303 medals awarded to 263 breweries at 37th Great American Beer Festival® Competition
Denver, Colo. • September 23, 2023—The Brewers Association (BA) unveiled the best beers of 2023 during an awards ceremony at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF®). GABF is the nation’s largest professional beer competition, with its medals globally acknowledged as an emblem of brewing excellence and among the most sought-after accolades within the brewing community. This year, there were 303 medals awarded to 263 breweries.
Top-tier brews spanning 99 beer categories across 175 beer styles (including all subcategories) received prestigious gold, silver, and bronze medals. In addition, three GABF Collaboration medals for beers created by a team of two or more professional breweries, and three GABF Pro-Am medals for beers developed by teams of professional brewers and amateur homebrewers were announced.
The competition took place in three phases over nine days and was judged by 250 beer experts from 10 countries, including the U.S. In addition to evaluating 9,298 commercial brewery entries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, the judging panel assessed 95 Collaboration and 50 Pro-Am entries. The competition was made possible with the help of more than 300 volunteers.
“The Great American Beer Festival competition serves as a platform for the finest beers from across the nation to undergo rigorous scrutiny and vie for the title of ‘Best in Class,’” remarked Chris Williams, competition director for the Great American Beer Festival. “The beer community’s unwavering commitment to pushing the frontiers of innovation and quality is truly commendable. The Brewers Association takes great pride in recognizing the achievements of this year’s winners.”
The awards ceremony was held at the Bellco Theatre in Denver on Saturday, September 23, 2023, as part of the Great American Beer Festival and was livestreamed on The Brewing Network.
View the 2023 winners or download a PDF list of the winners.
GABF COMPETITION STATISTICS
- 37th edition of the GABF competition
- 9,298 beers judged
- 2,033 breweries in the competition from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico
- 250 judges
- 300+ volunteers
- Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 92
- Category with the highest number of entries: 65: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (365)
- 303 total medals awarded
- 263 medal-winning breweries
- 325 first-time GABF entrants
- 16 first-time GABF winners
TOP 5 MOST-ENTERED STYLE CATEGORY WINNERS (OVERALL)
Category 65: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (365 entries) – Sponsored by Antigo Zeon
GOLD: Away Days | 1852 Brew Co. | Visalia, CA
SILVER: Juicy Mid-Tones | Corn Coast Brewing Co. | Lincoln, NE
BRONZE: Make It Rain | Side Hustle Brewing Co. | Hilton Head Island, SC
Category 66: West Coast-Style India Pale Ale (301 entries)
GOLD: Westbound Select | Westbound & Down Brewing Co. | Idaho Springs, CO
SILVER: Untold Prophecy | Slice Beer Co. | Lincoln, CA
BRONZE: Bright Side IPA | Uprise Brewing Co. | Spokane, WA
Category 36: Light Lager (284 entries)
GOLD: Nashville Light | Nashville Brewing Co. | Nashville, TN
SILVER: Mexican Lager | Lone Tree Brewing Co. | Lone Tree, CO
BRONZE: Legendary Lager | MadTree Brewing | Cincinnati, OH
Category 45: German-Style Pilsener (228 entries) – Sponsored by Tripleseat
GOLD: Prodigal Pils | Lazarus Brewing Co.-Laz 2 | Austin, TX
SILVER: Prost Pilsner | Prost Brewing Co. | Denver, CO
BRONZE: Don’t Fear The Answer | Tenma Beer Project | Oakland, CA
Category 64: American-Style India Pale Ale (206 entries) – Sponsored by Micro Matic
GOLD: Head Hunter | Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon | North Olmsted, OH
SILVER: Breakside IPA | Breakside Brewery & Taproom | Milwaukie, OR
BRONZE: Downtown Tom | Three Mile Brewing Co. | Davis, CA
MOST-MEDALED BREWERY
Third Eye Brewing Co. | Sharonville, OH
GOLD: Herb and Spice Beer (Cat.7)
GOLD: Chocolate Beer (Cat. 8)
SILVER: Pumpkin Beer (Cat. 5)
SILVER: Collaboration Competition
COLLABORATION COMPETITION (95 entries) See criteria here.
GOLD: Luna Mexican Export Lager | Cheluna Brewing Co. & Prost Brewing Co.
SILVER: Mounds of Importance | Third Eye Brewing Co. & Narrow Path Brewing Co.
BRONZE: Two’s Daze | Attic Brewing Co. & Two Locals Brewing Co.
PRO-AM COMPETITION (50 entries) See criteria here.
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients, Country Malt Group, and White Labs
GOLD: She Fancies Herself A Little Bit French | CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing and Mark Pennick
SILVER: Rob’s Baltic Porter | New Belgium Brewing Co. and Rob Hardisty
BRONZE: What Is That? | Decipher Brewing Co. and Joel Miller
TEXAS RESULTS
Texas had a fantastic year, earning 19 total medals, 12 of which were gold. Here is the list, with Central Texas breweries in bold:
| Medal | Beer Name | Brewery | City | State | Category | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Hometown Lager | Second Pitch Beer Co. | San Antonio | TX | American Amber Lager | 2023 |
| Gold | DOL | Longtab Brewing Co. | San Antonio | TX | American-Belgo-Style Ale | 2023 |
| Bronze | LMM Belgian Amber | Lone Man Mountain Brewing Co. | Driftwood | TX | Belgian-Style Ale or French-Style Ale | 2023 |
| Gold | Hootenanny | Bankhead Brewing Co. | Rowlett | TX | Bock | 2023 |
| Gold | Crazy Horse | Lazarus Brewing Co. | Austin | TX | Bohemian-Style Pilsener Category Sponsor: Wyeast Laboratories | 2023 |
| Gold | Chilis from the Grave | Family Business Beer Co. | Dripping Springs | TX | Chili Beer | 2023 |
| Gold | Scout | True Anomaly Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | Contemporary American-Style Lager | 2023 |
| Gold | Elissa IPA | Saint Arnold Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | English Ale | 2023 |
| Bronze | Cruzer | Real Ale Brewing Co. | Blanco | TX | German-Style Koelsch Category Sponsor: Wyeast Laboratories | 2023 |
| Gold | Prodigal Pils | Lazarus Brewing Co. – Laz 2 | Austin | TX | German-Style Pilsener Category Sponsor: Tripleseat | 2023 |
| Gold | Fancy Lawnmower Beer | Saint Arnold Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | Golden or Blonde Ale | 2023 |
| Silver | Derby Day | Roadmap Brewing Co. | San Antonio | TX | Historical Beer | 2023 |
| Gold | Free & Easy Belgian-Style White | Karbach Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | Non-Alcohol Beer | 2023 |
| Gold | Jet Lag Lager | Vacancy Brewing | Austin | TX | Other Hoppy Lager | 2023 |
| Gold | Real Heavy | Real Ale Brewing Co. | Blanco | TX | Scotch Ale | 2023 |
| Bronze | Hoofer’s Hef | Bankhead Brewing Co. | Rowlett | TX | South German-Style Hefeweizen | 2023 |
| Bronze | La Cabrona | Hound Song Brewing Co. | Columbus | TX | Specialty Berliner-Style Weisse | 2023 |
| Silver | Sea of Waves | True Anomaly Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer | 2023 |
| Silver | Black Market Liver | Windmills Brewery & Restaurant | The Colony | TX | Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout | 2023 |
Here is a breakdown of how Texas has done since 2010:
2010: 6
2011: 4
2012: 9
2013: 10
2014: 16
2015: 15
2016: 10
2017: 21
2018: 18
2019: 16
2020: 10
2021: 14
2022: 21
2023: 19
Down two from last year, this is Texas’ third best year ever.
Here are the numbers of gold over the same time period:
2010: 3
2011: 1
2012: 5
2013: 4
2014: 6
2015: 9
2016: 4
2017: 9
2018: 6
2019: 8
2020: 5
2021: 4
2022: 7
2023: 12
That’s a new best, with 63% of medals received this year being gold. Congrats, Texas!
