Texas at the Great American Beer Festival Recap 2024
The Great American Beer Festival invites industry professionals from around the world to sit together in small groups and, without knowing the brand name, taste beer and cider in each specified style category. The ultimate goal of the GABF judge panel is to identify the three entries that best represent each style category as described and adopted by the Great American Beer Festival. Judges are assigned beers and ciders to evaluate in their specific area of expertise and never judge their own product or any product in which they have a concern.
A total of 273 breweries and cideries took home 347 medals in this year’s Great American Beer Festival competition. Over seven days and three judging phases, 250 expert judges evaluated 8,315 beer and cider entries—including 68 Collaboration and 40 Pro-Am submissions—from breweries spanning all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
See the full list of winners here.
GABF Competition Statistics
- 39th edition of the GABF competition
- 8,315 beers and ciders judged (a decline of 901 from 2024)
- 1,555 breweries and cideries in the competition from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. (a decline of 314 from 2024)
- 250 judges (increase of 35 from 2024)
- Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 71 (a decline of 14 from 2024)
- Category with the highest number of entries: Category 107: Juicy/Hazy IPA (301) (decrease of 48 from 2024)
- 347 total medals awarded (increase of 21 from 2024)
- 273 medal-winning breweries (increase of 0 from 2024)
- 180 first-time GABF entrants (decrease of 100 from 2024)
- 12 first-time GABF winners (decrease of 13 from 2024)
- 3 new categories: Vera Hop, Mexican-Style Pale Lager, International Amber Lager
Texas at the GABF
Texas had a much improved year over 2024, with 21 total medals (12 more medal wins than in 2024). This includes 4 Gold medals, up from one in 2024. See the full list of Texas winners below:
| Medal | Beer Name | Brewery | City | State | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | Sea of Waves | True Anomaly Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | American Sour Ale |
| Silver | Chugboat Island | Buckstin Brewing Co. - Beaumont | Beaumont | TX | Belgian-Style Dubbel |
| Bronze | Room for More | Peticolas Brewing Co. | Dallas | TX | Belgian-Style Dubbel |
| Bronze | The Last Bockbuster | Flix Brewhouse - MAN | Mansfield | TX | Bock |
| Silver | Fluff Said | False Idol Brewing | North Richland Hills | TX | Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout |
| Silver | British Bulldog | Maple Branch Craft Brewery | Fort Worth | TX | English-Style Brown Ale |
| Gold | Rhubarbed | Karbach Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | Field Beer |
| Bronze | Groovy | False Idol Brewing | North Richland Hills | TX | Field Beer |
| Silver | Hecho En Szechuan | Pinthouse Brewing | Austin | TX | Herb and Spice Beer |
| Silver | Romanov's Revenge | Maple Branch Craft Brewery | Fort Worth | TX | Imperial Stout |
| Gold | Fleeting Shadows | Pinthouse Brewing | Austin | TX | International Dark Lager |
| Gold | Mexican Lager | Union Bear Brewing Co. - Denton | Denton | TX | International Light Lager |
| Silver | Darlin' | Meanwhile Brewing Co. | Austin | TX | International-Style Pilsener |
| Bronze | Liberty Bell | True Anomaly Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | Mixed-Culture Brett Beer |
| Silver | Assume But Verify | Bankhead Brewing Co. | Rowlett | TX | Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine |
| Silver | Howdyfest - Oktoberfest with Rye | Lago Vista Brewing Co. | Lago Vista | TX | Rye Beers |
| Silver | Kilt Switch | 903 Brewers | Sherman | TX | Scotch Ale |
| Gold | Hot Shot | Lazarus Brewing Co. | Austin | TX | Smoke Beer |
| Bronze | Irish Hello | Saint Arnold Brewing Co. | Houston | TX | Stout |
| Bronze | Red Giant | Fast Friends Beer Co. | Austin | TX | Strong Red Ale |
| Silver | Perpetual Peace | No Label Brewing Co. | Katy | TX | Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer |
Top 5 Most-Entered Beer Style Category Winners
Category 107: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (301 entries)
GOLD: TourBus® Double Dry Hopped Hazy IPA | DESTIHL Brewery | Normal, IL
SILVER: MadeWest Hazy | MadeWest Brewing Co. | Ventura, CA
BRONZE: Cloud Counter | Pollyanna Brewing Co. | Lemont, IL
Category 105: West Coast India Pale Ale (300 entries) – Sponsored by Wyeast
GOLD: How the West Was One: Mosaic | Westbound & Down Brewing Co. | Idaho Springs, CO
SILVER: Coast Molinos | Los Molinos Beer Co. | San Clemente, CA
BRONZE: Cosmic Guava West Coast IPA | pFriem Family Brewers | Hood River, OR
Category 51: Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest (186 entries)
GOLD: Festbier | Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co. | Glenwood Springs, CO
SILVER: Festbier | Northwoods Brewing Co. | Northwood, NH
BRONZE: Penn Oktoberfest | Pennsylvania Brewing Co. | Pittsburgh, PA
Category 47: German-Style Pilsener (184 entries)
GOLD: Helper Beer Schloss Tor | Helper Beer | Helper, UT
SILVER: Tiny Bomb | Wiseacre Brewing Co. – Downtown | Memphis, TN
BRONZE: Second Rodeo | Starr Hill Beer Hall – Richmond | Richmond, VA
Category 45: Hoppy Lager (171 entries)
GOLD: Coral Crush | Alma Mader Brewing | Kansas City, MO
SILVER: Infinity Pils | Westbound & Down Brewing Co. – Westbound Mill | Lafayette, CO
BRONZE: Sound Sail | MadeWest Brewing Co. | Ventura, CA
Most-Medaled Breweries
Fat Head’s Brewery | Middleburg Heights, OH
GOLD: Battle Axe (Cat. 19)
GOLD: Goggle Fogger (Cat. 66)
SILVER: Bone Head (Cat. 101)
BRONZE: Hop JuJu (Cat. 103)
BRONZE: Excursion Journeyman (Cat. 16)
UPP Liquids | Bend, OR
GOLD: Buzz Box (Cat. 13)
GOLD: Moments Made (Cat. 62)
SILVER: UPP Yours (Cat. 4)
SILVER: Flower Child (Cat. 63)
BRONZE: Reduction Ratio (Cat. 91)
Westbound & Down Brewing Co. – Westbound Mill | Lafayette, CO
GOLD: Westbound Italian Pils (Cat. 49)
GOLD: Parallel Pale (Cat. 96)
SILVER: Scenic Route (Cat. 18)
SILVER: Infinity Pils (Cat. 45)
BRONZE: Westbound IPA (Cat. 98)
