Oregon Breweries Won 23 Medals at This Year’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver

Oregon breweries had plenty of reasons to party this past weekend. The state just took home 23 medals from the Great American Beer Festival, one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind. It is Oregon’s biggest haul in recent history.

Held in Denver’s cavernous 800,000-square-foot Colorado Convention Center, the three-day event kicked off Thursday, Sept. 21. It’s the second year that the festival portion of GABF has returned since the pandemic, albeit at a much smaller scale.

Now that communal drinking is back, medaling Oregon breweries could serve their beer to attendees directly after the ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 23. Notable wins include Breakside Brewery’s four awards, three of which were gold; a bronze for brewmaster Whitney Burnside and Grand Fir Brewing, which has been open for less than a year; and Alesong Brewing & Blending out of Eugene—also the recipient of a bronze—the business’s eighth straight GABF medal, winning every single year it’s been in business.

Oregon’s previous record-high GABF medal count took place in 2020 and 2018. The state’s producers nabbed 22 awards both of those years. Now that 23 shiny new badges have headed home, that should boost the industry’s spirits following several months of brewery closures and Brewers Association reports about declining draft sales.

Ambitious Oregon brewers will next set their sights on the World Beer Cup, which is scheduled to take place April 24, 2024, in Las Vegas.

Here is a recap of all the Oregon GABF winners:

Gold: Breakside Cheat Codes, Breakside Brewery, American Black Ale or American Stout

Gold: Brilliant, 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Bend, American Sour Ale

Silver: Upside Brown Ale, Falling Sky Brewing, American-Style Brown Ale

Silver: Breakside IPA, Breakside Brewery & Taproom, American-Style India Pale Ale

Silver: Bendelo Especial, Bend Brewing Co., American-Style Lager

Gold: Frambozen, pFriem Cascade Locks Barrelhouse, Belgian Fruit Beer

Bronze: Raspberry Parliament, Alesong Brewing & Blending, Belgian Fruit Beer

Silver: Druif Blanc, pFriem Cascade Locks Barrelhouse, Brett Beer

Bronze: Neon Butterfly, Deschutes Brewery & Public House Portland, Brett Beer

Bronze: Old Normal, Bend Brewing Co., Brown Porter

Bronze: Saison Parfait, Little Beast Brewing Clackamas, Classic Saison

Gold: Velvet ESB, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Extra Special Bitter

Silver: Cucumber Crush, 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Bend, Field Beer

Bronze: Heart Island, Grand Fir Brewing, Field Beer

Silver: Poggers, Immersion Brewing, Fruited American Sour Ale

Gold: Riviera, 10 Barrel Brewing Co. Bend Pub, German Sour Ale

Silver: Weizenheimer, Grains of Wrath PDX, German Wheat Ale

Silver: Co-Munichator, Deschutes Brewery & Public House Portland, German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock

Gold: Prinz Crispy, Deschutes Brewery & Public House Bend, Munich-Style Helles

Gold: Ice Raptor, Ninkasi Brewing Co., Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine

Gold: Breakside LIFE, Breakside Brewery & Taproom Milwaukie, Other Strong Beer

Bronze: Amaro Barrel Aged Barleywine, pFriem Cascade Locks Barrelhouse, Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer

Gold: Breakside the Trappings and the Suits of Woe, Breakside Brewery NW Slabtown Portland, Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout