AMBA member Root Shoot Malting contributes to inaugural awardee at 2026 Great American Beer Festival; several other members medaled
AMBA member Root Shoot Malting contributes to inaugural awardee at 2026 Great American Beer Festival; several other members medaled
The Great American Beer Festival (GABF), held in Denver, Colorado, is the premier showcase of American brewing - awarding gold, silver, and bronze across 100+ beer and cider categories. This year, over 7,200 entries were judged by 225 volunteers. To receive a gold, an entry must be: “A world-class beer that accurately exemplifies the specified style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma and appearance.”
New this year was the ‘Craft Malt Beer’ category which sought to highlight small, local malthouses and independent brewers who partner with them to diversify the barley malt supply chain. Dostal Alley Brewpub & Casino won gold with their Jacob Mack Mild Ale using AMBA member Root Shoot Malting’s malt.
AMBA would like to congratulate all our member breweries that took home hardware from this year’s event!
Allagash Brewing Co.: Allagash White (Gold, ‘Belgian-Style Witbier’)
Big Grove Brewery: Zero Eddy (Silver, ‘Hoppy Non-Alcohol Beer’)
Boulevard Brewing Co.: Oak Aged Floral (Bronze, ‘Specialty Beer’)
Creature Comforts Brewing Co.: Classic City Lager (Silver, ‘Contemporary American Lager’)
Deschutes Brewery: Super Stoked (Gold, ‘Classic Non-Alcohol Ale or Lager’) and Fresh Hop King Crispy (Gold, ‘Fresh Hop Beer’)
Devils Backbone Brewing Co.: Gold Leaf Lager (Gold, ‘Contemporary American-Style Lager’)
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.: Flanders Red Ale (Gold, ‘Belgian-Style or Spontaneous Sour Ale’); Krieky Koelschip (Silver, ‘Belgian-Style Fruit Beer’); and DBA (Silver, ‘English-Style Pale Ale’)
Goose Island Beer Co.: 2025 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout (Gold, ‘Dessert or Pastry Beer’); Kick Back Lager (Bronze, ‘American Lager’); Hidden Dawn (Bronze, ‘Belgian-Style Witbier’); and 2026 Bourbon County Brand Apple Crisp Stout (Bronze, ‘Dessert or Pastry Beer’)
New Belgium Brewing Co.: Trippel (Silver, ‘Belgian-Style Tripel’)
New Glarus Brewing Co.: Vintage 2026 (Bronze, ‘Belgian-Style or Spontaneous Sour Ale’)
pFriem Family Brewers: Italian Pilsner (Gold, ‘Italian-Style Pilsener’) and Mosaic + Krush Cryo West Coast IPA (Bronze, ‘West Coast-Style India Pale Ale’)
Pinthouse Pizza North: Green Battles (Bronze, ‘American India Pale Ale’)
Pizza Port Solana Beach: Oats (Silver, ‘Sweet Stout or Cream Stout’)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.: Stein Altbier (Bronze, ‘European-Style Amber Ale’)
Wicked Weed Brewing: Lime Drop (Silver, ‘American Fruit Beer’
You can find the full list of winners at the GABF Website.
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