Colorado Brewers Collect 34 Awards at Great American Beer Festival (GABF)

Colorado craft beer awards at the Great American Beer Festival

Colorado breweries had another big weekend at the Great American Beer Festival, collecting 34 awards across a competition that brought thousands of beers from across the country into the same room. The 2026 results give Colorado craft beer another reason to be proud, with 27 breweries taking home medals or other honors and a mix of established names, repeat winners and first-time medalists sharing the spotlight. That variety is what makes these results worth paying attention to, because the story is not just about the breweries that already know how to win.

The Great American Beer Festival remains one of the most recognized professional beer competitions in the United States, and winning a medal means standing out in a crowded field judged by experienced beer professionals. This year’s competition featured 7,267 entries from 1,300 breweries and cidermakers, with 225 judges evaluating beers across 105 style categories over six days. Those numbers put Colorado’s 34 awards in perspective. There was plenty of competition, and the winning beers had to earn their place.

Cannonball Creek Brewing Company continued to make headlines, extending its run of consecutive GABF medal-winning years to 14 and winning Brewery of the Year in the 501–1,000 barrel category for the second consecutive year. That’s an impressive stretch, but Colorado’s results were not limited to one familiar name. Eight breweries earned their first GABF medals, including Glenwood Canyon Brewing, Pattern Break Brewing, MainStage Brewing and Los Dos Potrillos Cervecería. New winners are part of what keeps a regional beer scene moving forward, especially when they can break through in competitive categories.

Colorado also claimed gold and silver in Mexican-Style Pale Lager, with Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Company’s Sereno Moreno taking gold and 105 West Brewing Company’s Mexican Lager earning silver. The results show the range of styles coming out of the state, from gluten-free ales and German-inspired lagers to strong pale ales, fruit beers and collaborations. Colorado’s craft brewing community has depth, and the 2026 Great American Beer Festival results offer a fresh look at the breweries pushing it forward. Here is the full announcement from the Colorado Brewers Guild on this year’s winners and standout results.

Here is the full press release from the Colorado Brewers Guild:

27 Colorado breweries earned hardware at the awards ceremony on Oct. 11

DENVER (Oct. 11, 2026) — The Colorado Brewers Guild (CBG) congratulates the 27 Colorado breweries that collected a total of 34 awards today at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition at Levitt Pavilion. Colorado’s award count includes the Pro-Am Competition and Brewery of the Year but excludes cider awards.

This year’s competition drew 7,267 entries from 1,300 breweries and cidermakers across the United States, evaluated by 225 judges across six days of judging in 105 beer-style categories.  Produced by the Brewers Association (BA), GABF is the nation’s largest professional beer competition, and its medals are recognized worldwide as a mark of brewing excellence.

Colorado craft beer awards:

According to the BA, Colorado is ranked fifth in the nation for the most number of craft breweries (423) and had a $2.5 billion economic impact in 2025. 

“It’s no small feat to win a medal at the Great American Beer Festival, and every Colorado brewery that took the stage should be extremely proud. With medals at 14 consecutive festivals, Cannonball Creek has one of the longest active winning streaks in the competition,” says CBG Executive Director Shawnee Adelson. “Glenwood Canyon earned its first medal in a hoppy category, and newly opened Pattern Break Brewing brought home a medal in its debut year. These wins show the consistency and the variety of Colorado brewing.”

Notable trends:

• Cannonball Creek’s streak continues. Cannonball Creek medaled at its 14th consecutive GABF. Over that span, the brewery has won 24 medals with 13 different beers
• Cannonball Creek also took home 501-1,000 Brewery of the Year for the second year in a row
• Other consecutive-year medal streaks:
  • River North Brewery: 5 years
  • The Empourium Brewing Company: 4 years
  • Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co.: 4 years
• Repeat winners. Seven beers that medaled in previous years earned medals again in 2026:
  • Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Featherweight: 6 medals (2013, 2015, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2026)
  • Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Trump Hands: 4 medals (2016, 2019, 2025, 2026)
  • Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Mindbender: 2 medals (2025, 2026)
  • Holidaily Brewing Company, Fat Randy’s IPA: 2 medals (2024, 2026)
  • Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co., El Poblano Borracho: 2 medals (2024, 2026)
  • Second Dawn Brewing Company, Wolf of the Woods: 2 medals (2024, 2026)
  • Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project, Grow Old With You: 2 medals (2024, 2026)
• First-time winners. Eight Colorado breweries earned their first GABF medals:
  • Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co., Endless Groove (New Zealand Pale Ale)
  • Locavore Beer Works, Friend of the Devil (German-Style Schwarzbier)
  • Los Dos Potrillos Cerveceria, Agua Fresca (American Fruit Beer)
  • MainStage Brewing Co., Oktoberfestfest (German-Style Maerzen, the third most-entered category with 184 entries)
  • New Image Brewing Company and Offset Bier Co., Neon Lady (Collaboration)
  • Old 121 Brewhouse, Colt 121 (Other Strong Beer)
  • Pattern Break Brewing Co., Negroni Ale (Experimental Beer)
  • The Well in Wellington, Altbier (Classic Gluten-Free Ale or Lager)
• Colorado takes the top two spots in Mexican-Style Pale Lager. Colorado brewers took gold and silver in a field of 146 entries:
  • Gold: Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co., Sereno Moreno
  • Silver: 105 West Brewing Co., Mexican Lager

Colorado craft beer awards

Most Competitive Categories:
This year, the Brewers Association recognized the breweries whose beers advanced to the final judging round in the competition’s most competitive categories. These Colorado breweries reached the final table but did not medal:

West Coast-Style India Pale Ale (277 entries)

• Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Project Alpha
• Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co., Endless Drive #4
• Westbound & Down Brewing Company, How the West Was One: Mosaic

German-Style Maerzen (184 entries)

• Verboten Brewing North, German Techno Polka Party

German-Style Pilsener (161 entries)

• Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co., Diamond Jack

Dortmunder or German-Style Festbier (161 entries)

• The Empourium Brewing Company, E=MC Hammered

2026 Colorado Craft Brewery Winners:

• Brewery of the Year (501-1,000 barrels): Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. This is the second year in a row Cannonball Creek has won the 501 – 1,000 barrels brewery of the year award.

Colorado craft beer awards Gold Medal Winners:

• Bent Barley Brewing Company – Dry Irish Stout (Porter or Stout)
• Bierstadt Lagerhaus and Wayfinder Beer – Infinite Hotel (Collaboration)
• Bull & Bush Brewery – Pineapple 3 Way (Belgian-Style Fruit Beer)
• Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. – Mindbender (American-Style Strong Pale Ale)
• Dostal Alley Brewpub & Casino – Jacob Mack Mild Ale (Craft Malt Beer – new category)
• Los Dos Portrillos Cerveceria – Agua Fresca (American Fruit Beer) – First time winner
• The Empourium Brewing Company – Honey Panda (Specialty Beer)
• The Well in Wellington – Altbier (Classic Gluten-Free Ale or Lager) – First time winner
• Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project – Grow Old With You (Barley Wine or Wheat Wine)
• Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co. – Sereno Moreno (Mexican-Style Pale Lager)
• Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co. and Geoff Humphrey Castle Rock – The Burden of Being Wonderful (Pro-Am)

Colorado craft beer awards Silver Medal Winners:

• 105 West Brewing Co. – Mexican Lager (Mexican-Style Pale Lager)
• Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. – Featherweight (American Pale Ale)
• Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co. – Endless Groove (New Zealand Pale Ale) – first time winner
• Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co. – Kolsch (German-Style Koelsch)
• New Image Brewing Company and Offset Bier Co. – Neon Lady (Collaboration) – first time winner
• Old 121 Brewhouse – Colt 121 (Other Strong Beer) – first time winner
• Second Dawn Brewing Company – Wolf of the Woods (Italian-Style Pilsener)
• Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project – Coconut CO (Field Beer)

Colorado craft beer awards Bronze Medal Winners:

• Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. – Trump Hands (Session India Pale Ale)
• Holidaily Brewing Company – Fat Randy’s IPA (Hoppy Gluten-Free Beer)
• Holidaily Brewing Company – Favorite Blonde Ale (Classic Gluten-Free Ale or Lager)
• Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co. – El Poblano Borracho (Chili Beer)
• Locavore Beer Works – Friend of the Devil (German-Style Schwarzbier) – first time winner
• MainStage Brewing Co. – Oktoberfestfest (German-Style Maerzen) – first time winner
• Pattern Break Brewing Co. – Negroni Ale (Experimental Beer) – first time winner
• Prost Brewing Company – Prost Helles (Munich-Style Helles)
• River North Brewery – Quandary (Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale)
• Ska Brewing – Westskalle (Belgian-Style Abbey Ale)
• Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub – Jack Whacker Hazy Wheat (American-Style Wheat Beer)

“Colorado continues to showcase why we call ourselves The State of Craft Beer. Congrats to all of the medal winners!” says Adelson.

For the full list of 2026 GABF medalists, visit GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.

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About the Colorado Brewers Guild: The Colorado Brewers Guild (CBG) is a nonprofit trade association with the mission to promote, protect, and propel independent craft breweries in the State of Craft Beer through advocacy, community, education, and public awareness. The majority of the state’s 400+ licensed breweries are members. See a list of events that support membership, learn how to become a member, and more at coloradobeer.org.

The Colorado Brewers Guild (CBG) is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to promoting, protecting and supporting independent craft breweries throughout Colorado. Founded in 1995, the organization represents the interests of Colorado’s brewing community through advocacy, education, public awareness and community-building initiatives. Often associated with the state’s identity as the State of Craft Beer, the Colorado Brewers Guild works to help independent breweries succeed in an increasingly competitive beer market.

Colorado has a long brewing history that stretches back to the nineteenth century, when early breweries served miners, settlers and growing communities across the territory. The modern craft beer movement took hold decades later, with pioneering breweries helping establish Colorado as one of the country’s most influential destinations for independent beer. The opening of Boulder Beer in 1979 helped mark a turning point in the state’s contemporary craft brewing story, and the industry continued expanding as new breweries introduced different styles, ingredients and brewing techniques.

The Colorado Brewers Guild was established to give independent brewers a collective voice. Brewery owners face many of the same challenges, from navigating regulations and managing business costs to finding distribution opportunities and connecting with customers. By bringing breweries together through a common organization, the Guild works to address shared concerns while helping individual businesses maintain their own identities and creative independence.

Advocacy remains a major part of the Colorado Brewers Guild’s mission. The organization works to represent independent craft breweries in discussions involving state policy, regulations and the business environment in which breweries operate. Its efforts are intended to protect fair opportunities for independent brewers and support conditions that allow Colorado’s craft beer industry to remain competitive.

Education and professional development are also important areas of focus. Brewing requires technical knowledge, quality control, recipe development and a strong understanding of production processes, and the Guild helps create opportunities for breweries to share information and learn from one another. Industry events and educational programs give brewery professionals opportunities to exchange ideas, strengthen relationships and improve their operations.

The Colorado Brewers Guild also helps promote the state’s breweries to beer drinkers and visitors. Colorado’s craft beer scene includes a wide range of businesses, from small neighborhood taprooms and brewpubs to larger independent production breweries. Their beer portfolios cover traditional lagers, German-inspired styles, American pale ales, India pale ales, stouts, porters, Belgian-inspired beers, sour ales, fruit beers and experimental releases. That variety is one reason Colorado continues to attract craft beer enthusiasts.

Competitions provide another opportunity to celebrate brewing quality and creativity. The Great American Beer Festival, organized by the Brewers Association, brings professional breweries together to compete across numerous beer styles. Colorado breweries have built a strong record at the event, earning medals for both established favorites and less conventional beers. The 2026 results, with 27 Colorado breweries collecting 34 awards, demonstrate the range of talent operating throughout the state. Cannonball Creek Brewing Company’s continued medal streak and the eight first-time winners highlighted by the Guild illustrate how experienced medalists and newer competitors contribute to the same community.

The Guild also organizes and supports events that bring breweries, industry professionals and beer enthusiasts together. Its Colorado Brewers Cup offers a professional competition dedicated to showcasing beers made by participating Colorado brewery members. Other community events and collaborative initiatives provide opportunities to discover new beers, meet brewers and support independent businesses.

Membership is central to the organization’s work. The Colorado Brewers Guild reports that the majority of Colorado’s more than 400 licensed craft breweries are members, alongside allied businesses that supply products and services to the brewing industry. These relationships help connect breweries with the wider network of people and companies that make local beer production possible.

Beyond medals and competitions, the Colorado Brewers Guild represents the people behind the state’s beer culture: brewers, brewery owners, hospitality teams, suppliers and the customers who support them. Its mission is to help independent breweries remain visible, viable and connected while encouraging continued innovation across the industry.

For brewery listings, membership information, educational resources, events and the latest Colorado craft beer news, visit the official Colorado Brewers Guild website.

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