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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