Celebrating Craft Excellence at‌ the 2024 Great American Beer Festival
The annual Great American Beer Festival, hosted by the Brewers Association—a key advocate for small and independent breweries—showcases an incredible variety of beers from every corner of the United States. The recent festival concluded with an award ceremony on October 12 at Denver Convention Center, where this grand event unfolds each year.
A Record of Entries and Emerging Trends in Craft Brewing
This year’s competition was robust, featuring around 9,200 different beers and ciders submitted for‍ judging from all fifty states as well as Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. According to Chris Williams, director of competitions for the Brewers Association, while this number was consistent with last year’s entries, it shows a slight decline from a peak exceeding 10,000 entries in 2022—a trend that reflects a broader stagnation within the craft beer sector.
Despite IPAs maintaining their dominance among submitted categories yet again this year—the most prevalent being various IPA styles—there remains significant growth in appeal toward craft lagers. Notably absent from that group is any other ale type within this select top ten list besides Fruited American Sour.
The Logistics Behind Judging Overwhelming Entries
“Managing about 5,000 volunteer hours is essential just to receive and meticulously sort through these beers,” commented Williams during our conversation over the phone. Each participating brewery sends numerous cans or bottles per entry to ensure thorough evaluation across multiple judging rounds conducted by 285 esteemed judges nationwide—resulting in nearly 60,000 individual containers handled through the entire process.
A Glimpse Into Award-Winning Brews of 2024
Notable Categories & Winners:
- Gold: Fuzztail by Sunriver Brewing Co., Sunriver OR
- Silver: Mercy Cloud by Hobcaw Brewing Co., Mount Pleasant SC
- Bronze: Hoppla by NewSylum Brewing Co., Newtown CT
- Gold: Great Pumpkin by Elysian Brewing Co., Seattle WA
- Silver: Pumpkin Spice J. Marie by River North Brewery – RiNo Denver CO
- Bronze:]Boo Ya! Ocean View Brewing Co., Ocean View DE žksdạcJ
