San Diego breweries win 14 medals at the Great American Beer Festival

Each autumn, the Great American Beer Festival is held to celebrate brewing, tasting, enjoying and comparing the sudsy drink. This year, Denver’s Colorado Convention Center saw ten different nations send 220 judges to choose among more than 5 thousand beers. There were 90 separate categorizations of prizes, and our local brewing industry, on the rise for many years, did quite well. 14 medals were presented by the Brewer’s Association to breweries based in America’s Finest City.

The most medals any entrant won was three. From San Diego, three different establishments, Ballast Point, Port Brewing Company and Pizza Port Ocean Beach each won two medals. Here’s all the San Diego-based winners:

First Place Gold Medals:

• Grunion Pale Ale by Ballast Point in the American Pale Ale category
• Old Numbskull by AleSmith in the Barley Wine category
• Oatmeal Stout by Benchmark Brewing Company in the Session Beer category
• White Ale by Saint Archer in the Belgian Witbier category
• Witty Moron by Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station in the Other Belgian Ale category

Second Place Silver Medals:

• Piper Down by Ballast Point in the Irish Red Ale category
• Hop 15 by Port Brewing Company in the Imperial India Pale Ale category
• Guillaume by Pizza Port Ocean Beach in the Session Beer category
• Asphalt Jungle by Bagby Beer Company in the Classic Irish Dry Stout category
• Le Freak by Green Flash in the American-Belgo Ale category
• Mosaic Session Ale by Karl Strauss in the Session Beer category
• The Pupil by Societe Brewing Company in the International Pale Ale category

Third Place Bronze Medals:

• Shark Attack by Port Brewing Company in the Imperial Red Ale category
• La Flama Dorada by Pizza Port Ocean Beach in the Belgian Tripel category

Congratulations to all of our local breweries who participated in the festival and cheers to all who won this year. Let’s all lift a beer in celebration of the lively, and growing beer industry in San Diego.