The Great American Beer Festival is the single biggest competition for U.S. brewers, and the winners bask in the knowledge that the country's preeminent judges declared their ales and lagers the best. In 2015, more than 1,500 breweries sent in a total of 6,647 entries to vie for just 92 categories. Impressively, four craft brewers walked away with three medals each — Firestone Walker, Sun King, Port City, and Left Hand Brewing. But what we're most excited about are the dozens of small, up-and-coming brewers that nabbed awards. Of the gold medalists, here are 20 new-to-us and soon-to-be famous brewers we can't wait to try, along with the winning beers and categories.
7th Settlement Brewery, Dover, NH
1623 Brown Ale, American-Style Brown Ale
Bottle Logic Brewing, Anaheim, CA
Lagerithm, American-Style Dark Lager
Logboat Brewing Co., Columbia, MO
Bear Hair, Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale
Jailbreak Brewing Co., Laurel, MD
Van Dammit, Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale
Champion Brewing Co., Charlottesville, VA
Shower Beer, Bohemian-Style Pilsener
Lion Bridge Brewing Co., Cedar Rapids, IA
Disaster at Meux, Brown Porter
Brothers Craft Brewing, Harrisonburg, VA
Mild, English-Style Mild Ale
Exile Brewing, Des Moines, IA
Gigi, European-Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel
New Helvetia Brewing Co., Sacramento, CA
Mystery Airship Imperial Chocolate Porter, Experimental Beer
Gibb's Hundred Brewing Co., Greensboro, NC
The Guilty Party, Extra Special Bitter
Fonta Flora Brewery, Morganton, NC
Beets, Rhymes and Life, Field Beer
Fair Winds Brewing Co., Lorton, VA
Siren's Lure, French- and Belgian-Style Saison
Reuben's Brews Taproom, Seattle, WA
Gose, German-Style Sour Ale
Platform Beer Co., Cleveland, OH
Black Eagle Gratzer, Historical Beer
Grimm Artisanal Ales, Brooklyn, NY
Double Negative, Imperial Stout
Alvarado Street Brewery & Grill, Monterey, CA
Mai Tai P.A., International-Style Pale Ale
Garage Brewing Co. & Pizzeria, Temecula, CA
Bucket Seat Blonde, Munich-Style Helles
Spangalang Brewery, Denver, CO
Spangalang Table Beer, Other Belgian-Style Ale
West O Beer, West Okoboji, IA
West O CocO, Sweet Stout or Cream Stout
Wander Brewing, Bellingham, WA
Wild Warehouse, Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer
