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The 2018 Great American Beer Festival was all that and a bag of pretzels! Held every year in the great city of Denver, Colorado this year’s fest was host to 2,404 breweries that poured 8,864 brews. Awards were giving in 102 categories that represented 167 styles of beer, also, 105 Pro-Am teams competed for 3 awards. State wise, California led the way with 72 medals, L.A. County won 9 medals, San Diego County won 16 medals and Orange County won 12 medals. With 37 breweries Orange County is proving to be the “Quality Capitol of Craft Beer” in America! And the envelope please:
1.Stereo Brewing Company in Placentia; Robot-Imperial Red Ale (Silver Medal) 2.Stereo Brewing Company in Placentia; Wall of Sound-Oatmeal Stout (Bronze Medal) 3.Barley Forge Brewing Company in Costa Mesa; Grandpa Tractor-Dortmunder or German Style Oktoberfest (Gold Medal) 4. Noble Ale Works in Anaheim; Nobility-Imperial India Pale Ale (Gold Medal ) 5. Riip Beer Company in Huntington Beach; Black the Riiper-American Style Black Ale (Silver Medal) 6.TAPS Fish House and Brewery Corona; TAPS Irish Red-Irish Style Red Ale (Silver Medal) 7.The Bruery in Placentia; Mischief-American-Belgo-Style Ale (Bronze Medal) 8. Unsung Brewery in Tustin; Lumino-American Style Lager or American Style Malt Liquor (Bronze) 9. Gunwhale Ales in Costa Mesa; Hayshaker-Classic Saison (Bronze Medal) 10.Green Cheek Beer Company in Orange; West Coast IPA is Dead-American Style India Pale Ale (Bronze Medal) 11. Green Cheek Beer Company in Orange; Fools and Babies-English Style Mild Ale (Bronze Medal) 12. Beachwood Brewing in Huntington Beach; Udder Love-Sweet Stout or Cream Stout (Silver Medal) 13.Beachwood Blendery in Long Beach; Funk Yeah-Belgian Style Lambic or Sour Ale (Gold Medal)
Congratulations to all! This weekend was the fun part but a lot of hard work goes into each and every ounce of beer that is produced by all those that are involved in the brewing process. A few notes on my end. It was good to see more folks from Orange County attending the event, of course I didn’t run into anyone, my one beef with this year’s GABF was that the breweries were placed in alphabetical order where in years passed they used to be set according to region. I would be able to visit the local breweries because they were all in one area but now they are all split up. Boo! I did run in to Tommy Hadjis from Left Coast and his Galaxy Supernova IPA was on point!! In fact I enjoyed quite a few delicious Stouts, IPA’s, Reds, Pales, Sours, so many choices!
This year I stayed in the wonderful neighborhood of Wheat Ridge, last year we stayed downtown a few blocks from the convention center but decided to try out the local scene, it was a wise decision and we had a great time. Growler U.S.A. had 100 craft beers on draft and the food was bomb. Rise and Shine was a biscuit establishment but they also poured 8 craft beers in case you wanted to wash down that flaky AF biscuit with a pint! My all time fave is Ted’s Montana Grill which is in downtown. Steaks, burgers, sandwiches, all with great service, I wish we had one here in Santa Ana. Until next year! Cheers! Bobbyknowsbeer!
Last modified: October 6, 2018
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