Here Are All the Northern California Breweries that Won Awards at the Great American Beer Festival

Northern California’s craft beer scene received a significant recognition at the recent Great American Beer Festival in Denver. The festival, which concluded last Saturday, is the largest event of its kind for professional brewers in the United States, and it awards some of the industry’s most prestigious honors.

Over a span of nine days, a panel of 250 beer experts from around the world gathered to judge nearly 9,445 entries from 50 states, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. This included collaborations between professional breweries and pro-am partnerships between industry experts and amateur enthusiasts. The result was the presentation of 303 medals to 263 breweries across 99 categories, covering 175 unique beer styles, with gold, silver, and bronze medals up for grabs.

What makes this year’s festival particularly special for Northern California is the number of breweries that walked away with medals. More than a dozen breweries from the region received recognition for their outstanding craft.

Among the standout winners was Shred Beer Co. of Rocklin, which claimed the prestigious title of “Brewery of the Year” in the 0–250 Barrels category. This achievement highlights the exceptional quality and dedication of Northern California brewers.

Gold Medal

Mai Tai, Alvarado Street Brewery & Bistro, Carmel-By-The-Sea, American-Style Strong Pale Ale

Ofrenda, Device Brewing Co., Sacramento, International-Style Pilsener

Cloudy Joose, New Belgium Brewing Co. – Mission Bay, San Francisco, Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale

Dortmunder Export, Cooperage Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Dortmunder or German-Style

Silver Medal

House Ale, 1849 Brewing Co., Grass Valley, English Ale

Untold Prophecy, Slice Beer Co., Lincoln, West Coast-Style India Pale Ale

The Next Chapter, Original Pattern Brewing Co., Oakland, Session India Pale Ale

Cinco Cinco Cinco!, Shred Beer Co., Rocklin, American Cream Ale

Bronze Medal

Downtown Tom, Three Mile Brewing Co., Davis, American-Style India Pale Ale

Venti is Large, Hop Dogma Brewing Co., Half Moon Bay, Coffee Stout or Porter

Double MO7, Del Cielo Brewing Co., Martinez, Imperial India Pale Ale

Don’t Fear The Answer, Tenma Beer Project, Oakland, German-Style Pilsener

Scarlet Sunset, Buck Wild Brewing, Oakland, Gluten-Free Beer

Micro Blaster, Shred Beer Co., Rocklin, Session India Pale Ale

Zero Degrees, Shred Beer Co., Rocklin, India Pale Lager or Cold India Pale Ale

Postcard from St. Petersburg, Bartlett Hall, San Francisco, Imperial Stout

Docta-Ron, Russian River Brewing Co. – Santa Rosa, New Zealand India Pale Ale

Tahoe Pilz, FiftyFifty Brewing Co. – Production Facility, Truckee, Bohemian-Style Pilsener

Small Batch – Intinction Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Brewing Co. – Windsor, Experimental Beer

See all winners here.