2022 Great American Beer Festival Awards 300 Medals to Top Breweries

The 2022 Great American Beer Festival competition recognized the best commercial breweries in the United States, awarding 300 medals in 98 beer categories covering 177 different beer styles. This year's competition set a new record with 9,904 entries, showcasing the exceptional craftsmanship of American brewers. The awards ceremony took place at the Bellco Theatre in Denver, Colorado, during the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Great American Beer Festival.

Key Takeaways:

The competition was held over a period of nine days, with 235 beer experts from seven countries judging 9,904 commercial brewery entries, 35 Pro-Am entries, and 94 Collaboration entries.
The competition was made possible by the help of 310 volunteers and was sponsored by various organizations, including Micro Matic and Country Malt Group.
The top five most-entered categories were American Style India Pale Ale, Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale, German-Style Pilsener, German Wheat Ale, and German-Style Maerzen.
North Park Beer Co. from San Diego, CA, won the most medals with four awards in the categories of English India Pale Ale or New Zealand India Pale Ale, Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale, American-Style India Pale Ale, and Imperial India Pale Ale.
The collaboration competition saw Templin Family Guava Coconut from Salt Lake City, UT, winning the gold medal, while the Pro-Am competition was won by Kaltrauch from Des Moines, IA.

Statistics:

300 medals awarded to 268 breweries
9,904 beers judged
177 beer styles
2,154 breweries participated in the competition from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico
235 judges participated in the competition
310 volunteers helped make the competition possible
Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 99
Category with the highest number of entries: American Style India Pale Ale (423 entries)
301 first-time GABF entrants
18 first-time GABF winners

Sources:

Brewers Association