Your CBB team chose not to attend the CBC this year, so sorry for the lack of live coverage (this preview covers all of the cool new stuff we now about from the expo though). But we do know who won stuff. The 35th annual Great American Beer Fest award winners were announced on Friday and The Brewers Association handed out its 2021 Industry Awards on Saturday. Here’s a recap:

290 medals were handed out to 265 breweries across the country. This was the largest competition to date, involving 97 beer categories covering 175 different beer styles (including all subcategories). A total of 170 judges evaluated 9,680 entries from 2,192 breweries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Note: To allow for the fall hop harvest and beer production, and to include Fresh Hop beers in the competition, 78 Fresh Hop Beer category entries will compete in early October, with winners announced Friday, October 15.

“Despite being forced to cancel the festival portion of GABF, our brewing community rallied together to make this year’s GABF competition one for the books—our largest competition judged to date,” said Chris Swersey, competition director, Great American Beer Festival. “Judges continue to be impressed with the quality and innovation of all entries they evaluated. The Brewers Association is proud to honor this year’s deserving winners. We look forward to celebrating in person together next year.”

The winners of the top five most-entered categories were:

Category 64: JUICY OR HAZY INDIA PALE ALE (427 entries) – Sponsored by Antigo Zeon

Category 63: AMERICAN-STYLE INDIA PALE ALE (404 entries) – Sponsored by Micro Matic

Category 25: FRUITED AMERICAN SOUR ALE (249 entries) – Sponsored by Amoretti

Category 80: GERMAN-STYLE WHEAT ALE (226 entries)

Category 43: GERMAN-STYLE PILSENER (210 entries) – Sponsored by John I Haas, Inc.

Here is the Full list of winners.

The most medals won by an individual brewery:

Moontown Brewing Co. – Whitestown, IN – 3 Medals

Additionally, 15 breweries won two medals.

Pamela Brulotte, owner of Icicle Brewing Co. & München Haus (Leavenworth, Wash.)

This award is named for the late F.X. Matt of F.X. Matt Brewing Co. and is presented to an individual or company for their contributions and efforts in championing the small brewing industry. Brulotte is a tireless advocate for small and independent breweries and has left her imprint on the Washington beer community in countless ways over the past decade. As president of the Washington Brewers Guild, Brulotte helped to professionalize the organization, grow its membership, support its lobbying efforts, and serve as a mentor to the craft brewing community. Under Brulotte’s leadership, the guild has challenged increasing beer excise taxes and secured marketplace access for brewers, increasing their ability to sell and market their beers.

Steven Pauwels, brewmaster at Boulevard Brewing Co. (Kansas City, Mo.)

This award is presented in honor of Wynkoop Brewing Company’s Russell Schehrer to an individual or company for their innovative contributions to the brewing industry. A native of Belgium, Pauwels has overseen all aspects of brewing and quality control since joining Boulevard Brewing in 1999. Pauwels is responsible for developing more than a dozen new Boulevard brands, including the critically acclaimed Smokestack Series line of artisanal beers. The acclaimed brewmaster has received international recognition for his work, including multiple medals at the World Beer Cup® and Great American Beer Festival®. Boulevard’s most award-winning beer, ZON Belgian-Style Witbier, was the very first beer that Pauwels developed upon his arrival.

John Mallett, vice president of operations of Bell’s Brewery, Inc. (Galesburg, Mich.)

This award is presented each year to an individual or company whose inspiration, enthusiasm, and support have contributed to the craft brewing movement. Mallett began making beer professionally in 1988, and led brewing at the Commonwealth Brewery in Boston and Old Dominion Brewing Co. After founding and leading SAAZ, a brewing equipment and service provider, Mallett joined Bell’s 20 years ago. Mallett is currently the president of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas and chairperson of the American Malting Barley Association. He served as president of the Hop Quality Group for 10 years. At the Brewers Association, he was a board member and chaired the BA Technical Committee for many years. He received the Brewers Association Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing in 2002 and is the author of Malt: A Practical Guide from Field to Brewhouse as well as numerous technical papers and presentations. Mallett is a graduate and long serving extended faculty member of Siebel Institute, and is the only person to have served on the professional blind tasting panel for every World Beer Cup. He is a seasoned volunteer ski patroller and most importantly, the proud father of two awesome humans.

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