Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego beers win 14 of 293 medals

Not bad, considering Great American Beer Festival had 7923 entries

More beers than ever were sent to compete at the 2017 edition of the Great American Beer Festival.
More beers than ever were sent to compete at the 2017 edition of the Great American Beer Festival.

The annual Great American Beer festival took place in Denver over the weekend (October 6–8). While San Diego breweries didn't show off the gaudy gold medal counts or champion breweries of recent years past, local breweries remained highly competitive with 14 of the 293 medals awarded.

San Diego area breweries claimed 5 golds, 6 silvers, and 3 bronze medals in 2017. While local beer companies won 19 and 18 medals in 2015 and 2016, respectively, the 14 medal haul matches the 2013 and 2014 showings.

However, this year saw a significant increase in competition. According to the Brewers Association, the craft-beer trade organization that stages the event, 2217 brewers competed in this year's contest, up 24 percent from 1783 last year. That increased the number of entries from 7301 to 7923 beers, which means fewer than four out of every hundred beers vying for medals received one.

Particularly competitive were the hoppy ale categories for which San Diego is best known, including 408 entries for the American-Style India Pale Ale category alone. While San Diego was shut out in that style, it did top the second-most competitive category: Imperial India Pale Ale, more commonly known as double IPA. Out of 221 entries, gold went to a beer called Manta Ray, made by Ballast Point Brewing Co. Ballast Point also took silver for Sour Wench blackberry ale, in the American-style fruited sour category.

San Diego's other big winners were Second Chance Beer Company and the Pizza Port chain of brewpubs. Second Chance's Tabula Rasa Toasted Porter won gold for the second year running in the robust porter category, while its Legally Red claimed silver among American-style red ales.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Pizza Port's Ocean Beach brewpub nabbed a gold for its session beer, Guillaume, while its Carlsbad location won silver in Export Stouts with its Z-Man Stout. Since 1994, Pizza Port brewpubs have amassed 93 medals overall, 32 of them gold.

Rounding out the gold medals were San Diego beer company veterans Stone Brewing and Karl Strauss Brewing. Stone's Liberty Station brewery won "Other Belgian Style" category with Witty Moron, while Karl's Carlsbad brewpub claimed the top honey beer with its Orange Blossom Common.

First-time wins included newcomer OB Brewery, with a silver medal for its Hidden Gem German wheat beer, and a bronze for Culture Brewing, for its Blonde ale. SouthNorte Beer Co., which officially launched in September, doesn't yet have its own brewing location. Nevertheless, its bronze medalist Agavamente placed in specialty beer category, having been brewed at Coronado Brewing's Bay Park facility. And while Vista company Mother Earth Brew Co. earned a bronze in the wet-hop ale category with Fresh as it Gets, that beer was actually brewed at its Nampa, Idaho, brewery.

Here is the list of San Diego winners. For a full list, see the Brewers Association website.

Gold medal winners

Ballast Point Brewing Company — Manta Ray — Imperial India Pale Ale

Karl Strauss Brewing Co. Carlsbad – Orange Blossom Common — Honey Beer

Pizza Port Ocean Beach — Guillaume — Session Beer

Second Chance Beer Co. — Tabula Rasa Toasted Porter — Robust Porter

Stone Brewing Liberty Station — Witty Moron — Other Belgian-Style Ale

Silver medal winners

Ballast Point Brewing Company — Sour Wench — American-style fruited sour

Bagby Beer Co. — Herd Of Turtles — Baltic-Style Porter

Monkey Paw Brewing — Back In The ESSA — English-Style Summer Ale

OB Brewery — Hidden Gem — German-Style Wheat Ale

Pizza Port Carlsbad — Z-Man Stout – Export Stout

Second Chance Beer Co. — Legally Red — American-Style Amber/Red Ale

Bronze medal winners

AleSmith Brewing Co. — AleSmith Wee Heavy — Scotch Ale

Culture Brewing Co. — Blonde — Golden or Blonde Ale

SouthNorte Beer Co. — Agavamente — Specialty Beer

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
More beers than ever were sent to compete at the 2017 edition of the Great American Beer Festival.
More beers than ever were sent to compete at the 2017 edition of the Great American Beer Festival.

The annual Great American Beer festival took place in Denver over the weekend (October 6–8). While San Diego breweries didn't show off the gaudy gold medal counts or champion breweries of recent years past, local breweries remained highly competitive with 14 of the 293 medals awarded.

San Diego area breweries claimed 5 golds, 6 silvers, and 3 bronze medals in 2017. While local beer companies won 19 and 18 medals in 2015 and 2016, respectively, the 14 medal haul matches the 2013 and 2014 showings.

However, this year saw a significant increase in competition. According to the Brewers Association, the craft-beer trade organization that stages the event, 2217 brewers competed in this year's contest, up 24 percent from 1783 last year. That increased the number of entries from 7301 to 7923 beers, which means fewer than four out of every hundred beers vying for medals received one.

Particularly competitive were the hoppy ale categories for which San Diego is best known, including 408 entries for the American-Style India Pale Ale category alone. While San Diego was shut out in that style, it did top the second-most competitive category: Imperial India Pale Ale, more commonly known as double IPA. Out of 221 entries, gold went to a beer called Manta Ray, made by Ballast Point Brewing Co. Ballast Point also took silver for Sour Wench blackberry ale, in the American-style fruited sour category.

San Diego's other big winners were Second Chance Beer Company and the Pizza Port chain of brewpubs. Second Chance's Tabula Rasa Toasted Porter won gold for the second year running in the robust porter category, while its Legally Red claimed silver among American-style red ales.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Pizza Port's Ocean Beach brewpub nabbed a gold for its session beer, Guillaume, while its Carlsbad location won silver in Export Stouts with its Z-Man Stout. Since 1994, Pizza Port brewpubs have amassed 93 medals overall, 32 of them gold.

Rounding out the gold medals were San Diego beer company veterans Stone Brewing and Karl Strauss Brewing. Stone's Liberty Station brewery won "Other Belgian Style" category with Witty Moron, while Karl's Carlsbad brewpub claimed the top honey beer with its Orange Blossom Common.

First-time wins included newcomer OB Brewery, with a silver medal for its Hidden Gem German wheat beer, and a bronze for Culture Brewing, for its Blonde ale. SouthNorte Beer Co., which officially launched in September, doesn't yet have its own brewing location. Nevertheless, its bronze medalist Agavamente placed in specialty beer category, having been brewed at Coronado Brewing's Bay Park facility. And while Vista company Mother Earth Brew Co. earned a bronze in the wet-hop ale category with Fresh as it Gets, that beer was actually brewed at its Nampa, Idaho, brewery.

Here is the list of San Diego winners. For a full list, see the Brewers Association website.

Gold medal winners

Ballast Point Brewing Company — Manta Ray — Imperial India Pale Ale

Karl Strauss Brewing Co. Carlsbad – Orange Blossom Common — Honey Beer

Pizza Port Ocean Beach — Guillaume — Session Beer

Second Chance Beer Co. — Tabula Rasa Toasted Porter — Robust Porter

Stone Brewing Liberty Station — Witty Moron — Other Belgian-Style Ale

Silver medal winners

Ballast Point Brewing Company — Sour Wench — American-style fruited sour

Bagby Beer Co. — Herd Of Turtles — Baltic-Style Porter

Monkey Paw Brewing — Back In The ESSA — English-Style Summer Ale

OB Brewery — Hidden Gem — German-Style Wheat Ale

Pizza Port Carlsbad — Z-Man Stout – Export Stout

Second Chance Beer Co. — Legally Red — American-Style Amber/Red Ale

Bronze medal winners

AleSmith Brewing Co. — AleSmith Wee Heavy — Scotch Ale

Culture Brewing Co. — Blonde — Golden or Blonde Ale

SouthNorte Beer Co. — Agavamente — Specialty Beer

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.