It's no surprise that craft beer is killing it in L.A., but how are we faring on a national level? Uh, pretty well, thank you very much. On October 9, the 2016 Great American Beer Festival was held in Denver, Colo., an event that boasts the largest collection of U.S. beer served for both a public and private tasting competition. Brewers come from across the country to showcase their best suds, and awards are handed out for exemplary beers. This year, seven brewers from the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild took home medals—the largest number of accolades given out to L.A. brewers in the history of the festival.
Both El Segundo Brewing and Highland Park Brewery took home gold medals; the former in the American-Style Amber/Dark Lager category for their Casa Azul, the latter in the American Strong Pale Ale category for the brewery's Good Green beer.
In the Belgian-style Lambic/Sour category, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing took home a silver medal for Chaos is a Friend of Mine, while Kinetic Brewing and Smog City Brewing won bronze medals for 4th Gear (Chocolate Beer) and Sabre-Toothed Squirrel (American-Style Amber/Red Ale), respectively.
Arts District Brewing brewmaster Devon Randall won silver for Cowboy Curtis in the Smoked Beer category, and Iron Triangle Brewing took home a bronze for Jawbone in the Imperial Stout category.
What does all this mean? It means your weekend to-do list now consists of tracking down and trying all of these beers. Good luck, and congrats to all the award winners!
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