This year’s Great American Beer Festival allowed beverages such as cider and ready-to-drink cocktails to be poured during the event, and cider also was permitted in its prestigious competition for the first time. Colorado cideries made a showing by winning three medals before beer took centerstage, and local breweries once again proved why people from across the country come to drink here. In all, Colorado beverage makers collected an astonishing 41 awards, one-upping last year’s haul of 40 medals. Of those, 15 were gold. Colorado breweries shined in a variety of categories, from traditional lagers and sour beers to barrel-aged and specialty styles. “Colorado’s breweries continue to shine with their high-quality beers in a variety of styles. Especially noteworthy this year is that five different breweries won medals in five different German-style lager categories,” Shawnee Adelson, executive director of the Colorado Brewers Guild, said in a statement. The biggest local winner was Westbound & Down Brewing Co., which garnered three medals: gold for its Infinity Pils in the hoppy lager category, gold for its Western Justice in the wood- and barrel-aged strong stout category and silver for its Don’t Hassle the Hef in the South-German-style Hefeweizen category. Things got spicy when local outfitsLiquid Mechanics Brewing Co. (Aurora) and Station 26 Brewing Co. collected gold and bronze in the chili beer category, respectively. Also of note, Denver’s Bull & Bush Brewery earned gold and silver in the same category – wood- and barrel-aged beer – for two recipes aged in rum barrels. Breweries from the Front Range to the mountains won more than one medal, including Denver Beer Co., Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Glenwood Canyon Brewpub and River North Brewery. Two Colorado cider makers earned accolades in the inaugural GABF competition. Aurora’s Haykin Family Cider nabbed gold in the single varietal category and Snow Capped Cider in Austin, on the Western Slope, collected gold and silver in the no/low-tannin cider category. See the full list of award-winning local beers below. You can find all the competition results at greatamericanbeerfestival.com. Gold American-Belgo-style Ale – Silver Medal Worthy, Launch Pad Brewery, Aurora Chili Beer – El Poblano Borracho, Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co., Lafayette Coffee Beer – Squirrels Just Want To Have Fun, River North Brewery, Denver Dortmunder or German-style Oktoberfest – Festbier, Glenwood Canyon Brewpub, Glenwood Springs Field Beer – Fennel Rye Ale, Denver Beer Co., Denver Gluten-Free Beer – Fat Randy, Holidaily Brewing Co., Golden Hoppy Lager – Infinity Pils, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Lafayette Irish-style Red Ale – Coppermind, Denver Beer Co., Denver New Zealand-style India Pale Ale – More Than A Zealand, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden No/Low-Tannin Cider – The Russets, Snow Capped Cider, Austin Single Varietal Cider – Mountain Rose, Haykin Family Cider, Aurora Smoke Beer – Smoke and Embers, New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins Strong Red Ale – Wreak Havoc, Bootstrap Brewing, Longmont Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer – Ghoul Fuel – Rum Diaries Edition, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout – Western Justice, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs Silver American Amber Lager – Las Cruces, Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co., Castle Rock American-style Pale Ale – Featherweight Pale Ale, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden Fruit Wheat Beer – Enduro, Cheluna Brewing Co., Aurora German Wheat Ale – Kristal Moon, Blue Moon Brewing Co., Denver International Dark Lager – Czech-6, Eagle River Brewing Co., Gypsum Munich-style Helles – Crystal River, Glenwood Canyon Brewpub, Glenwood Springs No/Low-Tannin Cider – Graventein, Snow Capped Cider, Austin Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine – Grow Old With You, Verboten Brewing, Loveland Pumpkin Beer – Pumpkin Spice J. Marie, River North Brewery, Denver Scottish-style Ale – Scottish Ale, Stodgy Brewing Co., Fort Collins South German-style Hefeweizen – Don’t Hassle the Hef, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Lafayette Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer – Temporary Paradise – Rum Diaries Edition, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver Bronze Related Articles Restaurants, Food and Drink | 5 toast-worthy events happening in Denver during the Great American Beer Festival Restaurants, Food and Drink | Upcoming food and beverage events for fall in Colorado Restaurants, Food and Drink | Ultreia, Split Lip chef opening “sleazy French street food” concept Restaurants, Food and Drink | Left Hand’s Oktoberfest, 7,000 Jack-O-Lanterns, bilingual laughs, and more things to do in Denver Restaurants, Food and Drink | Why Colorado’s produce harvest requires a human touch American Sour Ale – Mirage, New Terrain Brewing Co., Golden American-style Strong Ale – Independence Pass Ale IPA, Aspen Brewing Co., Aspen Chili Beer – Palisade Peak, Station 26 Brewing Co., Denver Fruited American Sour Ale – Cactus Justice, 12Degrees Brewing, Louisville German-style Altbier – Altruism, Rock Cut Brewing Co., Estes Park German-style Doppelbock or Eisbock – Execrator, Resolute Brewing Co., Centennial German-style Maerzen – Oktoberfest, Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont Honey Beer – Animals Strike Curious Poses, The Empourium Brewing Co., Denver Italian-style Pilsener – Wolf of the Woods, Second Dawn Brewing Co., Aurora Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale – Windows Up, Alpine Beer Co., Fort Collins Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine – Artemisia, Burns Family Artisan Ales, Denver Scotch Ale – Old Chub, Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont South German-style Hefeweizen – Polterweiss Hefeweizen, Green Mountain Beer Co., Lakewood Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – 5 On It, Long Table Brewhouse, Denver Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.