2009 GABF IN ONE MINUTE
Read the Brookston Beer Bulletin's Top 10 Festival Pet Peeves.
View 2009 Festival Photos
All photos are ©2009 brightroom. Visit brightroom.com to view this year's Great American Beer Festival photos.
2009 GABF Winners Announced
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View the 2009 Winners List or download the PDF version.
The 2009 Great American Beer Festival shatters records despite the economy
Denver, Colorado • September 26, 2009 –The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) Competition continued its record setting ways, crushing last year's entries by 16%. GABF remains the largest commercial beer competition in the world with 3,308 entries.
| 2009 GABF Quick Stats | |
| 49,000 | Attendess (includes brewers, volunteers, and tick holders) |
| 3,308 | Beers in the GABF Competition |
| 3,000 | Volunteers |
| 2,100 | Beers served in the hall |
| 495 | Breweries in the competition |
| 457 | Breweries in the festival hall |
| 132 | Judges from 10 countries |
| 78 | Categories judged + Pro-Am category |
| 72 | Beers entered into the Pro-Am Competition |
| 51 | Breweries attending for the first time |
The top five medal winning states were: CO (45), CA (39), OR (22), WA (13), PA (12).
The GABF competition attracted 132 international beer judges from ten countries. Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 78 beer categories, establishing the best examples of each style in the US.
2009 GABF Brewery of the Year Awards
Winners are determined based on the results of the competitive beer judging held at the Great American Beer Festival. Breweries are awarded points based on medals won, and these points are tabulated to arrive at the results. The following criteria used to rank breweries and break ties by awarding points. See Beer Competition for more information.
Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.
Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA
Will Kemper
Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Pizza Port Brew Guys
Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Microstar Keg Management
Dry Dock Brewing Company, Aurora, CO
Dry Dock Brewing Team
Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Crosby & Baker Ltd.
Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD
Robert Malone
Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Coors Brewing Company, Golden, CO
Dr. David Ryder
2009 Pro-Am Competition Winners
In recognition of the close ties between America's professional and amateur brewing communities, the Brewers Association and the American Homebrewers Association are pleased to present the 4th annual Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition Awards. There were 72 entries judged in the GABF Pro-Am this year, a nearly 25% increase from last year's number of entries. Entries were in 39 of the 78 categories of beer styles, and 21 states were represented in the competition this year.
Breweries who have recreated the award-winning homebrew recipes of members of the American Homebrewers Association submitted Pro-Am entries. Medals are awarded to both the professional and amateur brewers of the top three entries submitted to the competition.
Representatives of Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. and HopUnion, sponsors for the Pro-Am Competition, presented the awards.
| GABF Pro-Am Awards | Brew | Brewing Company | Professional and AHA Member Brewers |
| Gold | Herbal Joe's Columbarillo IPA | Chama River Brewing Co., Albuquerque, NM |
Brewmaster: Jeff Erway AHA Member: Ben Miller |
| Silver | Alright Already Amber | O'Fallon Brewery O'Fallon, MO |
Brewmaster: Brian Owens AHA Member: Jim Yeager |
| Bronze | Time of the Season | Upslope Brewing Co. Boulder, CO |
Brewmaster: Daniel Pages AHA Member: Brian Patterson |
GABF Networking 
The Great American Beer Festival has expanded the official website to include some great interactive features as well as social networking tools. When you register on the site you can build a list of breweries and events that you'd like visit during the festival, leave comments for breweries, and network with other GABF attendees. Visit GABF Networking to plan your GABF experience.
Follow us on Twitter and become a fan of the Great American Beer Festival on Facebook!
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