At this year’s Great American Beer Festival, Denver breweries brought home enough medals to rival a small European country in the summer Olympics. Denver beer makers won nine medals in all, with Colorado brewers winning 39 medals overall. Consider that 222 judges from 10 countries awarded 268 medals across 90 categories, and it’s a pretty good haul for the Mile High City and the GABF's home state.

The only gold medal came in the Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale category, where Wit’s End Brewing Company won with its Jean-Claude Von Blond. The golden ale beat out 43 other entries for top honors. Since it’s one of the brewery’s “core” beers, it shouldn’t be too hard to procure a glass or two to see how it measures up to one’s own standards.

Silver medals went to the Comrade Brewing Company in the Fresh or Wet Hop Ale category for its Fresh Hop Superpower IPA, Lowdown Brewery + Kitchen in the Bohemia-Style Pilsner category for its Patio-Pounding Pilz, Platte Park Brewing Company in the Vienna-Style Lager category for Gumps, and Diebolt Brewing Company in the American-Style Brown Ale category for its Braggarts Brown Ale.

Bronze medals went to Blue Moon Brewing Company in the Specialty Honey Beer category for Honey Grand Cru, Former Future Brewing Company in the Experimental Beer category for Black Project No. 1, The Sandlot Brewery in the Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest category for Move Back, and Station 26 Brewing Company in the American-Style Cream Ale category for Colorado Cream Ale.

Some of the beers that won medals are seasonal or one-off brews while others are year-round or standard productions. It’s best to check availability before trekking out for a taste.

In all, judges at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival adjudicated 5,507 beers from 1,309 breweries hailing from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Photo © Brewers Association