Denver's Best Gabf-Winning Beer: Where To Buy

The Great American Beer Festival is the premier U.S. beer competition, awarding medals to the finest beverages in over 100 beer and cider styles. The festival is a celebration of craft beer, cider, cocktails, hard lemonades, teas, and seltzers. The 2024 festival saw Colorado breweries take home 38 medals, with 34 different brewery locations celebrating awards. So, where can you buy GABF-winning beer in Denver?

Denver taprooms with GABF-winning beers

Denver is home to a plethora of taprooms serving up GABF-winning beers. Here is a guide to some of the top spots to visit:

River North Brewery

River North Brewery is a Denver staple when it comes to GABF-winning beers. This brewery has taken home medals from the Great American Beer Festival multiple times, including a gold medal for their Foggy London Town porter and a silver for their Midnight Hike chocolate beer. Their taproom offers a variety of their innovative and award-winning brews, such as the Pumpkin Spice J. Marie, a silver medal winner in the Pumpkin Beer category, and the gold medal-winning Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun, a coffee beer.

Westbound & Down Brewing

Westbound & Down Brewing is another powerhouse in the Denver craft beer scene, having taken home multiple medals from the GABF for three consecutive years. Their taproom is the perfect place to sample their gold-winning Infinity Pils, a hoppy lager, and their silver medal-winning Spirit of the West IPA. They also offer a unique range of creative brews, such as the Don't Hassel the Hef, a South German-style hefeweizen that took home a silver medal.

Banded Oak Brewing

For a unique and elegant beer experience, Banded Oak Brewing offers a gold-winning Ye Old Ale, aged for a year in Colorado whiskey barrels. Their taproom provides a cosy and inviting atmosphere to savour this exceptional beer.

Seedstock Brewery

Seedstock Brewery is the place to be during the Oktoberfest season. Their gold medal-winning Oktoberfest Marzen is a perfect example of the style and is available on tap at their taproom.

Call to Arms Brewing

Call to Arms Brewing is the proud winner of a silver medal for their Cherry Freedom Fries saison at the Great American Beer Festival. Their taproom also offers a fresh hop edition of the Janet Reno's Dance Party IPA, which is definitely worth a try.

Blue Moon Brewing

Blue Moon Brewing is a well-known name in the beer world, and their taproom in Denver is a must-visit. They were awarded a silver medal for their Barrel Aged Maibock, a German-style lager, at the GABF.

Denver's taproom scene is vibrant and ever-evolving, with new and exciting beers always on offer. These taprooms provide the perfect opportunity to sample some of the best beers that the city and the Great American Beer Festival have to offer.

Where to buy GABF-winning beers in grocery stores

If you're looking to buy GABF-winning beers in Denver, you're in luck! The Great American Beer Festival is held in the city and features a wide range of award-winning craft beers. While you can, of course, sample these beers at the festival, many are also available year-round in grocery and liquor stores across the city and beyond.

Avery Brewing in Boulder, for example, has two winning beers that are widely available in stores: the classic flagship White Rascal ale, which won gold, and its passion fruit-infused cousin, which took silver. Banded Oak Brewing in Denver also has its gold-winning Ye Old Ale on tap, and you can find cans of the Wreak Havoc imperial red from Bootstrap Brewing in Longmont, which won gold, in stores across Colorado.

If you're looking to try something from a smaller brewery, Call to Arms Brewing in Denver has its silver medal-winning Cherry Freedom Fries saison on tap, and Diebolt Brewing Co. has a silver-winning barleywine called The Populator on tap, with an aged 2018 vintage also available. For something a little different, try the green chile honey kölsch at Bent Barley Brewing in Aurora, which includes Pueblo chiles and Colorado honey, or the Sawtooth Ale from Left Hand Brewing, another Colorado classic, which is widely available and won gold at GABF.

GABF-winning beers in Colorado whiskey barrels

If you're looking for GABF-winning beers aged in Colorado whiskey barrels, Banded Oak Brewing in Denver is the place to go. Their Ye Old Ale, a gold-winning beer at the Great American Beer Festival, was aged for a year in Colorado whiskey barrels and is currently on tap.

Banded Oak Brewing isn't the only brewery in Colorado with award-winning beers, though. The 2023 festival saw a variety of beers take home medals, many of which are still available to try. For instance, you can find the silver-winning Kurt's Mile High Malt coffee lager, brewed using a recipe created by Kurt Vonnegut's grandfather, at Wynkoop Brewing Co. in downtown Denver. Over at 14er Brewing, also in Denver, you can try their bronze-winning Piña Colada Milkshake IPA on tap, but it's only available for a limited time.

If you're looking for something more widely available, the gold-medal-winning White Rascal ale from Avery Brewing in Boulder can be found in grocery and liquor stores across Colorado. Avery Brewing's silver-winning passion fruit-infused ale is also widely available. Another beer you can find in stores throughout the state is the gold-winning Wreak Havoc imperial red from Bootstrap Brewing in Longmont.

For those who want to visit taprooms, there are plenty of options. Call to Arms Brewing in Denver has its silver-medal-winning Cherry Freedom Fries saison on tap. Diebolt Brewing Co., also in Denver, earned a silver medal for its barleywine, The Populator, which is available on tap as an aged 2018 vintage. Seedstock Brewery, also in Denver, won gold for its Oktoberfest Marzen, which is currently being served.

GABF-winning beers in cans

If you're looking to sample some GABF-winning beers in cans in Denver, you're in luck! Many of the medal-winning beers from the Great American Beer Festival are available in cans and sold across Colorado. Here are some options to look out for:

Wreak Havoc Imperial Red from Bootstrap Brewing

This beer won gold at the festival and is widely available in cans around Colorado. You can find it on tap at the brewery in Longmont as well.

Sawtooth Ale from Left Hand Brewing

Another Colorado classic, this ale won gold at GABF and is available in all forms across the state.

Mexican Lager from Lone Tree Brewing

This flagship beer won a silver medal and is widely available on taps and in cans.

Big Sippin' Imperial Sour Ale from Odell Brewing

Released in cans and tulip glasses, this beer won a silver medal at the festival.

Old Chub Scotch Ale from Oskar Blues Brewery

A bronze medal winner, this beer is available in cans and on tap in Longmont.

Prost Pilsner from Prost Brewing

Also available on tap and in cans, this widely distributed beer won a silver medal.

Featherweight Pale Ale from Cannonball Creek Brewing

Winning a gold medal, this beer is brewed in Golden, Colorado.

Midnight Hike Chocolate Beer from River North Brewery

Found in Denver, River North Brewery won a silver medal for this beer.

Wibby Jibby Pilsner from Wibby Brewing

This beer won a gold medal and is available in cans and on tap in Longmont.

Ye Old Ale from Banded Oak Brewing

Aged for a year in Colorado whiskey barrels, this gold-winning beer is available on tap at the brewery in Denver.

Luna Nueve Mexican Export Lager from Cheluna Brewing and Prost Brewing

A collaboration between the two breweries, this gold medal winner is available on tap at the Cheluna taproom in Stanley Marketplace and both Prost taprooms.

So, whether you're looking to visit a taproom or purchase some cans from a store, there are plenty of options to enjoy GABF-winning beers in Denver and across Colorado.

GABF-winning beers in taprooms

The Great American Beer Festival is the premier US beer competition, and thousands of beers from over 500 breweries are poured at the festival each year. The festival takes place in Denver, and many of the GABF-winning beers can be found in taprooms across the city.

Many of the GABF-winning beers can be found in taprooms across Denver. For instance, the downtown taproom of Wynkoop Brewing Co. serves Kurt's Mile High Malt coffee lager, which earned a silver award and is on tap for a limited time. The recipe for this unique beer was created by Kurt Vonnegut's grandfather.

Call to Arms Brewing in Denver pours the Cherry Freedom Fries saison, which earned a silver medal at the festival. The taproom also offers a fresh hop edition of the Janet Reno's Dance Party IPA.

Diebolt Brewing Co. in Denver earned a silver medal for its barleywine, The Populator. The taproom currently has an aged 2018 vintage on tap.

Seedstock Brewery in Denver earned a gold medal for its Oktoberfest Marzen, which is on tap now.

Denver's Rock Bottom Brewery won gold for its Foggy London Town porter, which is available on tap.

Denver is also home to the River North Brewery, which won a silver medal for its Midnight Hike chocolate beer.

In addition to these taprooms, Denver also offers a variety of craft breweries and beer gardens, such as the Austin Beer Garden, which serves refreshing pilsners and helles lager.

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