The Great American Beer Festival is done and dusted. The annual gathering awards members of the sprawling craft beer movement and generally paints a detailed portrait of the state of the industry at large. This year, there were a few key takeaways.
It’s a big event. This year, some 347 awards were doled out at the annual Denver-based event. That’s good enough for the biggest beer festival in the United States.
Breweries from far and wide took part, looking to get some attention for unique beer styles, a mastery of the classics, or something in between. While we didn’t attend this year’s GABF, we paid close attention. Some things stood out more than others.
Colorado and Oregon show very well
The two craft-leading states took home numerous prizes and continue to collectively spearhead the movement. Colorado fared well all over the map at the fest, and perhaps it’s no wonder. The state has become a leading player in the scene and benefits from beer-loving cities in close proximity to world-class grains, malts, and the like, part of the lifeblood of beer.
In Oregon, it’s similar; only beer-heavy cities like Portland benefit most from being so close to hop country. But there’s more to it, as both states have a serious built-in beer culture that only seems to be evolving still. Other states so often look to these two for a creative nudge in the craft brewing circuit.
Cider nudges forth
Cider continues to make headway: It’s being taken more seriously than ever, and some great options are coming out of multiple states. While it’s never really exploded (and may not), the industry is growing, both domestically and internationally. Just recently, we crowned the first perfect cider at the prestigious NW Cider Cup. Five cider categories made up the 2025 GABF, and there was even a cidermaker of the year designated to 2 Towns Ciderhouse in the Willamette Valley.
The categories are getting specific, too, which means producers are really nerding out over the stuff. The single varietal category is perhaps the most intriguing, especially if you’re a fan of wine. This year’s gold in that department went to Colorado’s Haykin Family Cider.
More and more NA categories
It remains the best time ever to drink non-alcoholic beer. But we might be saying the same thing next year, as the category continues to both improve and widen. Within the NA realm at GABF 2025, there were categories set aside for amber to dark, pale, and specialty. Deschutes Brewery took home gold for its cool collaboration beer with Patagonia. Resident Culture out of Charlotte won in the pale category, and Seattle’s esteemed Fremont Brewing won in the amber to dark category. Expect to see a continued rise in options and style categories into 2026 and beyond.
Honey beer to make a comeback?
Honey beer might be making a comeback. It only made up a single category at GABF, but the plurality of submissions and the reinvigorated interest in honey bode well for the beer style. Gold went to Hachimitsu Mai, a honey beer from West Coast brewery Deschutes, in beautiful central Oregon. This may be a stretch, but we’re thinking this beer genre has a real chance. This is mainly due to the fact that the concept of terroir is now playing a large role in honey and local apiaries are flexing their wares all over the U.S. Look out for cool new options in the coming years.
Ohio and Texas clean up
Combined, Ohio and Texas took home an impressive 40 medals. That’s pretty remarkable for a pair of states not known much beyond, say, Great Lakes Brewing and Jester King Brewery. Both states have really nurtured the scene, so much so that Columbus, Ohio, was just named the best craft beer city in the nation.
According to the Brewers Association, the Lone Star state had nearly 450 breweries in 2023. While the aforementioned names are still big players, other figures are taking on some notice, like Noble Beast Brewing in Cleveland and Lone Mountain Brewing Co. in Driftwood.
German, Mexican, and New Zealand styles fly high
The prominence of German, Mexican, and New Zealand-style beers was reinforced at the fest. German seems to make sense, as it’s practically the cradle of beer civilization and the inspiration for countless breweries all over the planet. The others point to other trends, namely lighter lagers (Mexican) and interesting new IPAs (New Zealand). The former is all about crisp and refreshing beers that still leave you functional. The latter is all about celebrating new hop varieties, so many of which are coming out of New Zealand.
There’s now a full-on New Zealand IPA category at GABF and this year the gold went to Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. of Golden, Colorado (home of Coors).
Take a look at the entire list of 2025 GABG winners here.
