Georgia breweries pick up honors at Great American Beer Festival

Several Georgia breweries were honored with medals at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Georgia winners were:

• Creature Comforts, Athens, GOLD Medal: “Classic City Lager,” American Pilsener
• Awkward Brewing, Fayetteville, SILVER Medal: “East of Line Kriek,” Belgian Fruit Beer
• Monday Night Brewing, Atlanta, SILVER Medal: “Madrigal,” Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
• Silver Bluff Brewing Company, Brunswick, SILVER Medal: “River Delta Czech Pils,” Bohemian-Style Pilsener
• StillFire Brewing, Suwanee, SILVER Medal: “College Dropout,” Contemporary American-Style Lager
• Cherry Street Brewing, Cumming, BRONZE Medal: “That Coconut Porter,” Field Beer
• Creature Comforts, Athens, BRONZE Medal: “10th Anniversary Barleywine,” Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Strong Beer
• RockSolid Brewing Co., Ball Ground, BRONZE Medal: “Beauty is in the Rye of the Beholder,” Rye Beers

“We are incredibly proud of our Georgia breweries for their outstanding achievements at GABF,” Joseph Cortes, Executive Director of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild, said in a release. “These awards underscore the dedication of Georgia’s brewers to producing world-class beer and their vital contributions to local economies and communities across the state.”

The competition is the nation’s largest and most esteemed beer competition.

Several craft breweries have recently closed in Georgia, with many blaming over-regulation. The landscape prompted the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild to launch a petition last year urging lawmakers to support fair and open market access.

However, earlier this year, Georgia lawmakers killed a measure craft brewer advocates said would have allowed them to sell more of their products directly to consumers, marking the second year in a row the push has died.