The results are in and once again Washington’s brewers showed well at the U.S. Open Beer Championship. Reuben’s Brews led the way for our local breweries, earning three medals this year. Six Washington breweries earned two medals each. In all, Washington breweries brought home a total of 18 medals. That’s an impressive haul given the number of breweries in the U.S. (roughly 10,000) and the number of beers submitted for judging this year (over 9,000). See the list of Washington winners.
The competition was stiff this year. Breweries across the nation sent in more than 9,000 beers. Judges evaluated beers representing more than 150 beer styles. You can see the complete list of winners and learn more about the competition here.
Top 10 Medal-Winning Breweries
This year the Grand National Champion was Sun King Brewery of Indiana (pictured above). That brewery earned the most, the highest awards this year: four gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.
- Sun King Brewery, Indiana
- Shoe Tree Brewing, Nevada
- Third Eye Brewing, Ohio
- Monday Night Brewing, Georgia
- Pilot Brewing, North Carolina
- Vallensons’ Brewing, Texas
- Moonraker Brewing Company, California
- Bonds Brewing, Wyoming
- DC Brau Brewing, Washington, DC
- Forgotten Star Brewing, Minnesota
- (tied for 10th) Primeval Brewing, Indiana
Washington’s Medal Winners
As is always the case with these types of beer events, we do not know who did and did not enter beer for judging. If your favorite brewery did not win a medal, perhaps it’s because they didn’t submit any beer. All we know is who won.
Reuben’s Brews won three medals. Several Washington breweries brought home two medals each: Fremont Brewing, Haywire Brewing, Boundary Bay Brewery, Sound to Summit Brewing, Old Stove Brewing, and Ghostfish Brewing.
- American Pale Ale. SILVER: Boundary Bay Brewery – Reefnetter Pale Ale
- American Strong Pale. SILVER: Reuben’s Brews-Taproom Hop Tropic
- Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale. SILVER: Fremont Brewing – Sky Kraken
- New England/Hazy IPA. SILVER: Reuben’s Brews – Alpenglow
- Light IPA/Session IPA. BRONZE: No-Li Brewhouse – Threezy Does It
- ESB. BRONZE: Haywire Brewing Co. – Cheeky Bloke
- English Barleywine. GOLD: Reuben’s Brews – Taproom Three Ryes Men
- American Amber/Red. SILVER: Sound to Summit Brewing – Night Sky Red Ale
- California Common. SILVER: Haywire Brewing Co. HillBilly Deluxe
- Italian Pilsner. BRONZE: Rueben’s Brews – Italian Pilsner
- Heller Bock/Maibock. GOLD: Dru Bru – Maibock
- India Pale Lager (IPL). GOLD: Boundary Bay Brewery – Multiplayer IPA
- American Style Fruit Beer – POG. SILVER: Sound to Summit Brewing – Hawaiian POG Kolsch
- Barrel Aged Dark Beer. SILVER: Old Stove Brewing – BA Smoke Show
- Barrel Aged Strong Beer. BRONZE: Fremont Brewing – BBOMB
- Barrel-Aged Barley Wine – American. SILVER: Old Stove Brewing – BA Castaway – WA
- Gluten-Free Beer. GOLD: Ghost Fish Brewing Company – Seduced By Fun Hazy IPA
- Gluten-Free Beer. SILVER: Ghost Fish Brewing Company – Watchstander Stout