The below is the list of the 2020 NAGBW Awards and links to their works (when / where applicable).

Best Beer Review:

• Big Two Hearted — The Fascinating Story of Bell’s Iconic IPA by David Nilsen, Pellicle Magazine
• Brut Strength: A New Lost Abbey Venture by Ian Cheesman, West Coaster San Diego
• Where the Wild Things Are — The Joy of Harvey’s Sussex Best by Matthew Curtis, Pellicle Magazine

They also announced an honorable mention for: A Wake-Up Call — Mikkeller’s Beer Geek Breakfast by Jonny Garrett, Good Beer Hunting

Best Short Form Writing:

• Dirt Roads and Dead Deer – Kros Strain Brewery’s Vienna Lager by Mark Spence, Good Beer Hunting
• Meet The 99-Year-Old Who’s Still Volunteering at Union Craft Brewing by Michael Stein, Washington City Paper
• Cranberries in your beer? For Thanksgiving, look for styles that balance the tannic and tart fruit by Zak Stambor, Chicago Tribune

Best Book:

• Craft: An Argument by Pete Brown
• A Brief History of Lager: 500 Years of the World’s Favourite Beer by Mark Dredge
• Historical Brewing Techniques: The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing by Lars Marius Garshol

They also announced an honorable mention for: Denver Beer: A History of Mile High Brewing by Jonathan Shikes

Best Historical Writing:

• Flying With Clipped Wings — West Kerry Brewery, County Kerry, Ireland by Breandán Kearney, Good Beer Hunting
• Pandemic, Interrupted — A Besieged Beer Scene in 1918 Milwaukee by Brian Alberts, Good Beer Hunting
• Craft Beer’s Unlikely Alchemist by Theresa McCulla, Gastronomica

Best Technical Writing:

• The Intersection of Finance and Data by Douglas Veliky, Beer Crunchers
• Foeder Gatherers — Tracing the Growing Popularity of Beer’s New Favorite Vessel by Lily Waite, Good Beer Hunting
• A Fire Being Kindled — The Revolutionary Story of Kveik, Norway’s Extraordinary Farmhouse Yeast by Claire Bullen, Good Beer Hunting

They also announced an honorable mention for: Welcome to Fringe Division — The Innovative Malting Technology That’s Producing Better Beer by Matthew Curtis, Good Beer Hunting

Best Beer and Food Writing:

• Craft Cousins: Beer & Chocolate by David Nilsen, Cacao Magazine
• Malts and Meats: Crafting Beer-Based Barbecue by John Carruthers, Craft Beer & Brewing
• Native Vinegar Co. is just starting, but it already has thousands of workers by Bob Batz Jr., Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With an honorable mention for: Michelin-starred Band of Bohemia isn’t Chicago’s best brewery — but here’s why it’s among the most essential by Josh Noel, Chicago Tribune

Best Beer Travel Writing:

• Amazing, Quirky Beers of Lithuania by Jeff Alworth, Beervana Blog
• If you want craft beer in Munich, it’s pure Helles by Martyn Cornell, Zythophile Blog
• Where the Streets are Paved with Bottle Caps — Exploring Berlin’s Nascent Craft Beer Scene by Lily Waite, Good Beer Hunting

An honorable mention for: A Lifetime Spent Weathering the Storm — Adnams Brewery in Suffolk, U.K. by Adrian Tierney-Jones, Good Beer Hunting

Best Beer Business Writing:

• Colorado Loses HQ: Why Molson Coors Had to Leave – and What Denver is Learning in Its Wake by Ed Sealover, Denver Business Journal
• Chicago craft breweries scramble amid coronavirus downturn, trying to react to a crisis they don’t quite understand by Josh Noel, Chicago Tribune
• Coming in Hot With the Cold Snacks — How Montucky Became the Most Successful Beer Brand You’ve Never Heard Of by Kate Bernot, Good Beer Hunting

An honorable mention was also given to: Healthier Booze: It’s a Lifestyle (Trend) by Joe Stange, Craft Beer & Brewing

Best Beer Criticism, Essay, and / or Commentary:

• Under the Influence by Beth Demmon, Caña Magazine
• Mutated Anxieties — Living (and Parenting) While Black in the Face of Law Enforcement and COVID-19 by Jamaal Lemon, Good Beer Hunting
• Craft, Community, and Children: The State of Parenting in the American Beer Industry by Beth Demmon, CraftBeer.com

Best Beer Blog:

• Larsblog by Lars Marius Garshol
• Zythophile by Martyn Cornell
• Pints and Panels by Em Sauter

Best Beer Podcast, Radio, Broadcast, or Audio:

• Good Beer Hunting Podcast by Good Beer Hunting Staff, Good Beer Hunting
• Beerlandia Podcast by Jeremy Storton, 1859 Oregon’s Magazine
• Beer Sessions Radio by Jimmy Carbone, Heritage Radio Network

An honorable mention was given to: Cabin Fever by Eoghan Walsh, Brussels Beer City

Best Local Beer Reporting:

• Bringing Everyone in — How Temescal’s Queer First Fridays Became One of Beer’s Most Inclusive Events by Ashley Rodriguez, Good Beer Hunting
• Gravity of the Situation — Has 450 North Addressed Its Quality Control Issues … and Does Anyone Care? by Kate Bernot, Good Beer Hunting
• Beer industry burnout brings lauded Texas brewer to Chicago for a new chapter and a new project, Keeping Together by Josh Noel, Chicago Tribune

Honorable mention: The Pursuit of Freshness — Admiral Maltings in Alameda, California by Alyssa Pereira, Good Beer Hunting

Best National or International Beer Reporting:

• Crisis at the Fire Front — Australia’s Brewing Industry Deals with Disaster as Bushfires Rage by Luke Robertson, Good Beer Hunting
• Say It Out Loud — Who Do Breweries Talk About When They Talk About “Community”? by Kate Bernot, Good Beer Hunting
• Embracing Tradition — To Create a Style for the Future, South African Brewers Look to the Past by Lucy Corne, Good Beer Hunting

You can read more about the awards given, the NAGBW in general, at The Reporter’s Notebook:

• Reporter’s Notebook

To read more about the Pennsylvania GABF Winners, click here:

• 2020 Pennsylvania GABF Winners

For more beer industry news, you can view our articles on the following:

You can read about more brewery closures here:

• Stoudt’s Brewing Closing
• Crystal Ball Brewing Closes
• Voodoo Brewery Lancaster Closes
• Spigot Brewing Closes
• Full Pint Brewing Closes
• Night Shift Brewing Cancels Expansion
• Mikkeller Brewing NYC Closes Permanently

And in better, happier news, check out our articles on brewery openings:

Be sure to check out our other articles on brewery openings:

• A Sneak Preview of Rubber Soul Brewing (Hummelstown)
• Midwest Coast Brewing Opens (Chicago)
• Rally Point – Cox Brewing Taproom Opens (Elizabethtown)
• Boneshire Brew Works to Open Second Taproom in Harrisburg (Harrisburg)
• Irv’s Pub Rebranded as Rotunda Brewing Pub (Hershey)
• Official BBQ (Pizza Boy Secondary Location) (Rutherford)
• Pilger Ruh Brewing Needs Your Help (Pottsville)
• Highway Manor Brewing Co. (Camp Hill)
• Grand Opening: Rubber Soul Brewing Company (Hummelstown)
• Tap Room Opening: Howling Henry’s Brewery (Hummelstown)

Hopefully, someday soon, maybe I’ll have some writing nominated, or at least even read by the NAGBW. One can only hope, fingers crossed, toes crossed, etc.

Until then, make sure to follow us and share us please. Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

As always, thanks for reading, stay safe!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

2020 has been a challenging year (to say the least) for all kinds of events, conventions, brew fests, and other large beer related activities. Hell, Oktoberfest in Germany was cancelled this year. That alone should tell you everything you need to know about this year right there.

So the 2020 edition of GABF was not the normal (great) event it normally is. This year it went virtual (due to the pandemic) rather than being the fantastic event that brings in thousands of people and millions of gallons of beer to Colorado.

This was a rather lackluster year for awards in Pennsylvania as well. Sadly; this year, Pennsylvania only won three awards. One gold, and two silvers. Contrast that to last year’s seven awards won by Pennsylvania breweries (three gold, three silver, and one bronze). Hopefully 2021 will be a better year for Pennsylvania breweries (and not just in medalling at the GABF).

The results for Pennsylvania are below:

GOLD:

Category: Gluten-Free Beer
Brewery: Aurochs Brewing
Beer: Aurochs Hazy IPA

SILVER:

Category: English Mild or Bitter
Brewery: Wallenpaupack Brewing
Beer: English Pale Mild Ale

Category: English-Style Brown Ale
Brewery: Attic Brewing
Beer: Bloodhound Brown Ale

In 2019, Pennsylvania breweries that won included: New Trail Brewing Co, The Church Brew Works, 2SP Brewing, Free Will Brewing, Cellar Works Brewing, Swashbuckler Brewing Co, and Helltown Brewing Company.

You can read about the 2019 results here: 2019 GABF Winners: Pennsylvania.

For more information on the winners, of all of the different categories, you can read the Brewers Association press release on it, with a detailed analysis at the following link: Winners of 2020 Great American Beer Festival (Brewer’s Association Press). 272 medals were decided for 240 different breweries this year, which was the 34th edition of the event.

“Judges for the 34th edition of the celebrated competition evaluated 8,806 entries from 1,720 breweries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Socially distanced judging took place in 35 sessions over 18 days with strict safety measures in place. The awards ceremony was held virtually on Friday evening, kicking off the two-day online programming portion of the Great American Beer Festival.  

“This year’s GABF competition may have looked a little different, but the beers entered into the competition were as impressive and innovative as ever,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, Great American Beer Festival. “This has arguably been one of the most challenging years breweries have ever faced, so we hope these awards serve as a symbol not only of brewing excellence but also the resiliency of the craft brewing community as a whole.” (Brewer’s Association)

As per the above article, a quick run-down of statistics from the 2020 GABF Event:

GABF Competition Statistics

• 34th edition of the GABF competition  
• 8,806 beers judged 
• 1,720 breweries in the competition from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. 
• 115 judges from 21 states 
• Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 97 
• Category with the highest number of entries: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (377) 
• 272 total medals awarded  
• 240 medal-winning breweries  
• 337 first-time GABF entrants 
• 19 first-time GABF winners 

Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis, Indiana, won the most awards at this year’s event with 4 awards total. (One gold, and three bronzes.) In November, I am making a road trip out of Pennsylvania and through Western PA, Ohio, and into Indianapolis to visit the Vonnegut Museum and Library. I can definitely tell you that Sun King Brewery will be a stop for me at some point on that trip (they’ve been on my radar for quite a bit).

Cheers and here’s to hoping that 2021 is a much better year for our home state breweries in Pennsylvania. Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried any of the 2020 award winning beers. And check out the full article and let us know what you think of the results from around the country.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Cheers!

-B. Kline