Houston brought home some hardware this year. Both OGs and newcomers joined the ranks.
The Great American Beer Festival, or GABF as it’s commonly referred to, is the who’s who of the craft beer world. While there are many national and even global competitions, none are as important and prestigious as GABF. Held annually in Denver Colorado, this festival draws thousands of attendees and tens of thousands more following alongside online to see if their hometown heroes brought home the hardware.
We’re proud to say that several of ours did. The Houston GABF Winners 2019 list is pretty long, and we’re thankful to see it.
Saint Arnold wins a medal every single year, it seems. Usually one of their medals is for Pumpkinator. This year was no different. We’ll be busting open a bottle as soon as we get back from GABF to celebrate in their honor.
The fact that they win so often makes us wonder why other OG breweries in Houston don’t enter. The fact that newer breweries like Eureka Heights, Holler, and Great Heights have medaled makes us wonder why everybody doesn’t enter!
Great Heights showed up for their first of what will surely be many. None of us on the team are on the #BIL bandwagon, but that medal has us all putting our preferences aside for a taste of that Bourbon Legend Barrel Aged Barleywine. These guys have been making killer beers since day 1, and this medal doesn’t come as a surprise at all.
SpindleTap showed that they’re not just a one trick pony with a medal for their ESB, Honey Hole. We’ve been rooting for them long before the haze craze, and it’s vindicating for us to see them win it for something other than an IPA. (I think that means we were on to something. Shrugs)
While in Denver for GABF, we met up for lunch at Falling Rock Taphouse with James Simpson and Chad Pilbeam of What’s on Tap Radio, Erica from Under the Radar, Odell from Brew Bros HTX, Jorge Venegas from Specs, Leo Longoria from SpindleTap and Texas Beer Experience, and Mike Jorge.
While we were there, Leo shared with us that he hoped Honey Hole would get a medal. It’s a good beer, and the recipe has gotten even better under Garrison’s watch. It’s pretty cool that Leo got his wish. Now everybody can start asking for kegs of GABF SILVER MEDAL WINNING Honey Hole.
2019
Saint Arnold Pumpkinator Bronze Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer
The Village Brewery Resolution Ale Gold English Old Ale/Strong Ale
Houston Brewery IPA Bronze English Style (Extra Special) Strong Bitter
Houston Brewery Stout Gold Foreign Style Stout
Houston GABF Winners 2019: You Gotta Play to Win
In conclusion, GABF was a ton of fun to attend, and it’s even cooler to have seen all of our hometown heroes bringing home the hardware. GABF tickets go on sale well in advance and details can be found here. I’d book flights and lodging well ahead because it’s slim pickings for AirBnBs and hotels during the busy tourism season.
Beers to you, Houston.
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Anthony's a Houston native, a Creative Strategist at https://ledgeloungers.com/, an adjunct instructor of Visual Communication at Lone Star College, and a UH Coog that loves good beer almost as much as he does his city. Anthony lives to help others and that's found a home helping some of the coolest breweries on earth with creative and marketing projects that can be seen on our Portfolio page. Fueled by hoppy lagers, sessionable IPAs, and gangster rap, he's ticked his way through H-Town, rocking the most unusual Nikes he can find. When he's not writing for us, he's with his family or very patiently rooting for the Rockets.
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