These Are The Best Beers In America, According To The 2026 Great American Beer Festival
October 12, 2026 | Hudson Lindenberger
More than 7,200 entries competed for medals at this year’s Great American Beer Festival. From IPAs and lagers to stouts and experimental brews, here are the beers and breweries that came out on top.
Each October, Denver turns into the epicenter of American brewing, as the country’s top beer makers descend on the city for the Great American Beer Festival—one of the most anticipated showdowns in the industry. For breweries, snagging a medal here is more than just a shiny trophy; it’s a ticket to wider fame and some serious bragging rights in a crowded field. For the rest of us, the results double as a cheat sheet to the best beers being brewed coast to coast.
This year’s festival, run by the Brewers Association, saw a whopping 7,267 entries—beer, cider, and hop water—from 1,300 breweries and cideries spanning 49 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Over three days, 225 judges tasted their way through the lineup, handing out 336 medals to 243 breweries and cideries. The winners were revealed on October 11 at Denver’s Levitt Pavilion, capping off another year of fierce competition between scrappy neighborhood outfits and some of the biggest names in the business.
“The submissions from this year’s competition continue to reflect just how far American brewing and cidermaking have come,” said Chris Williams, competition director for the Brewers Association. He pointed to the addition of new categories and the quality of the entries as evidence that the industry continues to experiment and refine its craft, even as the broader beer business faces considerable challenges.
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More Gold Medal Winners Worth Seeking Out
With hundreds of medals handed out, there are way more winners than any one article could possibly cover. Still, a few extra gold medalists are worth seeking out—especially if you’re ready to branch out beyond the usual IPA and lager suspects.
Feral Garden Gnome by Liability Brewing Co., South Carolina for Belgian-Style Abbey Ale
Find the full article at Forbes.