Great American Beer Festival Named 2026 Champions

The event recognized nine breweries and cidermakers for excellence across different production volume categories.

Updated on Oct. 12, 2026 in Beer

Great American Beer Festival Named 2026 Champions

Live Poll

Do you prefer buying beer from local craft breweries over mass-produced national brands?

The Great American Beer Festival recently crowned champion breweries and cidermakers in nine categories based on annual production volume. The awards highlight the diverse landscape of American craft beverages, with winners hailing from a broad range of regions.

Why it matters

These awards provide a recognized benchmark for quality in the competitive craft beverage industry. Winning a title allows independent producers to demonstrate their standard of excellence to consumers and industry peers nationwide.

A total of nine entities received champion status, while medal-winning breweries represented 38 states and the District of Columbia. Leading performers included Breakside Brewery & Taproom with six medals and Snow Capped Cider with five.

The players

Great American Beer Festival

This annual event is a prominent competition and exhibition that showcases the diversity and quality of the American craft brewing industry.

Breakside Brewery & Taproom

This brewery based in Milwaukie, Oregon, secured the highest medal count of six during the 2026 competition.

Snow Capped Cider

This producer earned the Cidermaker of the Year award and secured five medals throughout the event.

Goose Island Beer Co.

This Chicago-based company is a well-known brewery that achieved the top status in the over 100,000 barrel production category.

The details

Champion status was determined based on annual production volume, ranging from small-scale producers in the 0-250 barrel category to large operations producing over 100,000 barrels. Winners included Mieza Blendery, UPP Liquids, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Craft Coast, Morgan Territory Brewing, Fieldwork Brewing Company, Breakside Brewery & Taproom, Goose Island Beer Co., and Snow Capped Cider.

The awards ceremony took place on October 10-11, 2026.

Culture Shift

The recognition of nine distinct champion categories reflects the industry's ongoing evolution toward valuing scale-specific excellence. By segmenting winners by barrel production, the festival highlights how craft beer culture embraces both hyper-local blendery operations and larger regional breweries.

Consumers across the country can identify the highest-rated producers in their region by reviewing the full list of medal winners from the 38 represented states. The awards offer a reliable guide for those looking to explore award-winning craft beers and ciders from local and national breweries.

The takeaway

The success of diverse breweries in this competition underscores the high level of craftsmanship currently available across the American beer market. Readers can use these results to discover new, highly-rated local products when shopping for craft beverages.