Great American Beer Festival – best beers and ciders of 2026

Denver | Breweries and cideries from across the U.S. won 336 medals at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival competition, which took place at Denver's Levitt Pavilion from 10–11 October.

Over three days, 225 judges evaluated 7267 beer and cider entries from 49 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The field included 54 collaboration entries and 30 Pro-Am entries.

"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. "The addition of multiple new styles and unique concepts like the Craft Malt Beer and Hop Water categories gave producers fresh ground to explore. The overarching quality presented by so many of the contenders underlines how intensive the judging process is and how competitively these contenders rise to the occasion with entries that pushed each category forward. GABF remains one of the most competitive stages in craft beer, and these winners represent the very best our industry has to offer. Congratulations to this year's medalists."

A full winners list is available at www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com.