The GABF 2026 winners are in, and San Diego County breweries took home 12 medals, seven of them gold, at the first outdoor Great American Beer Festival. Oceanside’s Craft Coast was named Brewery and Brewer of the Year in the 1,001-2,000 barrel size class, one of three California breweries to win that title. The Brewers Association announced the results Sunday, Oct. 11, on stage at Levitt Pavilion in Denver, and the full list is on the official 2026 winners page.
The Bureau monitored the ceremony from a respectful orbit. Its findings: the fermentation colony known as San Diego County remains extremely competitive, and it now has larger medals to show for it.
GABF 2026 winners from San Diego County
Here is every medal the official list credits to a San Diego County city: seven gold, four silver and one bronze.
| Medal | Beer | Brewery, city | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Stay Calm | East Village Brewing Co., San Diego | Coffee Beer |
| Gold | Beatnik | East Village Brewing Co., San Diego | Coffee Stout or Porter |
| Gold | Beería | Craft Coast, Oceanside | English-Style Brown Ale |
| Gold | Oscura | Craft Coast, Oceanside | International Dark Lager |
| Gold | Silent G | 10 Barrel Brewing Co., San Diego | German-Style Koelsch |
| Gold | Brig Blonde | Ketch Brewing, San Diego | Golden or Blonde Ale |
| Gold | Inferno | The Lost Abbey, Vista | Other Strong Beer |
| Silver | Puesto Negra | Puesto Cerveceria, San Diego | International Dark Lager |
| Silver | NPBC10 Hazy Triple IPA | North Park Beer Co., San Diego | Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale |
| Silver | Oats | Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach | Sweet Stout or Cream Stout |
| Silver | Born Hoppy | TapRoom Beer Co., San Diego | West Coast-Style India Pale Ale |
| Bronze | Day Cruise | Ketch Brewing, San Diego | New Zealand-Style Pale Ale |
East Village Brewing Co. swept both coffee categories with Stay Calm and Beatnik. Craft Coast and Ketch Brewing each left with two medals; Ketch’s Brig Blonde took gold in Golden or Blonde Ale.
The Lost Abbey’s Inferno won gold in Other Strong Beer, less than three weeks after Tomme Arthur said the company is leaving its Vista brewery for a smaller home at the end of 2026. Earthlings packing up a brewery apparently still have time to win things.
One footnote: GABF lists 10 Barrel Brewing Co., the brand founded in Bend, Ore., under San Diego. Its East Village brewpub closed in December 2020, according to San Diego Beer News, so the Bureau is reporting the city as the official list gives it.
Craft Coast leads three California Brewery of the Year wins
California took three of the eight Brewery and Brewer of the Year titles, which are awarded by production size:
- Craft Coast (Oceanside), 1,001-2,000 barrels: golds for Beería and Oscura.
- Morgan Territory Brewing (Tracy), 2,001-5,000 barrels: golds for Fire Exit (Chili Beer) and Raven’s Home (Imperial Stout), plus two bronzes.
- Fieldwork Brewing Company (Berkeley), 5,001-15,000 barrels: gold for Day Money (Specialty Non-Alcohol Beer) and silvers for High & Fine (Hoppy Lager) and Rough & Tumble (Bock).
GABF credits Fieldwork’s brewer award to “The Ghost of Wade Boggs.” The Bureau has decided not to ask.
Every 2026 Brewery and Brewer of the Year
- 0-250 barrels: Mieza Blendery, Alexandria, Va. (Alex Lynch)
- 251-500 barrels: UPP Liquids, Bend, Ore.
- 501-1,000 barrels: Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, Colo.
- 1,001-2,000 barrels: Craft Coast, Oceanside, Calif. (Craft Coast Brew Team)
- 2,001-5,000 barrels: Morgan Territory Brewing, Tracy, Calif. (MTB Brew Crew)
- 5,001-15,000 barrels: Fieldwork Brewing Company, Berkeley, Calif. (The Ghost of Wade Boggs)
- 15,001-100,000 barrels: Breakside Brewery & Taproom, Milwaukie, Ore. (Team Breakside)
- Over 100,000 barrels: Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago
- Cidermaker of the Year: Snow Capped Cider, Austin, Colo. (Kari Williams & Dylan Stratman)
More California gold at GABF 2026
By the Bureau’s count of the official list, California entries won 81 medals in all, 24 gold, 26 silver and 31 bronze, counting cider and the Pro-Am. Other California golds included:
- Stone Brewing (listed in Paso Robles): Stone Cimmerian Portal, American or Export Stout
- Firestone Walker Barrelworks (Buellton): Flanders Red Ale, Belgian-Style or Spontaneous Sour Ale
- Green Cheek Beer Co. – Costa Mesa: Doom Sludge, Specialty India Pale Ale
- 8 Bit Brewing Co. (Murrieta, in Riverside County, so not in the table above): No Fly Zone, New Zealand-Style India Pale Ale
- Ogopogo Brewing (San Gabriel): Nachtkrapp, German-Style Schwarzbier
- Riip Beer Co. (Huntington Beach): Nueve Grados, Mexican-Style Light Lager
- Barebottle Brewing Co. (San Francisco): Power Plants, Imperial India Pale Ale
- Gowan’s Heirloom Cider (Philo): Honey Citron, Fruited Cider
In the Pro-Am, Torrance’s Smog City Brewing won bronze for Lunch Time! with homebrewer Joe St. John.
The first outdoor GABF
This was the first year the festival moved outdoors, to Levitt Pavilion, after years at the Colorado Convention Center (BeerAlien’s GABF 2026 preview has the details). Per All About Beer, it was also the first time festival-goers could watch the awards ceremony live during a public session. The ceremony was scheduled for 12:15 p.m. MT (11:15 a.m. PT).
Winners also received a larger, redesigned medal, which the Brewers Association introduced in September. “A GABF medal has always been hard to earn,” Brewers Association competition director Chris Williams said in that announcement.
Humans judge their beers blind, then hand the best ones heavier metal. From an alien anthropological perspective, this checks out.
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