Ohio Breweries Win Big at Great American Beer Festival

Ohio Breweries Return to Form at National Competition

11 breweries combine for 13 medals at Great American Beer Festival

DENVER – Ohio craft breweries showed off their mettle at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony, held on Friday, Sept. 10. After bringing home a total of nine medals last year, the Ohio delegation scored a total of 13 honors at the nation’s most prestigious brewing competition.

JAFB Wooster Brewery and Hoppin’ Frog Brewery paced the field of Ohio entrants with two medals each at the 2021 competition. JAFB’s Hefeweizen struck gold in the German Wheat Ale category. The brewery’s JAF IPA earned a silver medal in the American-style India Pale Ale category, the beer’s second award after earning a bronze medal in 2019. JAFB brewer Paul Fryman has now earned a total of five medals at the annual competition.

Akron’s Hoppin’ Frog Brewery picked up a gold medal for Pentuple in the Belgian-style Strong Specialty Ale category, the beer’s second award after earning bronze in 2019. The brewery also scored a bronze medal this year for Frogichlaus Swiss-style Celebration Lager in the German-style Doppelbock or Eisbock category. Brewer Fred Karm’s Great American Beer Festival medal count increases to eight with this year’s wins.

Cincinnati’s Brink Brewing continued their medal streak with a gold for Father G’s Bees in the Honey Beer category. The brewery has won at least one medal in each year of competition since its founding in 2017.

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing from Columbus earned a third consecutive medal for Daybreak, scoring a silver in the Coffee Beer category. The beer won gold in 2020 and silver in 2019.

Masthead Brewing from Cleveland won the silver medal for Midwest Red IPA in the Strong Red Ale category. The beer has now earned a gold, silver and bronze at the competition, and Masthead’s brewery medal count increases to four overall.

Six Ohio breweries scored their first medal wins in 2021. Third Eye Brewing from Sharonville won gold for Higher Purpose in the Sweet Stout or Cream Stout category. Port Clinton’s Twin Oast Brewing becomes the first northwest Ohio brewery to earn a Great American Beer Festival medal, a silver for Oast House Reserve: Meet Your Maker in the Wood- and Barrel-aged Strong Stout category. Eighty-Three Brewery brings a silver medal home to Akron for Berliner Nice! in the Specialty Berliner-style Weisse category. The Brew Brothers Eldorado Scioto Downs Racino and Gemüt Biergarten – both of Columbus – and Mason’s Sonder Brewing each earned bronze medals at this year’s competition, which featured 9,680 entries from 2,192 breweries across the nation.

Since 1987, 56 Ohio craft breweries have combined to win 175 medals – 57 gold – at the Great American Beer Festival.

“THIRTEEN!” exclaimed Mary MacDonald, executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. “With all that our state’s breweries have had to endure in the past year and a half of working through the pandemic, a result and return to form like this is a real triumph in the face of adversity. Ohio’s reputation as a truly great beer state continues to grow due to their tireless effort to the craft.”
 
2021 medal-winning Ohio craft beers:
JAFB Wooster Brewery:
• Hefeweizen – Gold, German Wheat Ale
• JAF IPA – Silver, American-style India Pale Ale

Hoppin’ Frog Brewery:
• Pentuple – Gold, Belgian-style Strong Specialty Ale
• Frogichlaus Swiss-style Celebration Lager – Bronze, German-style Doppelbock or Eisbock

Brink Brewing:
• Father G’s Bees – Gold, Honey Beer

Third Eye Brewing:

• Higher Purpose – Gold, Sweet Stout or Cream Stout

Eighty-Three Brewery:
• Berliner Nice! – Silver, Specialty Berliner-style Weisse

Masthead Brewing:
• Midwest Red IPA – Silver, Strong Red Ale

Twin Oast Brewing:
• Oast House Reserve: Meet Your Maker – Silver, Wood- and Barrel-aged Strong Stout

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing:
• Daybreak – Silver, Coffee Beer

The Brew Brothers Eldorado Scioto Downs Racino:
• Toasty – Bronze, English Mild or Bitter

Gemüt Biergarten:
• Golem Czech Pils – Bronze, German-style Pilsener

Sonder Brewing:
• French 75 – Bronze, Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer

Founded in 2007, the Ohio Craft Brewers Association is a nonprofit guild that exists to promote, preserve and unify Ohio’s craft brewing industry. We aspire to be recognized as the industry leader at both state and national levels for preserving the art of making high-quality, unique craft beer; to serve as the unified voice for craft brewers across the state; to advocate on behalf of the Ohio craft beer industry; to contribute to systemic, local community development by driving economic and job growth, while creating experiences that bring people together; to promote safe, responsible enjoyment of Ohio craft beer; and to serve as a beacon for local production and manufacturing through craft beer, resulting in diverse choices for consumers.