Ohio Breweries Set New State Record at Great American Beer Festival

DENVER – Ohio has once again proven itself as a beer destination and has the hardware to prove it. Eleven of Ohio's independent craft breweries brought home a combined 21 medals at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival competition. Ohio's best showing at the annual event was in 2023, when 12 breweries combined for 19 awards. Held annually, more than 1,550 breweries from across the country submitted 8,300 of their best beers in hopes of earning national recognition.

Fat Head's Brewery earned a Brewery of the Year award in the 15,001-100,000 barrel division, bringing home five medals — two gold, one silver and two bronze — adding to their impressive medal count from the Great American Beer Festival. Since 2009, the Middleburg Heights brewery has won a whopping 35 medals at the annual competition. Goggle Fogger hefeweizen won its third gold medal in the past six years, while Battle Axe strong porter followed up its 2025 World Beer Cup gold award with a gold medal at GABF as well.

Cincinnati's Third Eye Brewing also took home a Brewery of the Year award, earning the most medals among breweries in the 2,001-5000 barrel division. Making their best showing at the event, Third Eye earned  two gold medals and one silver medal, as well as two collaboration beer medals: a gold with Hamilton, Ohio's Municipal Brew Works and a bronze with Narrow Path Brewing of Loveland, Ohio. Higher Consciousness earned a gold medal in the Scotch Ale category after also winning in gold at the 2025 World Beer Cup, while Gourd Darn It! improved its 2023 silver showing with a 2025 gold in the Pumpkin Beer category.

Brink Brewing continued their medal streak at the Great American Beer Festival with gold medals for Moozie in the Sweet Stout or Cream Stout category and Lil Zoomie in the Coffee Stout or Porter category. Moozie continues to rack up awards, earning a total of four gold and two bronze medals at the annual competition, in addition to a World Beer Cup gold award earlier in 2025 and a bronze award in 2018. Lil Zoomie, a coffee infused cousin of Moozie, finished just ahead of Third Eye's coffee stout, Wired Euphoria, which earned silver in the category. Brink has won at least one medal in each year of Great American Beer Festival competition since the brewery’s founding in 2017.

Gemüt Biergarten in Columbus and Rhinegeist Brewery in Cincinnati each made repeat trips to the medal stand at the 2025 competition, with each brewery taking home both a silver and a bronze. In addition to the collaboration bronze shared with Third Eye, Narrow Path Brewing earned their own silver medal for Polar Bear in the Coffee Beer category. 

Streetside Brewery in Cincinnati earned their second consecutive gold medal at the competition, this time for Sofa King, narrowly besting Bone Head from Fat Head's in the Strong Red Ale category.

Forbidden Root's Columbus brewery earned its first ever medal in the competition, a gold for Festhalle Munich-style Helles, just edging out crosstown friends Gemüt Biergarten in the category.

Northwest Ohio was represented on the medal stand by Inside the Five Brewing, earning a silver for Prepare for Glory English Ale. This is the Toledo brewery's second medal at the competition after winning a silver in 2023.

JAFB Brewery in Wooster earned their sixth GABF award, with their Hefeweizen bringing home a bronze medal in the same category for which Fat Head's earned gold for Goggle Fogger.

Since 1987, 65 Ohio craft breweries have combined to win 230 medals – 81 gold – at the Great American Beer Festival.

"This is a banner day for Ohio craft beer," said Mary MacDonald, executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. "Our breweries deserve so much recognition for the high-quality, world-class and award-winning beers they brew, as well as their innovation beyond beer and the ways they positively contribute to their local communities."
 
2025 medal-winning Ohio craft beers:

• Fat Head's Brewery (Middleburg Heights)
  • Battle Axe — Strong Porter — Gold medal
  • Goggle Fogger — South German-Style Hefeweizen — Gold medal
  • Bone Head — Strong Red Ale — Silver medal
  • Excursion Journeyman — Specialty Non-Alcohol Beer — Bronze medal
  • Hop JuJu — Imperial India Pale Ale — Bronze medal
• Third Eye Brewing (Cincinnati/Hamilton)
  • Gourd Darn It! — Pumpkin Beer — Gold medal
  • Higher Consciousness — Scotch Ale — Gold medal
  • Route 4 Revive-ALE — Collaboration Beer (with Municipal Brew Works) — Gold medal
  • Wired Euphoria — Coffee Stout or Porter — Silver medal
  • Mounds of Importance — Collaboration Beer (with Narrow Path Brewing) — Bronze medal
• Brink Brewing (Cincinnati)
  • Lil Zoomie — Coffee Stout or Porter — Gold medal
  • Moozie — Sweet Stout or Cream Stout — Gold medal
• Gemüt Biergarten (Columbus)
  • Helheim Helles — Munich-style Helles — Silver medal
  • Woden's Hunt — Munich-style Dunkel — Bronze medal
• Rhinegeist Brewery (Cincinnati)
  • Ring of Kerry — Munich-style Helles — Silver medal
  • Ghost Pils — Classic Non-Alcohol Ale or Lager — Bronze medal
• Forbidden Root (Columbus)
  • Festhalle — Munich-style Helles — Gold medal
• Streetside Brewery (Cincinnati)
  • Sofa King — Strong Red Ale — Gold medal
• Inside the Five Brewing (Toledo)
  • Prepare for Glory — English Ale — Silver medal
• Narrow Path Brewing (Loveland)
  • Polar Bear — Coffee Beer — Silver medal
• JAFB Wooster Brewery (Wooster)
  • Hefeweizen — South German-style Hefeweizen — Bronze medal

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.

Photos below (credit to Ohio Craft Brewers Association)

1) Fat Head's wins Brewery of the Year honors (15,001-100,000 BBL)

2) Third Eye wins Brewery of the Year honors (2,001-5,000 BBL)

3) Mark and Molly Landers of Brink Brewing pouring Moozie milk stout at Great American Beer Festival