Northern Colorado Winners at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival

At the very first Great American Beer Festival, Colorado's premier beer-related event, only 800 people attended. The 2026 event saw over 7,500 people attend, with five breweries/cideries around Fort Collins taking home awards.

'On Golden Pond' was in theaters in June of 1982 when the first Great American Beer Festival (GABF) was held in Boulder; over four decades later, people were talking about the movie 'Digger' and whether it was good or not. For the 2026 GABF, 225 judges cast their own votes on over 7,200 entries.

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The 2026 GABF was held outdoors for the first time, at Levitt Pavilion in south Denver; it was a beautiful weekend for tasting beer. They have not decided yet on where the 2027 event will be held; you can't always count on favorable weather, that's for sure.

Which Northern Colorado Breweries Won at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival?

• Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co. (Lafayette): Bronze: El Pablono Barracho (chili beer), Silver: Kolch (German-style Kölsch). Liquid Mechanics has won nearly 90 different awards since opening in 2014.
• New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins): Silver: Trippel (Belgian-Style Tripel). Trippel also won this award in 2021.
• Sweet Heart Brands (Loveland): Gold: Spiced Apple (Botanical or Spiced Cider). Sweet Heart Winery took over Climb Hard Cidery in late 2025.
• Verboten Brewing & Barrel Project (Loveland): Silver: Coconut GO (Field Beer), Gold: Grow Old With You (Field Beer).
• The Well in Wellington: Gold: Altbier (Classic Gluten-Free Ale or Lager). The Well, which only brews gluten-free beers, has currently paused operations.

While the craft beer industry may be seeing fewer beer drinkers these days, the state's brewers are still producing great beers; in many cases, they're producing more beers.