Oceanside Breweries Win Medals At Great American Beer Festival

OCEANSIDE, CA — San Diego County breweries, including breweries in Oceanside, took home five gold medals and 18 medals overall at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival.

The nation's biggest professional brewing competition was held over the weekend in Denver, Colorado. Last year, San Diego area breweries won three gold medals and 15 medals overall.

"Our breweries showed incredibly well once again in the Mile High City," said Erik Fowler, executive director of San Diego Brewers Guild.

"It seems like every year we justify our moniker as The Capital of Craft, and I couldn't be happier for the medal winners and the entire San Diego craft beer scene," Fowler said. "Even with summer over, the beer-drinking weather doesn't really stop, and I hope San Diegans will go out and support all their favorite breweries whether they won a medal or not. There are extraordinarily talented people in America's Finest City making the finest beer around."

The 41st Great American Beer Festival, which was presented by the Brewers Association, included roughly 9,300 entries within 100 different categories. More than 2,000 breweries entered the competition, and the medals were awarded by over 200 certified judges and members of the brewing industry.

The gold medal-winning breweries were:

• Ballast Point Brewing Company (Little Italy): Barometer Drop in "Strong Porter" category
• Belching Beaver Brewery in Oceanside (Oceanside): Tropical Terps IPA in "Experimental IPA" category
• BNS Brewing and Distilling (Santee): Gatling Gun in "Imperial Stout" category
• East Village Brewing Company (San Diego): IZOLA Kvass in "Historical Beer" category
• TapRoom Beer Company (North Park): PB Haze in "Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale" category

The silver medal-winning breweries were:

• Bagby Beer Company (Oceanside): Herd of Turtles in "Strong Porter" category
• Burgeon Beer Company (Carlsbad): Carlsbad Crush in "International-Style Pale Ale" category
• Modern Times Beer (Point Loma): Mega Devil's Teeth: Double Dutch S'mores Edition in "Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout" category
• North Park Beer Company: X-Raying Flowers in "Juicy or Hazy Imperial IPA" category
• Pizza Port Ocean Beach: Giullaume in "Session Beer or Belgian-Style Table Beer" category
• Rouleur Brewing Company (Carlsbad): DOMESTIQUE Blonde Ale in "Belgian-Style Ale or French-Style Ale" category
• Rip Current Brewing (North Park): Breakline Bock in "Bock" category

The bronze medal-winning breweries were:

• AleSmith Brewing Company (Miramar): Nut Brown in "English-Style Brown Ale" category
• Breakwater Brewing Company (Oceanside): Rye Dawn in "Rye Beers" category
• Fall Brewing Company (North Park): Tora! In "International-Style Pilsener" category
• Modern Times Beer (Point Loma): Chaos Grid: The Final Final Course in "Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout" category
• Second Chance Beer Company (Carmel Mountain): Fistful of Gummies in "Fruited Sour" category
• Second Chance Beer Company (Carmel Mountain): Tabula Rasa in "Robust Porter" category