7 Illinois Breweries Medal At Great American Beer Festival

ILLINOIS — Seven Illinois breweries won medals this past weekend at the Great American Beer Festival that wrapped up Saturday in Denver.

The festival is the nation’s largest for professional brewers and hands out some of the industry’s most sought-after accolades. The festival ran over nine days, with 250 beer experts from 10 countries serving as judges.

Judges evaluated nearly 9,445 entries from 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, including collaborations between professional breweries and pro-am collaborations from professionals and amateurs. Among those, 303 medals were awarded to 263 breweries across 99 categories and 175 beer styles. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded.

In Illinois:

• Gold Medal winner: Alt 140, Sew Hop’d Brewery, Huntley, captured gold in the German-style Altbier category
• Gold Medal winner: Little Wing, Horse Thief Hollow Brewing, Chicago, captured gold in the International-style Pilsener category
• Silver Medal winner: Helles Rauchbier, Double Clutch Brewing, Evanston, captured silver in the Smoke Beer category
• Silver Medal winner: Boathouse Reserve Imperial Stout, Crystal Lake Brewing, Crystal Lake, captured silver in the Experimental Wood-Aged beer category.
• Bronze Medal winner: Grodziskie, Sketchbook Brewing, Skokie, earned bronze in the Historical Beer category
• Bronze Medal winner: Lil’ Space Booties, MORE Brewing, Huntley, earned bronze in the Juicy or Hazy IPA category
• Bronze Medal winner: Barrel Aged Count Chungus, Werk Force Brewing, Plainfield, earned bronze in the Wood and Barrel-aged Strong Stout category