Brewers Association Champion Brewery Award (GABF)
Brewers Association · Boulder, Colorado, USA
AG Process Grade
Grade A See the Award rubric →The Champion Brewery award is produced automatically from GABF's blind-judged medal competition rather than through a separately purchased or solicited award process, and the Brewers Association is a verifiable, long-running nonprofit trade association (formed 2005, GABF running since 1982). Judge qualifications, judging process, and medal criteria are all published (https://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/brewers-information/gabf-competition/competition-information/), and entry fees are transparent ($185 members / $425 non-members, https://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/brewers-information/gabf-competition/eligibility-fees/). Selectivity is very high: only 4 Champion Brewery titles are awarded per year out of 1,555 competing breweries in 2025 (https://www.brewersassociation.org/association-news/2025-gabf-winners/). The main gap identified is that individual judges are not named publicly on the official site, even though the selection process and qualifications for judges are documented.
Founded 1982 · Brewers Association · HQ Boulder, Colorado, USA · Food & Beverage · Entry Paid
The Champion Brewery award is presented annually at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), a competition run by the Brewers Association, a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Champion Brewery titles (Champion Small Brewing Company, Champion Mid-Size Brewing Company, Champion Large Craft Brewing Company, and Champion Large Brewing Company) are awarded to the breweries earning the most medal points across GABF's blind-judged style categories in a given entrant-size tier; the award is not separately entered or submitted for, but is calculated automatically from competition results.
Profile data
| Organizer | Brewers Association |
| Location | Boulder, Colorado, USA |
| Entry fee | $185 |
| Cost to receive award | Undisclosed |
| Winner rate | Undisclosed |
| Selection authority | Juried |
| Data confidence | ● Fully documented |
| Official site | https://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/brewers-information/gabf-competition/competition-information/(nofollow) |
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Industry Alternatives
Other awards in the same industry (Food & Beverage), graded A or B -- real judging, disclosed criteria, and genuine selectivity.