Sudwerk’s lager wins gold medal at Great American Beer Festival; 3 others earn bronzes

In the world of craft beer, new isn’t always better.

Sudwerk Brewing, one of the Sacramento area’s longest-running breweries, was the only one to earn a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver over the weekend. The Davis brewery’s Märzen was named the best American-style amber lager of the bunch after winning a silver medal last year.

Sudwerk also won bronze for The People’s Pilsner, a bohemian-style pilsner. The brewery at 2001 2nd St. has won 15 GABF medals since it was founded in 1989.

Auburn-based Moonraker also won a bronze for best Belgian-style blonde or pale ale, and Big Sexy got the same for its Gifted Gunslinger, an imperial red ale. California breweries won 68 medals in total, including bronzes for Feather Falls Brewing Co. (Oroville) and FiftyFifty Brewing Co. (Truckee).

Breweries from around the country submitted nearly 9,500 entries, up about 1,000 from last year, to the festival’s 107 categories. Each submission cost $160.

Click here for a complete list of 2019 GABF winners.

This story was originally published October 8, 2019 at 4:00 AM.