Six New York state craft brewers took home medals this weekend at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, billed as the country’s largest “professional beer competition.”
One of the coveted medals went to New York Beer Project which has a location on S. Transit Road in Lockport. It won a gold medal for its Hazy Crush, the flagship IPA at the “Beer Lodge” — New York Beer Project’s location in Orchard Park. It’s also a New York state Gold Award winner.
“A major ‘Cheers’ is in order for our Director of Brewing Jason Crossett, and Head Brewer John Hyman,” read a post on the award on Facebook.
Hazy Crush, originally a Beer Lodge exclusive, has now been added to the taps at all New York locations.
Here’s the full list of New York state medal winners:
Gold
• Hazy Crush from New York Beer Project’s Beer Lodge, Orchard Park. Category: Experimental India Pale Ale
• Peach Silhouette from Hudson Valley Brewery, Beacon. Category: Fruited American Sour Ale
• Pleasantbrau Oktoberfest from Soul Brewing Co., Pleasantville. Category: German-style Maerzen
Silver
• Coconut Cluster from Heritage Hill Brewhouse, Pompey. Category: Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout
Bronze
• Bird Light Yuzu from Strangbird Brewery, Rochester. Category: American Fruit Beer
• Special Effects Grapefruit IPA, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn. Category: Specialty Non-alcohol beer
In all, 326 medals were awarded to 273 breweries (and hard cider makers) at the 2024 GABF. Medals were awarded in 102 beer categories and five cider categories (new to this year’s competition.). There were also Pro-Am and Collaboration categories.
The competition drew 8,836 commercial beer entries, 233 commercial cider entries, 95 collaboration entries, and 52 Pro-Am entries. The 285 judges reviewed beers from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.