Urban Artifact won fourth place overall at the 2023 US Open Beer Championship on the strength of three gold medals. The Northside fruit and sour-based brewery took home the top prizes in the Pineapple (Kaleidoscope), Mixed Berry (The Gadget), and Vegetable (Pickle) categories. All three beers are regularly available and The Gadget is available to ship to most states in their online store. Although Urban Artifact had previously won four medals at the US Open, these are their first gold medals at the competition.
Overall 18 Cincinnati area breweries won a total of 33 medals, including 12 gold, 12 silver, and 9 bronze. That included an impressive sweep in the Nut Beer category, with Listermann taking both gold and silver and Streetside taking bronze.
Although Urban Artifact won the most gold medals, they weren’t the overall medal leader for Cincinnati breweries. That designation was shared by Nine Giant and Third Eye, who won four medals each. Nine Giant now has nine US Open medals and Third Eye has 15 despite only being open since 2020.
Big Ash followed up a gold medal in the Vienna-Style Lager category at Great American Beer Festival with a gold at the US Open for Symphony. They also won a silver medal for Fat Chants in the Belegian Quadrupel category. The same beer won a bronze medal in 2021. Big Ash now has five total US Open medals.
After winning a bronze medal in 2021, Cartridge took home a gold medal for Hollowpoint in the Tea Beer category. They now have five US Open medals including three gold.
Two local breweries won their first major medals, as Bellevue, Kentucky’s Darkness took home a silver medal in the Gold Stout category for Mayan Sacrifice and California’s Dead Low took home a bronze medal in the Historical Beer category for Kick It Kotbusser.
Fretboard‘s Bootsy Brewski took home an award in the Brut IPA for the fifth year in a row, as the beer won a silver medal. It has previously won three golds and a silver, including winning as “Soundcheck” in 2019.
Listermann now has a dozen US Open medals after winning both the gold and silver medal in the Nut Beer category with Chickow! Coconut Fudge and Ichor: Zeus. MadTree isn’t far behind them with ten after winning a bronze in the Tea Beer category for Porch Swing. Loveland’s Narrow Path has also become a mainstay on the US Open medal stand, with a dozen medals now after winning a gold and bronze this year. Streetside is also in double digits with ten medals overall including three this year.
Municipal‘s Approachable Blonde now has three US Open medals in the English Summer Ale category, as they took home a gold after winning gold in 2020 and silver in 2021.
Update: Sonder‘s Voss was not originally noted in the official winner’s list for their gold medal win in the German Kolsch category, but the US Open updated the results to reflect their win. Voss also won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup earlier this year.
Here’s the full list of awards won by Cincinnati-area breweries:
Big Ash Brewing Company
Symphony (Vienna-Style Lager) – Gold Medal
Fat Chants (Belgian Quadrupel) – Silver Medal
Brink Brewing Co.
Levelled Up (Barrel Aged Barley Wine) – Bronze Medal
Cartridge Brewing
Hollowpoint (Tea Beer) – Gold Medal
Cincinnati Beverage Company
Little Kings Cream Ale (American Cream Ale) – Silver Medal
The Common Beer Co.
Common Denominator (Strong Bock/Doppelbock) – Silver Medal
Some Like It Mild (English Mild Ale) – Bronze Medal
Darkness Brewing
Mayan Sacrifice (Golden Stout) – Silver Medal
Dead Low Brewing
Kick It Kotbusser (Historical Beer) – Bronze Medal
Fretboard Brewing Company
Bootsy Brewsky (Brut IPA) – Silver Medal
Grainworks Brewing Company
My Blue Heaven (American Berry/Fruit Beer – Blueberry) – Gold Medal
Lime Coconut Donut Gose (Fruit Gose/Contemporary Gose) – Silver Medal
HighGrain Brewing Co.
Black N Blue (American Berry/Fruit Beer – Mixed) – Silver Medal
Listermann Brewing Company
Chickow! Coconut Fudge (Nut Beer) – Gold Medal
Ichor: Zeus (Nut Beer) – Silver Medal
MadTree Brewing Company
Porch Swing (Tea Beer) – Bronze Medal
Municipal Brew Works
Approachable Blonde (English Summer Ale) – Gold Medal
Narrow Path Brewing Company
Tri-Kettle Tripel (Belgian Tripel) – Gold Medal
Edges of Light (Experimental Beer) – Bronze Medal
Nine Giant Brewing
Heavy Metal Drummer Rum (Rum Barrel Aged Beer) – Gold Medal
Easy Tiger (German Kolsch) – Bronze Medal
Happiness is All the Rage (Berliner Weisse) – Bronze Medal
Brilliant Corners (Barrel Aged Quad/Belgian Dark) – Bronze Medal
Sonder Brewing
Voss (German Kolsch) – Gold Medal
Streetside Brewery
Jungle Mindflayer (Coconut Beer) – Gold Medal
Apple Brandy BA Vanilla Marshmallow Speak of the Devil (Pastry Stout >8% ABV) – Silver Medal
BA Fraudulent Activity (Nut Beer) – Bronze Medal
Third Eye Brewing Company
Dark Aura (Peanut Butter Beer) – Gold Medal
Spacetoast (Imperial Stout Specialty) – Silver Medal
Double Astral (Chocolate/Cocoa Beer) – Silver Medal
Kelly’s Private Stash (Barrel Aged Barley Wine) – Silver Medal
Urban Artifact
#4 Overall Brewery
Kaleidoscope (American Berry/Fruit Beer – Pineapple) – Gold Medal
The Gadget (American Berry/Fruit Beer – Mixed) – Gold Medal
Pickle (Vegetable Beer) – Gold Medal