Third Eye Brewing Company continues to reign in the awards, as they won Brewery of the Year at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival. The win comes on the strength of four medals, including two golds, a silver, and a silver in collaboration with Narrow Path.
The golds came in the Herb and Spice Beer (Chai Eye Captain) and Chocolate Beer (Double Astral) categories, with the silver coming in the Pumpkin Beer category for Gourd Darn-It.
Third Eye had previously won a gold medal for Higher Purpose in the Sweet Stout or Cream Stout category in 2021, and this brings their GABF total to five medals. Double Astral has also previously won a pair of medals at the U.S. Open Beer Championship in 2022 and 2023.
They’ve become one of the most awarded young breweries in the country, including winning 3rd place overall at the U.S. Open in 2022. Their head brewer Kelly Montgomery also previously won Very Small Brewery of the Year two years running during his time at Brink in 2018 and 2019.
Third Eye won Brewery of the Year in the 1001-2000 Barrels category, but they won’t be in the category for much longer, as the upcoming launch of their second location in Hamilton is expected to increase their capacity to around 10,000 barrels.
Brink also got in on the medal fun for a seventh straight year, continuing their streak of winning a GABF medal during every year of their existence. They won a gold medal in the Coffee Stout or Porter category for Lil Zoomie, a yet to be released “little brother” version of their 2022 GABF gold medal winning Zoomie. They also won yet again in the Sweet Stout or Cream Stout category with Moozie, this time taking a bronze. That beer has three previous GABF golds (2018, 2019, 2020), a World Beer Cup gold (2018), and three U.S. Open medals (gold in 2017 and 2020 and silver in 2018). The two medals bring their GABF total to ten in seven years.
Cincinnati’s two largest breweries also won medals, as Rhinegeist took home a gold in the New Zealand IPA category for Kiwi (The Bird), and MadTree took home a bronze in the Light Lager category for Legendary Lager. It’s the third medal and first gold for Rhinegeist, and the third overall medal for MadTree after previously winning a pair of golds. Legendary Lager also won a silver medal at the World Beer Cup in 2022.
Taking home their first GABF medals was Loveland’s Narrow Path, who took home a silver medal for Restless Seas in addition to the collaboration silver medal with Third Eye for Mounds of Importance, a coconut version of the multiple medal winner Higher Purpose. Restless Seas also previously won at both the World Beer Cup and U.S. Open.
Ohio Craft Beer won a state-record 19 medals at GABF, with more than half coming from Cincinnati area breweries. Other big winners were perennial medal favorites Fat Heads (three medals) and Hoppin’ Frog, as well as new medal winners Eudora, Inside the Five, Noble Creature, and Seventh Son. Previous winners Brew Brothers and Royal Docks also returned to the medal stand.
Here’s a full list of awards won by Cincinnati-area breweries:
Brink Brewing Co.
Lil Zoomie (Coffee Stout or Porter) – Gold Medal
Moozie (Sweet Stout or Cream Stout) – Bronze Medal
MadTree Brewing Company
Legendary Lager (Light Lager) – Bronze Medal
Narrow Path Brewing Company
Restless Seas (German Sour Ale) – Silver Medal
Mounds of Importance (Collaboration Beer – With Third Eye) – Silver Medal
Third Eye Brewing Company
Brewery of the Year (1001-2000 Barrels)
Chai Eye Captain (Herb and Spice Beer) – Gold Medal
Double Astral (Chocolate Beer) – Gold Medal
Gourd Darn-It (Pumpkin Beer) – Silver Medal
Mounds of Importance (Collaboration Beer – With Narrow Path) – Silver Medal
Rhinegeist Brewery
Kiwi (The Bird) (New Zealand IPA) – Gold Medal