DENVER — Eight Los Angeles Co. brewers have entered the Great American Beer Festival competition this year. Doubling from last year's professional brewer entries, Beachwood, Eagle Rock, Ladyface and Rock Bottom have re-entered, joined by newcomers San Pedro, Golden Road, Haven and LAB Brewing.

The Great American Beer Festival is the Holy Grail of beer awards, honoring brewers with gold, silver and bronze medals in 84 categories of beer. With so many medals awarded (you do the math, we're word people) the odds of receiving such a distinction may seem high. Not so, with almost 676 brewers entering, 134 for the first time. The most popular categories, like American-Style IPA, can receive close to 200 individual beers for sampling. Competition is stiff and the stakes are high — and even the burliest, bearded brewers have been known to choke up some upon winning.

Julian Shrago of Beachwood; Credit: Erika Bolden

Julian Shrago of Beachwood; Credit: Erika Bolden

L.A. county beers on the floor of the GABF. Most beers available for tasting were submited for judging with the addition of numerous experimental and unreleased beers.

SAN PEDRO BREWING CO. (San Pedro)

-Port Town Pilsner

-San Pedro Pilsner

-San Pedro Kolsch

-San Pedro Spring Lager

-Terminal Island Black Lager

BEACHWOOD BBQ (Long Beach)

-Foam Top

-Knucklehead Red

-Melrose IPA

-Hop Ninja DIPA

-System of a Stout

EAGLE ROCK BREWERY (Los Angeles)

-Revolution XPA

-Populist IPA

-Manifesto Wit

-Unionist Belgian Pale Ale

-Solidarity Black Mild

GOLDEN ROAD BREWING CO. (Los Angeles)

-Point the Way IPA

-Wolf Among Weeds

-Get Up Offa That Brown

-Golden Road Berliner Weisse

-Golden Road Hefeweizen

HAVEN BREWERY (Pasadena)

-Brewmaster's Breakfast

-Sosigenes

-Haven Brown

-upRYEsing

ROCK BOTTOM (Long Beach)

-Patio

-Cyclone Light Lager

-Hot Pants Porter

THE LAB BREWING CO. (Agoura Hills)

-Bad Influence IPA

-Take Her Home Tripel

LADYFACE ALE COMPANIE (Agoura HIlls)

-Picture City Porter

-Ladyface® Red Rye

-Trébuchet Golden Farmhouse

-Chesebro IPA

-Blind Ambition Abbey

ISLAND BREWING CO. (Carpinteria)

-Avocado Honey Blonde

-NIght Sail

-Blackbird Porter

-Bourbon Barrel Aged Island Porter

-Epiphany Ale

TELEGRAPH BREWING CO. (Santa Barbara)

-Gypsy Ale

-Cerveza de Fiesta Pilsner

-Stock Porter

-California Ale

-Rhinoceros


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.


Want more Squid Ink? Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. Follow Erika live at the GABF on twitter @Erikabolden.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.