Mashing-In News: GABF 2025 Medals, Beer Writers Medals
GOOD MORNING, SOUTH PUGET SOUND!
Monday, Oct. 13, 2025 — Sammy Hagar turns 78 today!
Today’s craft beer world feels like a living tap list of triumphs and transformations — from the Pacific Northwest’s medal haul at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival to a Berliner Weisse resurrection in Berlin, from bold new voices in beer journalism to a collective call for clarity, crispness, and smaller cans — proof that whether through brewing, writing, or innovation, the culture of beer remains restless, radiant, and deliciously alive.
Built for Speed, Brewed for Glory: PNW Triumphs at GABF 2025
The 2025 Great American Beer Festival crowned the Pacific Northwest once again, as Washington and Oregon transformed hops, barley, and rain into pure gold—sweeping categories from IPAs to sours, lagers to stouts, proving that while the rest of the country brews beer, the Northwest brews mythology. (Peaks & Pints)
Oregon Wins Big at GABF 2025—UPP Liquids Outshines 10 Barrel
Oregon brewers once again flexed their creative muscle at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival, hauling in 29 medals—led by Tonya Cornett’s triumphant new venture UPP Liquids with five wins, outpacing her former employer 10 Barrel by seven medals, as Grand Fir, pFriem, Breakside, Von Ebert, Hopworks, Monkless, and Alesong all added to the state’s glittering haul. (Beervana)
America’s Best Brews Crowned: 2025 GABF Winners Announced in Denver
The Brewers Association crowned 273 breweries and cideries with 347 medals at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival, where Fat Head’s, Westbound & Down, and UPP Liquids dominated with five medals each, and Allagash Brewing, Gowan’s Heirloom Cider, and a slate of standout small producers earned top Brewery and Cidermaker of the Year honors from among 8,315 entries spanning all 50 states. (ProBrewer)
The Brewer Who Brought Berliner Weisse Back from the Dead
In Berlin, Ulrike Genz and her tiny Schneeeule Brewery have resurrected true Berliner Weisse from near extinction—reviving its mixed-culture magic with help from Schultheiss’s last master brewer, ancient brewing logs, and living strains of Brettanomyces—restoring a style once thought lost to industrial neglect and memory’s fade. (Beervana)
North American Guild of Beer Writers Honors 2025 Winners
The North American Guild of Beer Writers honored the finest voices in global beer storytelling at its 11th annual awards, with Kate Bernot named Writer of the Year, VinePair crowned Publisher of the Year, and Shana Solarte & Jenny Pfafflin recognized as Emerging Voices — celebrating 78 authors across 18 categories for elevating the art, science, and soul of beer. *(The Reporter’s Notebook)
The Case for Beer’s Comeback: Clarity, Crispness, and a 12-Ounce Can
After decades as America’s social glue and personal ritual, beer faces an identity crisis — declining sales, overhopped gimmicks, and tallboy fatigue — but its revival may lie in simplicity: fewer double IPAs, more drinkable lagers, clearer labels, and a return to what made beer beautiful in the first place. (New York Times)
Beyond the Numbers: Why Beer Is More Than Chemistry
Beer may be brewed in numbers — OG, ABV, IBUs, SRM — but it’s lived in sensations, where balance, complexity, and quality dissolve into something impossible to define, proving that great beer isn’t chemistry alone, but communion between brewer and drinker. (Craft Beer & Brewing)
Brewing the Future of Play: How Soft2Bet Gamifies iGaming Like Craft Beer
Like a master brewer crafting the perfect pint, iGaming innovator Soft2Bet is redefining online gaming through gamified engagement, data-driven personalization, and modular design—blending creativity, technology, and player insight to turn every spin, bet, and bonus into a repeat-worthy experience. (San Diego Beer News)
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
