Categories: Food & Drink

A Seattle brewery just won one of the nation’s most prestigious beer awards

Photo via Cloudburst Brewing's Instagram

Well folks it looks like Seattle is about to get put on the map for something more than tech and coffee. Seattle’s Cloudburst Brewing has won the “The Brewery and Brewer of the Year” at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Looks like it might just be time to grab a pint.

The Seattle brewery won the award for the small brewery category which is defined as brewing 1,001 to 2,000 barrels yearly. Cloudburst definitely lives up to the small brewery identity as they only have 7 full-time employees according to the Seattle Times. So you can imagine what a shock and also honor this was for the folks at Cloudburst.

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But it’s probably not too much of a shock to Seattleites as this brewery is well-loved. They’re known for creating unique brews and owner and head brewer Steve Luke was a 2020 James Beard semifinalist for “Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer”. So clearly the folks at Cloudburst know a thing or two about making good beer.

That being said, they weren’t the only local brewery to win at the Great American Beer Festival. In fact, 21 other medals went to breweries both in Seattle and across the state.

Aslan Brewing Co., gold, German Sour Ale: Disco Lemonade
Chainline Brewing Co., silver, Bohemian-Style Pilsner: Polaris Pilsner
Chuckanut Brewery, gold, German Style Kolsch: Kolsch
Cloudburst Brewing, gold, Kellerbier or Zwickelbier: Entschuldigung!
Elysian Brewing, gold, Pumpkin Beer: Night Owl
Fremont Brewing, silver, Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine: Brew 4000
Ghostfish Brewing Co., gold, Gluten-Free Beer: Watchstander Stout
Grains of Wrath Brewing, bronze, Session India Pale Ale: Ticklish Warrior
Grains of Wrath Brewing, gold, Munich-Style Helles: Frost Hammer Helles
Kulshan Brewing Co., silver, German Sour Ale: Gose
Kulshan Brewing, bronze, Munich-Style Helles: Helles
Loowit Brewing Co., bronze, Robust Porter: Grimlock
Lowercase Brewing, silver, English-Style Brown Ale: Brown Ale
Mirage Beer Co., silver, Field Beer: Versatile Solutions for Modern Living
Reuben’s Brews, bronze, Belgian-Style Witbier: Lilywhite Wit
San Juan Island Brewing Co., bronze, International Dark Lager: The Late Boat Czech-Style Dark Lager
Silver City Brewery, bronze, Old Ale or Strong Ale or Barley Wine: Old Scrooge
Stoup Brewing, silver, America-Style Pale Ale: Mosaic Pale Ale
Stoup Brewing, silver, American Amber/Red Ale: Stoup NW Red
The Good Society, gold, Belgian-Style Table Beer or Belgian Style Session Ale: First to Fall
Varietal Beer Co., silver, Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale: Sup Cuz IPA

If you’d like to check out all of the winners of the Great American Beer Festival you can click here. And if you’re looking to grab a drink this week, a visit to Cloudburst Brewing is definitely in order. Not to mention some tasty new IPAs will be hitting the taproom soon. You can click below to find out more.