7 Arizona breweries win big at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival

Seven Arizona brewers took home seven medals at the Great American Beer Festival’s awards on Saturday in Denver.

Breweries and cideries from around the country gathered in Colorado for the colossal tasting event and awards, which are among the most coveted in the craft beverage world. This year, 8,315 beers and ciders were entered into the competition, representing beverages made in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The Brewers Association awarded 347 medals to 273 breweries and cidermakers at the 39th edition of the awards.

“There were extremely strong showings from numerous breweries and cidermakers across the U.S., maximizing the level of competition among the entire competition community,” Chris Williams, the competition director for the Brewers Association, said in a press release.

The festival “sets the bar” for brewing, and for the second year, cidermaking, Williams said.

This year marks a return to form for Arizona. In 2024, Arizona breweries and cideries were shut out, failing to receive any medals for the first time since 1995. In 2023, the state’s brewers scored five medals. 

Phoenix’s winning beers and brewers:

O.H.S.O. Brewery
Bronze medal for Herb and Spice Beer: Sudoku
335 N. Gilbert Road, #102, Gilbert

O.H.S.O. Brewery’s Gilbert brewhouse scored its second medal for Sudoku. The brewer received a silver medal for the beer in 2021. The Japanese-style rice lager is brewed with lemongrass, fresh ginger and green tea.

Pinnacle Brewing Co. 
Bronze medal for German-style Maerzen: Ludwig
15111 Hayden Road, #100, Scottsdale

Pinnacle Brewing Co. is just over a year old. For the brewer’s first foray into the GABF Awards, it came up big with a bronze medal for its seasonal Maerzen (also commonly spelled Marzen). The toasty amber lager is named in honor of the Ludwigsvorstadt District of Munich, the home of Oktoberfest, according to a press release from Pinnacle. The brewery was recently named Phoenix New Times’ 2025 Best New Brewery.

Saddle Mountain Brewing Co.
Bronze medal for Scottish-style Ale: Clan-Destine
15651 W. Roosevelt St., Goodyear

Goodyear’s Saddle Mountain Brewing Co. is one of the Valley’s most-awarded brewhouses. Its Clan-Destine Scottish Ale is a big reason why. This is the sixth medal the brewery has received for the sweet, malty ale, which is balanced with a light note of hops. This bronze medal will hang next two other bronzes, received in 2020 and 2022, and three golds, garnered in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Six Byrd Cider Co.
Bronze medal for Botanical or Spiced Cider: Cranberry Spice
3619 E. Indian School Road
1920 E. University Drive, #101, Tempe

Six Byrd Cider Co. netted its first GABF medal this weekend. The cidery has crafted straightforward and inventively infused ciders in Phoenix since 2019. Six Byrd expanded with a second taproom in Tempe in April. Cranberry Spice is among Six Byrd’s seasonal pours, brewed with cardamom, allspice, cinnamon and clove.

These three Arizona brewers also took home hardware:

Dragoon Brewing Co.
Silver medal for Wood- and Barrel-aged Beer: Tequila Barrel-aged Saison Blue
1859 W. Grant Road, #111, Tucson

LazyG Brewhouse
Bronze medal for Italian-style Pilsner: M.O.E.
220 W. Leroux St., Prescott

Slow Body Beer Co.
SIlver medal for American-style Lager: Pal
831 E. 17th St., Tucson

See the full list of winners here.