Colorado breweries collected an impressive haul of accolades that this year’s U.S. Open Beer Championship, with one Denver beer maker placing second overall in the global competition.
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The Ohio-based contest announced the winners on July 15 via live stream on its Facebook page. In all, local breweries brought home 30 medals, up slightly from 29 medals in 2025. Thirteen of those were gold, nine of them silver, and eight were bronze.
The state’s big winner was River North Brewery in Denver with six medals, including four gold. The brewery, known for big and bold recipes, placed second overall in competition and earned the title of Brewery of the Year among beer makers that make 1,001 to 2,000 barrels per year.
“Taking home Brewery of the Year is an incredible milestone for our brewing team, but the real victory is doing it alongside the best peers in the business,” head brewer Matt Malloy said in an email statement. “Iron sharpens iron. It’s the constant drive, collaboration, advice, and creativity of our fellow Colorado brewers that push us to innovate and improve every single day.”
River North’s gold medal-worthy beers were Bucket of Bolts (strong ale), Nightmare Fuel (dark coffee beer), Single Cask Adrift on the Baltic (barrel-aged German lager/Baltic porter), and Matt’s Secret Stache (extreme beer). The company also scored a silver for Hello Darkness in the imperial porter category and a bronze for Effed Up Quad in the extreme beer category.
The extreme beer category, new this year, spotlights recipes that push the boundaries of brewing, the capabilities of yeast, and the fermentation process, Malloy said. The beers are required to be 15% ABV or higher. In addition to two medals in that category, Effed Up Quad impressed judges with its branding and was called out as one of the funniest-named beers.
The U.S. Open Beer Championship honors add to a large pile of recent accolades. In April, River North Brewery was the winningest Colorado outfit at the World Beer Cup and, last year, also earned a “brewery of the year” title from the prestigious Great American Beer Festival.
Bull & Bush Brewery of Denver also earned six medals — one gold, two silver, three bronze — at this year’s U.S. Open Beer Championship. Several others earned two medals, including Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co. in Lafayette, Old 121 Brewhouse in Lakewood, Gilded Goat Brewing Co. in Fort Collins and Vail Brewing Co. Liquid Mechanics got an additional shout-out for its Creamy Fookin’ Pints as one of the funniest-named beers.
See the list of Colorado winners below and peep the whole list at theusopenchampionships.com.
Gold
American Strong Pale Ale – Lucid AF, Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co., Lafayette
Australasian, Latin American or Tropical-Style Light Lager – MXL, Vail Brewing Co., Vail
Barrel Aged German Lager/Baltic Porter – Single Cask Adrift on the Baltic, River North Brewery, Denver
Barrel Aged Strong Beer – Royal Oil 2015 Vintage, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver
Belgian lambic and miscellaneous – Professor Funk 601, Gilded Goat Brewing Co., Fort Collins
Contemporary Gose – Unnamed Yet, Highside Brewing, Frisco/Fairplay/Breckenridge
Dark Coffee Beer – Nightmare Fuel, River North Brewery, Denver
English Summer Ale – Sasquatch Slobber, Cellar West Brewery, Lafayette
Extreme Beer – Matt’s Secret Stache, River North Brewery, Denver
German-Style Oktoberfest/Wiesn – Festbier, Littleton Brewing Co., Littleton
Nut Beer – Nutorious Pistachio Cream Ale, Platt Park Brewing Co., Denver
Specialty Honey Beer – Honey Kolsch, Bent Barley Brewing Co., Aurora
Strong Ale – Bucket of Bolts, River North Brewery, Denver
Silver
American Style Fruit Beer (Raspberry) – Razz Against the Cream, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver
Barrel Aged Strong Beer – Royal Oil 2018 Vintage, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver
Brown Porter – Porter, Mythmaker Brewing, Fort Collins
Extra Special Bitter – ESB, Old 121 Brewhouse, Lakewood
Fruit Wheat Beer (Tangerine) – Meandering Wheat, Gilded Goat Brewing, Fort Collins
Imperial Porter – Hello Darkness, River North Brewery, Denver
International Style Pale Ale – Pete’s Stash, Vail Brewing Co., Vail
Non Alcoholic Fruit & Spices – Tangerine Cream Non-Alcoholic, Station 26 Brewing, Denver
Non-Alcoholic Stout – Ceria Porter, Ceria Brewing Co., Arvada
Bronze
American Premium Lager – Old 121 Lager, Old 121 Brewhouse, Lakewood
American Stout – Creamy Fookin’ Pints, Liquid Mechanics Brewing, Lafayette
Barrel Aged German Lager/Baltic Porter – Woody Pils, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver
Barrel Aged Strong Stout/Porter – The Legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial Stout 2023 Vintage, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver
Extreme Beer – Effed Up Quad, River North Brewery, Denver
Foreign Stout – Spotted Dog Stout, Pumphouse Brewery, Longmont
German-Style German-Style Oktoberfest/Wiesn – Festbier – Los Dos Potrillos Cervecería, Castle Rock
Herb and Spice Beer – Dipped in French Toast, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver
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