Sep 26, 2023

| UPDATED: September 25, 2023 at 7:43 p.m. Longmont-based Wibby Brewing took home the award for brewery and brewer of the year at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. The three-day festival, which occurred Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Colorado Convention Center, welcomed brewers and beer lovers from all over the country, including several from Longmont. Wibby Brewing won the brewery and brewer of the year award for breweries that produce between 5,001 to 15,000 barrels a year, which equates to about 10,000 to 30,000 kegs. “It’s all about teamwork here,” Ryan Wibby, Wibby Brewing president and brewmaster, said Monday. “One person can’t do one thing without the other person doing their job.” Having opened during Labor Day weekend in 2015, Wibby Brewing recently celebrated its eighth anniversary at 209 Emery St. The brewery and taproom are located in a repurposed truck maintenance facility site for the former Butterball Turkey plant. “We find that winning medals at the Great American Beer Festival is one of the best ways we can market our product,” Wibby said. Wibby, who was born in Gunbarrel, became particularly interested in beer making while studying chemistry at Ithaca College in upstate New York. He went on to gain experience working at breweries across the country and completed a six-month certified brewmaster course in Berlin, Germany. Wibby Brewing also won a gold medal for its Wibby Jibby beer in the American pilsner category, which had 141 entries. “It definitely drinks nice, light and crisp like a pilsner should,” Wibby said. “But, it has that American craft beer … hop, aroma and flavor.” Several other Longmont-area breweries — Knuckle Puck Brewing, Left Hand Brewing Co., Bootstrap Brewing, Pumphouse Brewery & Restaurant, and Oskar Blues Brewery & Tasty Weasel Taproom — took home medals at this year’s Great American Beer Festival too. Knuckle Puck’s Blown Tire won gold in American amber/red ale. Left Hand’s Sawtooth Ale won gold in English mild or bitter. Bootstrap’s Wreak Havoc won gold in strong red ale. Pumphouse’s Forager IPA won silver in experimental India pale ale. And Oskar Blues’ Old Chub Scotch Ale won bronze in the Scotch ale category. Avery Brewing in Boulder took home gold for its White Rascal in the Belgian-style witbier category; and silver for Island Rascal in the Belgian fruit beer category. Westbound & Down Brewing Co. in Lafayette won silver for its Spirit of the West in the New Zealand India pale ale category; and won bronze for The Coloradan in American cream ale. Liquid Mechanics Brewing Co. in Lafayette won silver for its Cerveza Mecanica in the American pilsner category. “It’s incredible. There’s … a lot of great breweries here,” Wibby said. “I was really happy to see so many of them take home some medals this past weekend.” Wibby Brewing beertender Eddie Raley, left, talks with customers at the taproom bar in front of a wall of taps in Longmont on Monday. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)