25 Seattle breweries win big at the Washington Beer Awards

Seattle's booming craft beer scene was well represented at the 8th annual Washington Beer Awards which were held earlier this month at Elliott Bay Brewing.

From hoppy IPAs to dark-as-night stouts, 138 beer styles were judged by a panel of experts. The competition featured a total of 1,100 beers from 142 breweries across the state.

The statewide craft beer competition comes after 18 Washington breweries took home a total of 22 medals at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in September. With over 2,000 participating breweries from across the U.S., GABF is the country's largest beer competition and widely regarded as the most prestigious.

Keep reading to see which Seattle breweries won big at the 2021 Washington Beer Awards. You can find the full list of this year's winners here.

Cloudburst Brewing

Cloudburst dominated the fresh hop categories this year, snagging two bronze medals and one silver for this year's hop harvest. The brewery also won silver for its Called To The Light German-Style Pilsner, gold for its Happy Little Clouds Pilsner, gold for its This Is Boring Imperial Stout and gold for its Your Worst Nightmare Pumpkin Ale, showcasing their variety across different styles. Along with the prestigious medals, Cloudburst was also named mid-size brewery of the year following a similar recognition at the year's GABF awards.

Reuben's Brews

One of the most popular Seattle breweries, Reuben's Brews brought home a total of four awards between their Ballard taproom and production facility. Their Robust Porter and Gose both earned bronze medals, while their easy-sipping Lilywhite Witbier and Triumvirate IPA were awarded silver medals.

Lowercase Brewing

South Seattle breweries also racked up the awards this year, with Lowercase Brewing winning two silver medals for its Mexican Lager and Brown Ale, which also won at GABF. The Georgetown brewery has a focus on malt-forward beers, making their award-winning English-style brown ale perfect for those who want to change things up from the usual IPA this fall.

The Good Society Brewery

Last year, this West Seattle brewery was practically unheard of. Although their taproom opened just a month before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the brewery managed to bring home three gold medals for their Love Is Love Vienna-style Lager, Quick Wit  Belgian-style Witbier and First to Fall Belgian-style Ale, which also won gold at GABF this year. The brewery also landed a silver medal for their Be Curious American-Style Sour Ale. With a trophy case now full of awards, this up-and-coming brewery with a philanthropic slant is certainly one to watch.

Ravenna Brewing

In a state with an extremely competitive IPA scene due to the proximity to the hop harvest, this neighborhood favorite brewery won the prized gold medal for its Aligned By Nature Double IPA, which is brewed with concentrated lupulin pellets for a huge hoppy taste. The brewery also brought home a silver medal for its Voltova Lager.

Burke-Gilman Brewing

Laurelhurst's Burke-Gilman Brewing, which only opened in 2018, shocked people in the beer world when it won gold in the competitive Juicy IPA category at the 2020 GABF awards. And now they are still contending with many of the state's major breweries bringing home two bronze medals for their Cerny Kov Dark Lager and Hopotheosis Double IPA. Both beers are currently on tap at the brewery.

Lucky Envelope Brewing

While Oktoberfest might officially be over, Ballard's Lucky Envelope won gold in the German-style lager category for its Helles Lager and silver in the smoked beer category for its Tea-Smoked Helles Lager which they usually have on tap for Chinese New Year. With a lineup of beers beyond the usual IPAs and stouts, the brewery also won bronze for its Mexican Lager and Boysenberry Coolship Sour.

Seapine Brewing

Known for brewing classic beer styles with impeccable standards, Seapine managed to grab the highest honors in the German-style Pilsner category for its light-bodied Ur-Pils, which was lagered for 35 days. The brewery has now won a total of five statewide medals.

Mirage Beer Company

Seattle's farmhouse-focused Mirage Beer won a total of three gold medals for its Versatile Solutions for Modern Living Field Beer, Ray Lambic and Strangers In Town New England IPA, another term for a "hazy" or unfiltered IPA. Two of its funky fermented beers, Introduces The Metric System In Time Wild Ale and The Quarterly Saison, also earned nods from the judges with bronze medals. The hyper-exclusive brewery, which made its debut in 2017, is currently selling memberships for their 2022 bottleclub.

Perihelion Brewing

Located on Beacon Hill, this warm neighborhood spot scored a bronze medal in the American Wheat Beer category for its Daedalus Rye Saison, which uses rye malt to achieve a crisp finish to every sip. The saison is currently part of their bottle library with limited quantities available.

Old Stove Brewing

With a bustling brewpub location in Pike Place Market, Old Stove was awarded gold for its Streaker Juicy Citra Fresh Hop Pale for the second year in a row. While the beer is no longer available on tap, the brewery is still serving plenty of other hoppy pours and even announced plans to expand to a second taproom in North Queen Anne next year. 

Counterbalance Brewing Company

This Georgetown brewery, which has been opened since 2015, brought home the silver medal for its hibiscus-infused Miming Poetry Belgian-style Saison and bronze for its Abigale Blonde Ale. Both beers are available at the taproom or in growlers and cans to go.

Flying Lion Brewing

Starting as a home brewing operation experimenting with root beer and hops in the basement of their house, this family-owned brewery in Columbia City won two bronze medals for its Velvet Uppercutter Belgian Strong Ale and Call It A Day Pale Ale. The brewery is currently working on a collaboration with Good Society Brewing for this year's Dark Beer Fest happening next month.

Georgetown Brewing

Probably best known for its nearly ubiquitous Manny's Pale Ale and Bodhizafa IPA, Georgetown was awarded a total of five medals at this year's awards, including gold for its 9 Pound Porter, silver for its Roger's Pilsner and bronze for its Lucille IPA. As the state's largest craft beer brewery, Georgetown manages to balance high-quality brews with a wider distribution across the Evergreen State.

Two Beers Brewing Company

If there's one style Two Beers has certainly mastered since opening in 2007, it's certainly the Northwest IPA that's full of hop flavor. And at this year's awards, the brewery snagged gold for its Wonderland Trail IPA which features several Washington-grown hop varieties. The beer, which is named after the 93-mile hiking trail around Mount Rainier, is available at the tasting room or in cans to enjoy at home.

Stoup Brewing

This Seattle favorite took home silver for its single-hop Citra IPA, which the brewery calls "sunshine in a glass" for its bright, fruity taste. Expanding from Ballard, the brewery opened a new taproom in Kenmore earlier this year and the location also serves up bites from local chef Jason Stoneburner.

Urban Family Brewing

This sour-focused brewery lived up to its reputation and took home gold for its raspberry-loaded Solar Storm American-style Sour Ale at this year's awards. But they also managed to snag silver in the Hazy Imperial IPA category for their triple IPA known as The Stuff which comes with a heavy-hitting ABV of 9.7%.

Hellbent Brewing Company

North Seattle breweries also had strong performances at this year's awards, with Lake City's Hellbent scoring silver for its Mossback Monk Belgian-Style Tripel. While the beer is not on tap at the brewery, you can still order this traditional tripel for pickup.

Fair Isle Brewing

With an emphasis on fruity, funky beers made in small batches, this Ballard brewery dominated several of the farmhouse and saison categories, taking home a total of three gold and two silver medals. As a credit to their labor-intensive styles, which often take months or years to properly age and condition, Fair Isle was also named small brewery of the year at the competition.

Figurehead Brewing

Tucked away in Magnolia, this brewery was awarded a prestigious gold medal for its Midwatch Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The brewery has a focus on traditional English and Belgian ales, proving that Seattle breweries can go beyond IPAs and stouts and master more traditional styles.

Ghostfish Brewing

Known for being Seattle's stapled gluten-free brewery, Ghostfish took home bronze for its Watchstander Stout in the specialty category, setting itself apart from the crowd by being a gluten-free stout. The same beer has also won gold at GABF for the last two years.

Peddler Brewing Company

Beloved by Seattle cyclists, this Ballard brewery won silver for its Horchata Cream Ale which takes inspiration from the creamy spice of the sweet Mexican drink.

Optimism Brewing

A popular meeting spot in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Optimism Brewing was awarded silver in the American-style fruit beer category for its zingy Passion Fruit Solarpunk.

Jellyfish Brewing

This Georgetown brewery continued the winning streak for South Seattle breweries with two bronze medals in the barrel aged categories for its Good Morning Sunshine Grisette and Birra Chiara Blonde Ale. These barrel-aged brews are a perfect way to explore new styles.

Elysian Brewing

Although the brewery is technically owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Washington brewery still took home three silver medals at this year's awards, including earning silver for its Night Owl Pumpkin Ale, which won gold at this year's GABF awards. While pumpkin beer may be a polarizing style among beer lovers, Elysian seems to have mastered the seasonal brew.