Tucson’s Barrio Brewing was the big winner of the night at the 3rd annual Arizona Craft Beer Awards, presented by PHOENIX magazine and the Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild.
Barrio, the oldest brewery in Arizona, won the 2024 ACBA Brewery of the Year award for capturing the most points (6 for gold, 5 for silver, 4 for bronze) in the competition. Its Mexican Lager won a gold, while Ruby Red Grapefruit IPA earned silver, and Rojo and Barrio Blonde each took a bronze medal.
Barrio becomes the third beermaker to win the coveted Brewery of the Year award in this, the third year of the ACBA competition. Mesa’s Oro Brewing Company won in 2022 and Tempe’s Pedal Haus Brewery in 2023.
Prescott’s LazyG Brewhouse took home Best in Show for its Pedal Pounder session IPA and earned 2nd place in the Brewery of the Year category, three points behind Barrio. Goodyear’s Saddle Mountain Brewing Company and Tempe’s Catalyst Crafted Ales tied for third place overall, just one point behind LazyG.
See all our winners in each category below.
PHOENIX magazine would like to give a special thanks to the Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild for its work to grow the awards competition and gathering the entries. We had 35 judges pour through 225 entries from 53 breweries. Beers were sorted into 19 categories, ranging from 7 to 21 entries per category.
Join us for the 3rd Annual ACBA Festival on Saturday, October 19 in Tempe. This year’s festival will be at Centerpoint Plaza, just off Mill Ave. and right in front of Pedal Haus Brewery. Tickets on sale now!
BREWERY OF THE YEAR
Gold: Barrio Brewing
Silver: LazyG Brewhouse
Bronze: Saddle Mountain Brewing Co. & Catalyst Crafted Ales (tie)
Greenwood, Helluva and 12 West finished 5th, 6th and 7th respectively.
GERMAN PILSNER/LAGER
Gold: Wilderpils, Arizona Wilderness Brewing
Silver: Devil’s Trill, Phantom Fox Beer Co.
Bronze: German-style Pilsner, Pedal Haus Brewery
AMERICAN PILSNER/LAGER
Gold: Mexican Lager, Barrio Brewing
Silver: Cicada Season, LazyG Brewhouse
Bronze: Sky Harbor Lager, SanTan Brewing
BLONDE/GOLDEN ALE
Gold: Now What? an American Blonde Ale, Saddle Mountain Brewing
Silver: Sunshine Blonde, LazyG Brewhouse
Bronze: Barrio Blonde, Barrio Brewing
GERMAN OKTOBERFEST
Gold: Oktoberfest, Roses by the Stairs Brewing
Silver: Oktoberfest, PHX Beer Co.
Bronze: Oktoberfest, Pedal Haus Brewery
AMERICAN FRUIT/FRUITED WHEAT
Gold: Belle Blueberry, Greenwood Brewing
Silver: Prickly Pear Wheat, Grand Canyon Brewing
Bronze: Papago Blueberry Wheat, Huss Brewing
AMERICAN PALE/AMBER/SESSION IPA
Gold: Knit Ninja, 12 West Brewing
Silver: Don’t Call Me Bobby, Catalyst Crafted Ales
Bronze: Dragoon Amber, Dragoon Brewing
GERMAN VIENNA/MARZEN/DARK LAGER
Gold: Cerveza Cobre, The Brewery at Tirrito Farm
Silver: Dark Lager, Verde Brewing
Bronze: Toasty Amber Lager, AZ LOC ALE Beer Co.
U.K. STYLES
Gold: Kremlin Calling, O.H.S.O. Brewery (Arcadia)
Silver: Clandestine, Saddle Mountain Brewing
Bronze: Rojo, Barrio Brewing
EXPERIMENTAL IPA
Gold: Grapefruit Dreams, Helluva Brewing
Silver: Ruby Red Grapefruit, Barrio Brewing
Bronze: Beach Bum, Uncle Bear’s Brewery
SPECIALTY
Gold: Uno Mas, O.H.S.O. Brewery (Paradise Valley)
Silver: Hefeweizen, The Brewery at Tirrito Farm
Bronze: Vesuvio, Catalyst Crafted Ales
FRENCH/BELGIAN
Gold: Trappist, Catalyst Crafted Ales
Silver: 4-Year Anniversary, Simple Machine Brewing
Bronze: Regenerative Desert Wheat, Arizona Wilderness Brewing
HERB/SPICE/FIELD
Gold: Sudoku, O.H.S.O. Brewery (Gilbert)
Silver: Alewife’s Pumpkin Pie Marzen, Desert Monks Brewing Co.
Bronze: Harvest Diem Spiced Ale, Greenwood Brewing
HAZY IPA
Gold: Nelsonnnn!, Front Pourch Brewing
Silver: Spellbinder, Wren House Brewing (Prescott)
Bronze: Warrior IPA, Greenwood Brewing
AMERICAN IPA
Gold: Pedal Pounder, LazyG Brewhouse
Silver: Victory or Death, MotoSonora Brewing
Bronze: Blue & Gold, Historic Brewing
IMPERIAL IPA/HAZY/JUICY
Gold: King Gus, Oro Brewing Company
Silver: Hop Canyon IPA, Grand Canyon Brewing
Bronze: Blue Quad Roller Skates, Wren House Brewing (Phoenix)
WEST COAST IPA
Gold: Frontside, 12 West Brewing
Silver: Wrenovation, Wren House Brewing (Prescott)
Bronze: Hop Snob, Saddle Mountain Brewing
STOUT/PORTER
Gold: Druid, Where’s My Car?, Pinnacle Brewing Co.
Silver: Lost Viking, O.H.S.O. Brewery (Paradise Valley)
Bronze: Oats M’gotes, Goldwater Brewing
WOOD AGED
Gold: FDU Black Lager, Historic Brewing
Silver: Mexican Black King Snake, Wren House Brewing (Phoenix)
Bronze: Super Monk, Helluva Brewing
SOURS
Gold: Öhaygrrl, Dragoon Brewing
Silver: Debo’s Kettle Sour DIPA, Uncle Bear’s Brewery
Bronze: Peachalicious, Helluva Brewing
FUN FACTS & FIGURES
Golden Virgins No More
Historic, O.H.S.O. Gilbert, Greenwood, Roses By The Stairs, The Brewery at Tirrito Farm, LazyG, Pinnacle, Front Pourch, O.H.S.O. Arcadia and Saddle Mountain are all first-time gold medal winners in 2024. Congrats on finally finishing first!
No Patience for 2nd Place
For the second year in a row, Oro won gold in the Imperial IPA/Hazy/Juicy category for King Gus. This marks the 7th gold medal for Oro in the three years of ACBA competition, the most of any brewery in Arizona. The Mesa brewery has never won a silver or bronze at the Arizona Craft Beer Awards.
New Breweries Shine
- Pinnacle Brewing Company opened in Scottsdale in May and now has a gold medal to show off.
- Phantom Fox Beer Co., which opened in November in Downtown Mesa, has a silver medal to its name.
- Catalyst Crafted Ales — which earned 2 medals in 2023 before it officially opened last October in Tempe — takes home three medals in 2024.
- Congrats to Ted Golden (worked two decades in beer distribution for Four Peaks) for winning a bronze medal at his startup AZ LOC ALE Beer Co.
Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
SanTan Brewing (established in 2007) and Goldwater Brewing (2015) each won their first ACBA medals for beer in 2024. Goldwater previously won a bronze for Can Art in 2022.
Make AMERICAN IPA Great Again!
The Best in Show winner has been an American IPA in two of the three years of ACBA competition. LazyG’s Pedal Pounder joins PHX Beer Co.’s Monsoon IPA (in 2022) as winners of the award. Dragoon Pils won in 2023.
Beast Valley! Medals by Region
- East Valley – 20
- Phoenix – 12
- N. Arizona – 10
- S. Arizona – 9
- West Valley – 3
- Scottsdale – 2
Northern Arizona (Flagstaff, Williams, Prescott and Camp Verde) breweries earned 10 medals combined. Southern Arizona (Tucson and Willcox) breweries won nine medal combined. East Valley (Mesa, Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert) combined for 20 medals. Breweries in Phoenix won 12 while Scottsdale breweries won two. Saddle Mountain was the lone West Valley winner with three medals.
Director’s Award
The Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild gave its annual Director’s Award to the Hanseth Family, owners of Lumberyard Brewing and Beaver Street Brewery in Flagstaff, for its decades of philanthropic work in Northern Arizona and across the state.
ENTRY ART (aka Can Design)
not included in Brewery of the Year points/standings
Gold: Isolation Nelson, Roses by the Stairs Brewing
Silver: Full Moon, Mudshark Brewery
Bronze: Wrenovation, Wren House Brewing
Note: This category was judged by Smith House Design in Tempe and falls outside of the beer competition, so it does not count toward the points/standings to determine Brewery of the Year.
