From Arizona’s own craft beer awards to one of the biggest beer competitions in the country, local breweries are giving us plenty of reasons to raise a glass.
Arizona’s craft beer scene has had a pretty impressive few weeks.
First came the Arizona Craft Beer Awards on September 29, recognizing some of the best beers being brewed across the state. Then came the 2026 Great American Beer Festival, where Arizona breweries once again found themselves bringing home some hardware.
For anyone who follows Arizona beer, there’s plenty to celebrate. But what’s particularly interesting is seeing several of the same breweries, and even some of the same beers, earn recognition at both competitions.
From Phoenix and Gilbert to Goodyear, Tucson and Kingman, here’s a look at the Arizona breweries making their mark in 2026, complete with links to explore the breweries for yourself.
Wren House Leads the Way
Phoenix’s Wren House Brewing Company has had quite a run.
At the Arizona Craft Beer Awards, Wren House was named Brewery of the Year, earning four individual medals, including gold for Spellbinder in the Hazy IPA category.
Then came the Great American Beer Festival, where Wren House earned two national gold medals.
Its Festbier took gold in the Dortmunder or German Style Festbier category, while its whiskey barrel aged Märzen earned gold in the Wood and Barrel Aged Beer category.
Two national gold medals and Arizona Brewery of the Year is quite a combination.
12 West Has Plenty to Celebrate
Gilbert’s 12 West Brewing Company also had a strong showing.
Zona Light earned gold in the American Pilsner/Lager category at the Arizona Craft Beer Awards and went on to claim the competition’s Best in Show gold.
OktoberWest added a silver medal in the Oktoberfest category.
And at the Great American Beer Festival, 12 West’s Zona earned bronze in Contemporary American Lager.
That’s recognition across both competitions, with Zona Light taking the state’s top individual beer honor.
Familiar Names Find Success on Both Stages
Wren House and 12 West weren’t the only breweries celebrating.
Rickety Cricket Brewing in Kingman earned Arizona Best in Show silver and Wood Aged gold for its 2025 barrel aged Bee’s Knees. The beer also took silver nationally in the Barley Wine or Wheat Wine category.
Goodyear’s Saddle Mountain Brewing earned a gold medal at GABF for Dill You Take Me Higher?, an experimental beer that had previously earned silver in Arizona’s Sours category.
Tucson’s Barrio Brewing earned multiple state honors, including gold for Barrio Blonde and silver for Nolan’s Porter. Barrio Nolan’s Porter also received a national bronze medal.
These results show just how much brewing talent Arizona has beyond the most familiar Valley taprooms.
Arizona’s 2026 Great American Beer Festival Winners
The Great American Beer Festival is one of the country’s most recognized professional beer competitions.
Arizona breweries earned eight medals: three gold, two silver and three bronze.
| Medal | Brewery | Beer | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Wren House Brewing | Festbier | Dortmunder or German Style Festbier |
| Gold | Wren House Brewing | Märzen (Whiskey Barrel Aged) | Wood and Barrel Aged Beer |
| Gold | Saddle Mountain Brewing | Dill You Take Me Higher? | Experimental Beer |
| Silver | Rickety Cricket Brewing | Barrel Aged Bee’s Knees 2025 | Barley Wine or Wheat Wine |
| Silver | Corbett Brewing | Cypress Pils | Smoke Beer |
| Bronze | 12 West Brewing | Zona | Contemporary American Lager |
| Bronze | Fate Brewing | Pueblo Vienna Lager | International Style Amber Lager |
| Bronze | Barrio Brewing | Barrio Nolan’s Porter | Porter or Stout |
The national winners represent a nice mix of Arizona brewing, from traditional lagers and barrel aged beers to experimental creations.
And while national recognition is always worth celebrating, the Arizona Craft Beer Awards showed just how deep the state’s brewing talent runs.
Arizona Craft Beer Awards 2026: Complete Medal Results
The 2026 Arizona Craft Beer Awards evaluated 243 entries from more than 40 breweries across 21 beer categories.
Wren House was named Brewery of the Year, with Barrio Brewing and MotoSonora Brewing finishing tied as runners up.
Brewery of the Year
Winner: Wren House Brewing Company
Runners up: Barrio Brewing and MotoSonora Brewing
Best in Show
| Medal | Brewery | Beer |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 12 West Brewing | Zona Light |
| Silver | Rickety Cricket Brewing | 2025 BA Bee’s Knees |
| Bronze | O.H.S.O. Brewery + Distillery | Sudoku |
Complete Winners by Beer Category
| Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hazy IPA | Spellbinder, Wren House | Nectaron Hazy IPA, Tirrito Farm | Pleasantly Hazy, Lake Pleasant |
| American Pilsner/Lager | Zona Light, 12 West | Day Drinker, Pedal Haus | Local Lager, Fate |
| American Fruit/Fruited Wheat | Snozzberry, Rickety Cricket | Prickly Pear Wheat, Grand Canyon Brewing | Not awarded |
| German Vienna/Märzen/Dark Lager | El Mirage Märzen, MotoSonora | Parlor Garnet, Bone Haus | Dark Lager, Verde Brewing |
| West Coast IPA | Deadman Wash, Bone Haus | More Than Jake, O.H.S.O. | West Clear, Arizona Wilderness |
| Stout/Porter | Dangerous Night, Phantom Fox | Nolan’s Porter, Barrio | Pan American Stout, Wanderlust |
| American Amber/Brown | A-Mountain, Hundred Mile | Machine Gun Teddy, Goldwater | Dragoon Amber, Dragoon |
| Experimental IPA | Unczeched, LazyG | Rosemary IPA, Greenwood | Gothic Gecko, Zonafide |
| Blonde/Golden Ale | Barrio Blonde, Barrio | Sunshine Blonde, LazyG | Colonia, Pinnacle |
| Oktoberfest | Oktoberfest, Four Peaks | OktoberWest, 12 West | Ludwig, Pinnacle |
| U.K. Styles | DMC-12 Irish Red, MotoSonora | Rojo, Barrio | Clandestine, Saddle Mountain |
| American IPA | Moon Juice, SanTan | Dragoon IPA, Dragoon | Refuge, Arizona Wilderness |
| Wood Aged | 2025 BA Bee’s Knees, Rickety Cricket | Double Barrel Aged Mexican Black King Snake, Wren House | Bullpen Bourbon Stout, Verde Brewing |
| German Pilsner/Lager | Check Please, Hundred Mile | Festbier, Wren House | Harry’s House, The Shop Beer Co. |
| Sours | The FUZZ Peach Kettle Sour, Mudshark | Dill You Take Me Higher?, Saddle Mountain | Sana Fresca, Sana Sana |
| American Pale/Session IPA/Wheat | Halfway to Hefen, Fate | Apache Trout, Wren House | Twin Cam, MotoSonora |
| Specialty | What the HEFE?, Vulture Peak | Gold Buckle Honey Lager, Verde Brewing | Hatch Chile Gatos, Fate |
| Belgians | Tamarindo Blush, Sana Sana | Biere Blanche, Pedal Haus | Saison Blue, Dragoon |
| Herb/Spice | Sudoku, O.H.S.O. | Alewife’s Pumpkin Pie, Desert Monks | Pumpkin Springs, Grand Canyon Brewing |
| Imperial IPA | Jingling & Jangling, Catalyst | Surveillance Pigeon, Pinnacle | Sonderlust, Starfire Brewery |
| Hazy Pale/International Pale | Campy, O.H.S.O. | Desert Daydream, Four Peaks | Not awarded |
More Than Just a Few Good Beers
It’s easy to focus on the biggest names and gold medals, but these competitions are also a reminder of how far Arizona’s beer scene has come.
Breweries from Prescott, Tucson, Kingman, Goodyear, Camp Verde, Gilbert, Phoenix and communities across the state are producing beers worthy of recognition.
And the variety is just as impressive as the geographic spread.
Traditional lagers, hazy IPAs, sour beers, smoked beers, barrel aged creations and experimental styles all found their way onto the winners lists.
For beer drinkers, that’s good news. It means there’s plenty worth exploring, whether it’s something familiar at your neighborhood brewery or an excuse to make a road trip somewhere new.
Some breweries on these lists have become household names for Arizona beer drinkers. Others might be places you’ve never visited, or possibly never even heard of.
And that might be the best part of these awards.
They provide another excuse to get out, explore Arizona and discover something new.
After all, some of Arizona’s best destinations might just come with a pint glass.
Sources
- Great American Beer Festival: Official 2026 Winners
- PHOENIX Magazine: 2026 Arizona Craft Beer Awards Results
- Arizona Craft Brewers Guild