Brewery of the Year at GABF… and its gold medal is non-alcoholic

Fieldwork Brewing Co. of Berkeley, California, was named Brewery of the Year at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival in the 5,000–15,000 barrel category. The awards were handed out over festival weekend, October 10–11, and the brewery announced it on the 13th.

The juicy part is where the gold came from: Day Money NA Grapefruit Blonde, a non-alcoholic beer. The other two medals were silvers for lagers: Rough & Tumble, a bock, and High & Fine, a West Coast lager. In other words, not a single hazy IPA in the trophy case.

CEO Barry Braden said the team is proud and grateful to see its work recognized on a national stage, and that the medals show the range of the lineup, from non-alcoholic to lagers to hop-forward West Coast beers. GABF is run by the Brewers Association and is one of the most important beer competitions in the United States.

Why it matters: A non-alcoholic beer winning gold for a Brewery of the Year confirms what we've been saying: NA beer is playing in the big leagues now. And lagers are still on a roll, something anyone living with island heat understands completely.

Source: BevNET / Fieldwork Brewing Co.