Arizona's Wren House, Oro and Saddle Mountain breweries win national awards

Arizona brewers took home three medals — including two golds — at this year's Great American Beer Festival, Axios' John Frank reports from the awards ceremony in Denver.

Why it matters: The GABF is America's premier beer competition, and winning one of the 300-plus medals helps put a brewery on the map.

• This year the festival celebrated its 40th year and a return after a two-year pandemic hiatus.

By the numbers: The 2022 competition was the biggest to date, with 2,154 breweries submitting more than 9,900 beers.

Details: Wren House of Phoenix won gold for its Festbier in the Oktoberfest category.

• Mesa's Oro Brewing Company won gold for its Cafe Oro, a coffee beer.
• Saddle Mountain in Goodyear won bronze for Taildragger Clan-Destine, a Scottish ale.

What they're saying: "Oro, Wren House and Saddle Mountain are part of the second wave of Arizona's craft beer growth spurt," Arizona Brewers Guild leader Rob Fullmer told Axios at the awards ceremony. "To have them consistently winning GABF and World Beer Cup medals is a statement about our future."

🍻 Our thought bubble: We're longtime supporters of Wren House and Oro but hadn't heard of Saddle Mountain before now.

• Anyone want to join us on the west side for a brew in the near future?