If your restaurant happens to be based in a famous craft beer mecca like Asheville, North Carolina, you’re surrounded by so many quality breweries that it is very likely you’ve got the local winners on tap before they even win. The producer of one of those, Hi-Wire Brewing, is located right in Buxton Halls immediate neighborhood, Asheville’s South Slope; one of the brewery’s two locations is a four-minute walk from the restaurant.

Key Takeaways:

• Winning a gold, silver or bronze at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is about much more than bragging rights for brewers who managed to leave the Denver event with any of the 286 medals awarded in Denver.
• If a brewery is a repeat winner, it serves as a vote of confidence in that brewer and its products.
• Part of the reason for that is, many times, brewers are producing extremely limited batches, which, in some instances, are brewed exclusively for sampling and awards consideration at major festivals like GABF.

“But beyond personal attachments, Fernands says a brewery’s track record with awards could be a bit of a “litmus test” for that producer’s sales potential at the restaurants.”

https://www.fsrmagazine.com/beer/why-great-american-beer-festival-matters-restaurants