Houston’s oldest craft brewery received a major award over the weekend. Saint Arnold Brewing Company won the Brewer’s Association 2023 Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

Courtesy of Saint Arnold

A group of employees represented Saint Arnold at the awards.

It’s the first time Saint Arnold has won the Brewery of the Year award since 2017. The local favorite also earned Gold Medals in two categories — English Ale for its Elissa IPA and Golden or Blonde Ale for Fancy Lawnmower. In total, Saint Arnold has won 29 medals at the event, according to a statement.

Considered the most prestigious awards in the beer world, the Great American Beer Festival features 250 beer experts judging entries in 99 beer categories that cover 175 styles of beer. Overall, the judging panels consider more than 9,000 entries from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

“Winning Brewery of the Year is pretty gosh darn gratifying,” Saint Arnold founder Brock Wagner said in a statement. “Winning a second one is unexpected because it’s so rare. It’s a reflection on the quality of our entire team as well as the beers we brew.”

The timing couldn’t have been more auspicious. Saint Arnold will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2024.

Two other Houston breweries also took home hardware. EaDo’s True Anomaly Brewing took home a Gold in the Contemporary American-Style Lager for Scout and a Silver in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer for Sea of Waves. Karbach Brewing won a Gold in the Non-Alcohol Beer category for its Free & Easy Belgian-Style White.

See a full list of winners at AmericanCraftBeer.com.