Philadelphia Area Winners from the 2016 Great American Beer Festival

Upstart with a medal winning machine mops up.

Ruby Stigz and Bob Barrar of 2SP Brewing | Photo via 2SP Brewing

Ruby Stigz and Bob Barrar of 2SP Brewing | Photo via 2SP Brewing

2SP Brewing may have been the upstart winning two medals at this weekend’s Great American Beer Festival but brewer Bob Barrar is hardly a stranger to medal winning success. Barrar won 20 GABF medals over 15 years for Iron Hill Brewery. This year, Barrar’s “The Russian” took home a gold medal in the Imperial Stout category and his Antonym, won a bronze for Belgian- and French-Style Ale.

Not a bad start for 2SP, which opened just over a year ago in Aston, Delaware County. Find 2SP beers at better beer bars across the region or at the tasting room at the brewery. The tasting room is now open seven days a week.

Iron Hill Brewery may have lost Barrar to his own brewery but the federation of brewpubs continued its winning ways. The Phoenixville location locked up a bronze medal for its Bridge Street Bok. It was the 20th year in a row that Iron Hill won at least one medal.

Other local GABF winners include:

The haul for local breweries was down this year but that probably says as much about the increased competition across the country as any statement about the quality of local beers.

Great American Beer Festival [Official]