3 San Antonio breweries win awards at Great American Beer Festival

The annual Great American Beer Festival, held Sept. 21-23 in Denver, honored dozens of breweries nationwide—including three in San Antonio—for their beers entered in various categories.

Freetail Brewing Co.’s Bowie Bock was announced as the bronze-medal winner in International Dark Lager. In its first entry into the competition, Bowie Bock was recognized as one of the best in a field of 86 other entries, according to a news release.

Representatives of Freetail, based near Shavano Park, said Bowie Bock is their brewpub’s latest year-round release. Named after famed Alamo defender Jim Bowie, some sales proceeds being donated to the Remember The Alamo Foundation.

“We’ve always felt that giving back to the community is one of the most important parts of our business. Without our fellow San Antonians’ and Texans’ support we wouldn’t be here. So, we try and give back wherever we can,” Freetail President Bill Sisioan said in a statement.

Alamo Trust Executive Director Kate Rogers said her organization, which maintains preservation of the Alamo, is happy about an award being bestowed on a locally produced beer named after Jim Bowie.

“We are extremely grateful for Freetail Brewery’s generous support of the Remember the Alamo Foundation, and we congratulate them for this well-deserved recognition,” Rogers said.

Another North San Antonio brewpub, Mad Pecker Brewing Co., won with its Bitter Soul, which received a silver medal in the Extra Special Bitter category.

Roadmap Brewing Co., based in downtown San Antonio, received a gold medal for its Alright, Alright, Alright beer in the International-Style Pilsner category.

“Incredibly proud of the whole Roadmap team for bringing gold back to San Antonio,” Roadmap said in a social media post.