When 19 Colorado breweries earned medals this past April at the Brewers Association’s World Beer Cup international beer competition, one name came as no surprise: Cannonball Creek Brewing.
The taproom-only brewery in Golden has long been a powerhouse at both the World Beer Cup and its U.S. counterpart, the Great American Beer Festival, collecting 26 medals between the two competitions. In fact, since first entering the Great American Beer Festival in 2013, Cannonball Creek has medaled every year, giving it the second-longest active streak in the country and the longest in Colorado. It’s also medaled at every World Beer Cup through 2023.
But when Cannonball first got started 13 years ago, medal streaks were far from the goal. When it opened along Highway 93 next to a 7-Eleven, it was only the second craft brewery in Golden, after Golden City Brewery (not counting Molson Coors). Just getting customers was the immediate concern…