Syncopated Brewing Co. Receives Silver Medal at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival Competition

Lakewood, CA • October 12, 2026 — Syncopated Brewing Co. earned a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition, hosted and presented by the Brewers Association®.

As part of the 2026 competition, craft beverages spanning 105 beer categories and five cider categories, including 131 subcategories, were carefully judged by a panel of competition judges from around the world. New for this year, the GABF competition added new categories such as Rice Lager, Hop Water, a one-time Craft-Malt category, plus two Specialty beer subcategories, in addition to three new standalone categories for Gluten-Free Styles. Winning a medal at the Great American Beer Festival competition is one of the most important designations a brewery can receive, signifying brewing excellence and mastery in the quality and style accuracy of the beer or cider.

Syncopated Brewing Co. was recognized in the Brett Beer beer-style category for its This Must Be The Place, a Brettanomyces-fermented ale brewed to celebrate the brewery’s five-year anniversary. Syncopated Brewing Co. is a 5-barrel microbrewery and taproom located in Lakewood, California that prides itself in brewing a wide range of styles in small batches, welcoming guests to its dog-friendly taproom, and giving back to the community as much as possible.

“We brewed This Must Be The Place to celebrate our five-year anniversary, so it means a lot to see it recognized at the Great American Beer Festival®. We’re grateful to our team and to everyone in Lakewood and Long Beach who has supported us along the way,” said Jason Van Fleet, owner at Syncopated Brewing Co.

The Great American Beer Festival competition analyzed 7,267 entries over three days thanks to a panel of 225 professional judges and over 200 volunteers. The 2026 competition received entries from 1,300 breweries & cideries from 49 states, including Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

“The submissions from this year's competition continue to reflect just how far American brewing and cidermaking have come,” said Chris Williams, competition director for the Brewers Association. “The addition of multiple new styles and unique concepts like the ‘Craft Malt Beer’ and ‘Hop Water’ categories gave producers fresh ground to explore. The overarching quality presented by so many of the contenders underlines how intensive the judging process is and how competitively these contenders rise to the occasion with entries that pushed each category forward. GABF remains one of the most competitive stages in craft beer, and these winners represent the very best our industry has to offer. Congratulations to this year's medalists.”

The awards ceremony, live streamed on The Brewing Network on Sunday, October 11, 2026, was held at Levitt Pavilion in Denver, Colorado, as part of the Great American Beer Festival Sunday session. For more information on the Great American Beer Festival competition, including a complete 2026 winners list and photos, visit GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.

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About Syncopated Brewing Co.: Syncopated Brewing Co., brought to you by Dutch’s Brewhouse in Long Beach’s Bixby Knolls neighborhood, is a 5-barrel microbrewery and taproom in Lakewood, California. Syncopated brews a wide range of beer styles in small batches and welcomes guests, and their dogs, to its taproom. The brewery strives to operate as sustainably as possible and to give back to the Lakewood and Long Beach communities that support it. Syncopated Brewing Co. is located at 3671 Industry Ave., Unit C1, Lakewood, CA 90712. Learn more at syncopatedbrewing.com.

Media contact: Jason Van Fleet, 562-225-5289