March 28, 2024

Gezellig wins big (again)

Newton brewery snags its third silver medal from Great American Beer Festival

For a brewery that’s only a little more than a year old, Gezellig Brewing Co. sure does know how to rack up the awards.

On Friday, Oct. 16, the Newton-based brewery won a silver medal at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival — its third silver medal win from the competition since the taproom opened in June 2019. This time, Gezellig’s Hugzilla won the silver-lined honor in the rye hazy double IPA category.

Recently, Gezellig scored even more medals at 2020 San Diego International Beer Competition. In addition to earning the title of “Champion Brewery,” Gezellig — one of the few Midwest breweries to receive awards from the San Diego contest — won three gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze medal.

The staff held a watch party for the Great American Beer Festival, which was live-streamed from Denver, Colo. Gezellig entered 10 beers in the festival: Sharkuterie Board, Hugzilla, Double Rogg Dare You, Catnip for Brewers, Dopptoberfest, Perfectly Pleasant, Tell Your Mom I Said Hi, Hug Deal Gone Sideweiss, All The Goodness and That G Brewery.

In 2019, the Great American Beer Festival earned Gezellig two silver medal wins for its All The Goodness and Hug Deal Gone Sideweiss beers, which have since been officially canned and distributed to local stores thanks to a partnership with Confluence Brewing Company.

Founded by Betsy Duffy and Mindi Vanden Bosch, Gezellig’s Dutch-inspired name (and pronounced with an “h” rather than a “g”) translates to “cozy.” The brewery is located in Legacy Plaza in Newton.

Yielding positive results for the third time now, Gezellig has earned a total of nine awards from what it calls "two of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world."

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or
cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com