The Arizona Craft Brewers Guild announced that of over 1,500 entrants vying for 275 awards, four Arizona breweries won medals at the Great American Beer Festival Saturday in Denver.

Sponsored by the Brewers Association, the event recognized winning brews from Flagstaff, Chandler, Tucson and Tempe. The gathering marked several new records, with an all-time attendance high and the largest panel of judges to date -- 242 beer experts from 15 countries declaring their preferences.

Flagstaff’s Beaver Street Brewery and Chandler’s BJ’s Brewery each won gold medals, for R & R Oatmeal Stout (oatmeal stout category) and Magnolia’s Peach (fruit-wheat beer category), respectively. Tucson’s Barrio Brewing Company scored a bronze medal for its Barrio Rojo in the Scottish-style beer category, while Tempe-based newcomer Huss Brewing Co. earned bronze for The Husstler in the sweet or cream stout category.

“We’re tremendously pleased with Arizona’s representation and performance at the Great American Beer Festival, and these four wins provide further evidence of what we Arizonans already know – that what we’re brewing here is not only on par, but able to surpass what’s being made in some of the nation’s biggest and most renowned beer-brewing cities and states,” a guild representative said.

The Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, one of 20 state guilds with a booth at the festival, represents 74 microbreweries, breweries in the planning stages, craft beer bars, partners and distributors across the state. While providing educational opportunities to brewers, distributors and consumers, the guild promotes responsible consumption of quality craft beers.