U.S. Open Beer Championship Announces 2013 Winners

While many Americans were celebrating freedom on the Fourth of July, some of the world's beer makers, big and small, were competing for medals in Atlanta.

Independence Day 2013 marked the annual U.S. Open Beer Championship, a competition honoring professional breweries and home-brewers in 68 different categories, including top breweries, best ales, and most creative names. The competition featured a whopping 2,500 brews that were judged by a panel made up of experts from all over the world.

"This competition is significant because it accepts entries from breweries around the world and allows national...homebrews to compete," said Dow Scoggins, director of the U.S. Open Beer Championships, in a press release.

Notable winners in the rankings were the oldest brewery in world, Weihenstephaner, which won Gold and Silver Medals in the German Wheat category; last year's champion, Sweetwater Brewing Company, which placed second overall; and brewers from the state of Wisconsin. Two of the Dairy States' breweries made up the top ten, including the top brewery, Capital Brewery, and other specialized categories.