Fat Head’s Brewery took top honors at this year’s Great American Beer Festival, winning five medals and earning the title of 2025 Brewery of the Year.

The three-day festival, hosted by the Brewers Association from Oct. 8–10 in Colorado, drew beer enthusiasts from across the U.S. — including those from Fat Head’s Saloon in Pittsburgh.

“As brewers we’re always in pursuit of perfection,” said Matt Cole, co-founder of Fat Head’s, who watched the event via livestream. “We’ve been close quite a few years.”

The Brewers Association chose five winning breweries based on their size. Fat Head’s Brewery placed at the top of the largest brewer category, which produces 15,001-100,000 barrels per year, according to the Great American Beer Festival’s 2025 winners list.

Fat Head’s Brewery took home five medals in total, including two golds for their South German-style hefeweizen “Goggle Fogger” and strong porter “Battle Axe.” They also won silver in the imperial India pale ale category and two bronzes for their strong red ale and specialty non-alcohol beer, according to the winners list.

The first medal Fat Head’s received was for their non-alcohol beer called “Excursion Journeyman.”

“I felt like that first medal we won … then all the pressure was off (and) you can start having fun,” Cole said.

This year’s competition also featured four Pennsylvania-based brewing companies, including Pennsylvania Brewing Co. and Cinderlands Brewing Co., both based in Pittsburgh.

The Fat Head’s company first opened as a craft beer-centric restaurant in Pittsburgh’s South Side in 1992.

Fat Head’s Saloon on the city’s South Side is still owned by the original owners, Glenn and Michelle Benigni. The bar remains a staple of the neighborhood, featuring a mix of Fat Head’s beers with a selection of American and international craft beers across 40 draft lines, according to its website.

In 2009, the Benignis partnered with Cole and opened a brewpub in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which now acts as Fat Head’s headquarters. Then in 2018, the company opened a second satellite brewpub, located near the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Stark County, Ohio, according to the Fat Head’s website.

For Cole, winning a non-alcohol category was a testament of their “ability to innovate.”

Fat Head’s is no stranger to praise.

At the World Beer Cup in 2023, Head Hunter won gold in the American-Style India Pale Ale category, and Alpenglow Weizenbock, Bone Head, and Double Hoppy Red Ale also earned top honors in their respective categories.

Cole said each of the beers that won a medal had all been awarded gold in previous years.

Following the beer festival Fat Head’s has been holding charity events and showing off their achievements.

“We’re still celebrating,” Cole said.

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