News

Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Co., Mieza Blendery win top awards at Great American Beer Fest

By James Cullum
Man wearing sunglasses and a cap stands in front of a gold sequin backdrop, holding a gold medal on a red ribbon beside him.
Alexandria’s Bill Butcher, owner of the Port City Brewing Co., took home a gold medal in the Vienna lager category at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado (via Bill Butcher/Facebook)

Port City Brewing Co. has done it again.

Fresh off their bronze medal-winning performance at the 2026 Virginia Craft Brewers Cup in August, the Alexandria-based brewery at 3950 Wheeler Avenue won gold for their Oktoberfest Vienna Lager at the 2026 Great American Beer Festival. The festival was held Oct. 10-11 and featured distinct beers from 1,300 breweries from across the country. Port City won gold in the Vienna-Style Lager category over silver medalist DC Brau Brewing Co and bronze medalist Almanac Beer Co.

“The Great American Beer Festival is like the Olympics for the craft beers,” Port City owner Bill Butcher told ALXnow. “This marks our 17th medal at the festival, and it shows the dedication to quality and consistency that our team is committed to. Their passion is brewing consistently great quality beer.”

Port City opened in Alexandria in 2011, and Butcher says that his competition has grown considerably.

“When we opened in 2011 there were 40 breweries in Virginia and 200 in the U.S.,” Butcher said. “Now 15 years later, there’s upward of 400 breweries in Virginia and over 9,000 in the U.S. The competition has never been greater and the focus on quality has never been more important.”

Joining Port City on the list of winners was Mieza Blendery, which uses a blending method to make its beers. The blendery and founder Alex Lynch won the “0–250 Barrels Brewery and Brewer of the Year” award and picked up silver and bronze medals for Sulking in The Brush and Minotaurs & Matadors, respectively, in the Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer category.

More awards for Port City Brewing Co.:

Image via Bill Butcher/Facebook

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.