The Great American Beer Festival was held this weekend in Colorado and Columbus Brewing Co. medaled in two of the five most competitive categories, winning a gold medal with its Creeper imperial India pale ale.

India pale ale is the current king of the craft beer universe and Columbus Brewing Co. makes a couple of good ones, at least according to the experts.

The Great American Beer Festival was held this weekend in Colorado and Columbus Brewing Co. medaled in two of the five most competitive categories, winning a gold medal with its Creeper imperial India pale ale.

Columbus also received a bronze for Bodhi, in the American-style India pale ale category -- the biggest category at the festival with 279 entries.

Creeper mined its gold in the 5th most competitive category, edging out 134 other imperial India pale ales, including the much celebrated Pliny the Elder from California�s Russian River Brewing Co. which took home the bronze.

Other Ohio brewers won as well. Listermann/Triple Digit Brewing Co. in Cincinnati took home the bronze in the specialty beer category for Nutcase Peanut Butter Porter. JABF Wooster Brewery won the silver in the foreign stout category for Wooster New Stout. North Olmstead's Fat Head's Brewery joined Columbus Brewing in winning gold for its AspenGlow, a German-style wheat beer.

More than 5,500 beers from more than 1,300 breweries were entered in the festival this year. GABF is the biggest beer festival and competition for American brewers.