Texas craft breweries experienced unprecedented success in the 2014 Great American Beer Festival Competition in Denver this weekend, walking away with an impressive 16 medals.

The breweries to win these awards were Peticolas Brewing Co., Spoetzl Brewery, Austin Beerworks, Thirsty Planet Brewing, Real Ale Brewing Co., Community Beer Co., Grapevine Craft Brewery, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co., Pedernales Brewing Co., Saint Arnold Brewing Co., 5 Stones Artisan Brewery, Armadillo Ale Works, Oasis, Texas Brewing Co. and Pinthouse Pizza Craft Brewpub.

The record-shattering success toppled last year’s already impressive 10 medal takeaway, further validating the lone star state’s reputation as a newly rising craft beer juggernaut.

“Texas made a big impression by having 44 breweries at the festival, but we were the talk of the festival with 16 medals,” Charles Vallhonrat, Executive Director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild said. “Congratulations to all our winners, from those open less than a year to those open for decades.”

Indeed, while some of Texas’s medals were awarded to long-established, heavily decorated breweries like Saint Arnold and Spoetzl, several went to some of the newest breweries in the state. Take for example Oasis, Texas Brewing Company, who took home a gold medal in the Ordinary or Special Bitter Category for their London Homesick Ale after mere months in operation.

“We’re over the moon,” Oasis, TX Head Brewer Spencer Tielkemeier told Bitch Beer. “We’d have been happy with any medal, but it makes it so much sweeter that it’s gold. By the time they’ve announced the bronze and silver, you’ve already talked yourself out of it. I honestly don’t remember the ten seconds following the syllable “Lond-” I’m so proud of our team and our state.”

Thirsty Planet Brewing Company has competed in the competition for a few years now, but took home their first medal as well this year.

“We are super excited to have won a silver medal for our Yellow Armadillo (American Wheat), it definitely is a refreshing beer that is often overlooked,” Thirsty Planet’s Ben Sabin told us. “We are glad to be part of such a great local craft beer community here in Texas and the more attention we can get as a whole the better.”

In the spirit of that community, Sabin expressed his gratitude for some help from friends during the submission process.

“I definitely want to thank American Canning for allowing us to package our beers in cans for submission,” he said. “I know that helped.”

Seth Weatherly, Founder of Cibolo-based 5 Stones Artisan Brewery experienced a mix of shock and pride after his first year medal win Saturday.

“I was totally blown away and thankful Aloha Piña medaled,” Weatherly said. “It is a beer that is near and dear to me and quite frankly the one that started me on the journey of opening a small artisan brewery. I’m very honored to be a part of our Texas craft brewing community.”

Whether it’s a brewery’s first medal or its fifth, there’s still a lot of excitement that comes with a win, especially for a beer near and dear to the brewer’s heart.

“Not to sound cliche, but it has only partially sunken in.” Real Ale Brewing Co. Brewmaster Erik Ogershok told Bitch Beer as he described what it was like to take home a gold medal in the Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale category for Benedictum. “We don’t brew beer to win medals, but it feels great to win one. This win is extra special since it is the first medal for a beer from our Mysterium Verum series. A lot of time and effort goes into each of them, especially the wild ales such as Benedictum. Winning a gold medal has capped off what was already a great experience at GABF this year. Now I have to get busy making more Benedictum.”

Dallas-based Community Beer Company has also experienced previous success at the festival, which made it all the more sweet when they were able to defend a gold medal in the Extra Special Bitter category this year. (And a second medal on top of that didn’t hurt either.)