Coco Loco Wins Silver Medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival

Coco Loco wins silver medal marking NoDa Brewing’s first win at the festival

NoDa Brewing Company takes home a silver medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition. The 2012 GABF competition awarded 254 medals to some of the best commercial breweries in the United States. Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the largest commercial beer competition in the world and a symbol of brewing excellence.

NoDa Brewing Company was recognized in the Robust Porter category for Coco Loco, a deeply rich porter brewed with cocoa nibs and coconut, and one of the brewery’s most popular beers. Now, in 2021, NoDa Brewing has grown into a 60-barrel brewery located in Charlotte North Carolina that prides itself in serving great beer across the Carolinas.

“You always feel good about a beer until you get to the awards ceremony,” Chad Henderson, head brewer and owner, reminisces. “It’s like a punch to the gut hearing how many other beers have been submitted.”

“We don’t brew to win awards. We brew because we love the creativity of it all,” Todd Ford, vice president and owner says, “so when you get recognized for that creativity, it’s a really valuable feeling.”

Henderson adds, “Not only does winning at GABF help solidify your recipes and make you feel more legitimate, but it also pushes you to continue reaching after excellence.”

Coco Loco earned the category’s top honor with a silver medal (no beer was awarded gold), bringing the brewery its first national recognition.

Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 84 beer categories covering 134 different beer styles (encompassing subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the U.S. Winners were chosen from 4,338 competition entries from 666 breweries, hailing from 48 states, Washington, D.C. and Guam.

Matching its largest field of entries to date, this year’s GABF competition saw its biggest panel of judges ever, with 185 beer experts from 11 countries participating, with assistance from 120 competition volunteers.

For more GABF competition information, including the 2012 winners list and photos, visit GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.