The World Beer Cup, an international competition billed as the largest and most prestigious in the industry, honored craft breweries from across the globe Wednesday. Awards were dolled out during the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville.
Typically the competition happens every other year, but the Boulder-based Brewers Association, which hosts the competition, decided in 2022 the event would be an annual occurrence. This year marked the first time the competition took place in consecutive years, and while some Colorado beer makers suspected that would cause fewer breweries to enter, it didn’t stop them from collecting hardware.
Judges evaluated 10,213 beers from 2,376 breweries – down from 10,542 beers and 2,493 breweries in 2022, the competition’s biggest year.
Despite that drop, the number of medals awarded to local breweries increased. Colorado beermakers took home a total of 24 awards, including seven gold medals, 10 silver and seven bronze. That’s up from 22 medals in 2022.
Loveland’s Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project was the evening’s biggest winner, collecting three medals total, including two gold for its Pure Imagination oatmeal stout and Others in Darkness British-style imperial stout. It brought home silver for its Grow Old With You barleywine.
Verboten Brewing, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, previously won three medals from the World Beer Cup, meaning the company doubled its number of accolades this year. The oatmeal stout, which is a wintertime seasonal, previously won silver. Co-owner Josh Grenz said he was overwhelmed by the recognition.
“People know Verboten for our dark beers and barleywines. All three beers are beers I’m super proud of. They took a lot of time, they’re not quick beer to make,” Grenz said by phone. “We’re honored to be among the list of Colorado breweries that won and breweries worldwide that won.”
RELATED: Barrel-aging 101: How Colorado brewers like Verboten use wood to make unique beers
Resolute Brewing Co. in Centennial, Joyride Brewing Co. in Edgewater and River North Brewery in Denver took home two medals each.
Colorado shined in the wood-aged beer category, where Jessup Farm Barrel House out of Fort Collins took home gold and Bull & Bush Brewery in Denver took home silver. Denver’s Diebolt Brewing Co. took home bronze in the wood- and barrel-aged strong stout category.
Another notable win: Boulder’s Avery Brewing Co. took home gold for White Rascal in the Belgian-Style Witbier category, beating out Hoegaarden out of Belgium, which took silver.
“Colorado brewers continue to prove that they brew world-class beers through their consistency and diversity in beer styles,” said Shawnee Adelson, executive director of the Colorado Brewers Guild in a statement. “This is demonstrated by the number of repeat winners and new winners that took home hardware this year.”
See the full list of local winners below and peruse the full list at worldbeercup.org.
Gold
Belgian–Style Witbier: White Rascal, Avery Brewing Co., Boulder
British-Style Imperial Stout: Others in Darkness, Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project, Loveland
Chili Beer: Yellow Fever, Comrade Brewing Co., Denver
Chocolate Beer: Midnight Hike, River North Brewery, Denver
Oatmeal Stout: Pure Imagination, Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project, Loveland
Smoke Beer: Unearthing the Orb, Resolute Brewing Co., Centennial
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer: Ginette, Jessup Farms Barrel House, Boulder
Silver
Barley Wine-Style Ale: Grow Old With You, Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project, Loveland
German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock: Execrator, Resolute Brewing Co., Centennial
German-Style Maerzen or Franconian-Style Rotbier: Strange Fest, Strange Craft Beer Co., Denver
Gluten-Free Beer: Seven Spice Anniversary Saison, Holidaily Brewing Co., Golden
Historical Beer: Two Teef, Guanella Pass Brewing Co., Georgetown
InternationalIndia Pale Ale: Spirit of the West, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs
Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale: Muscle Memory, Cerebral Brewing (Congress Park), Denver
Session India Pale Ale: Trump Hands, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden
South German-Style Hefeweizen: Flying W Hefeweizen, Little Dry Creek Brewery, Greenwood Village
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer: Temporary Paradise, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver
Bronze
American-Style Strong Pale Ale: You Have to Call Me Nighthawk, Joyride Brewing Co., Edgewater
Coffee Stout or Porter: Coffee Roasters, Uhl’s Brewing Co., Boulder
German-Style Koelsch: Ice Cutter Kolsch, Joyride Brewing Co., Edgwater
International Lager: You’re a Funny Guy, Empourium Brewing Co., Denver
International Pale Ale: New Zealand Pale Ale, Station 26 Brewing Co., Denver
Other Strong Beer: Snowburn, River North Brewery, Denver
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout: Vladislav, Dieblot Brewing Co., Denver
