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AWARD. From Hop Dogma Facebook and the American Brewers Association, April 22nd, 2026.
From Hop Dogma’s Brewmaster, Dan Littlefield, on Facebook, April 22nd, 2206. About Hop Dogma Beer.
Forever going to be riding high from this huge win for Hop Dogma! German Pilsner had 201 entries, judged by the most professional experts from all over the world. This is the category I always dreamed of winning a medal in. Still in disbelief, but this validates all the hard work, R&D, exhaustive quality control measures, etc. Best part is, I know we can still do more to improve.
Brewing Excellence Shines at 2026 World Beer Cup, Marking 30 Years of Global Competition
April 22nd, 2026
A total of 353 medals awarded to 273 producers worldwide
Philadelphia —The World Beer Cup® (WBC), the world’s most prestigious beer competition, today celebrated three decades of brewing excellence by awarding 353* medals to breweries and cideries across the globe.
Organized by the Brewers Association (BA)—the not-for-profit trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers—the 2026 World Beer Cup, now in its 30th year, recognized the very best in beer and cider across 118 categories, while continuing to set the global standard for technical excellence, innovation, and creativity rooted in both tradition and progress.
“Thirty years in, the World Beer Cup remains a powerful reflection of how far global brewing has come—and where it’s headed,” said Chris Williams, World Beer Cup competition director. “Even in a year that challenged beverage alcohol producers to evolve, this year’s winners demonstrated that innovation, precision, and passion for craft are stronger than ever.”
An international panel of 255 judges from 50 countries evaluated 8,166 entries using rigorous, blind-tasting protocols. The 2026 competition brought together 1,644 breweries representing 50 nations, underscoring the event’s role as a truly global benchmark for quality.
The World Beer Cup awards ceremony capped off the Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America®, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where between 7-8,000 brewing, fermentation, distilling, and packaging professionals gathered for education, collaboration, and connection across the beverage alcohol industry.
Winners in Top 5 most entered style categories:
Category 114: West Coast-Style India Pale Ale, 293 entries
- Gold – Project Alpha 81, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Golden, CO
- Silver – Mosaic Madness, Crystal Springs Brewing Co., Louisville, CO
- Bronze – Electric Eagle, Firestone Walker Brewing – Propagator Marina del Rey, CA
Category 113: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale, 274 entries
- Gold – Because Science, Bend Brewing Co., Bend, OR
- Silver – Bolo Season, Zilker Brewing Co., Austin, TX
- Bronze – Shifted Visions, everywhere, Orange, CA
Category 112: Classic India Pale Ale, 205 entries
- Gold – Immutable Dawn, ISM Brewing, Long Beach, CA
- Silver – Hop-Fu!, North Park Beer Co., San Diego, CA
- Bronze – Shred IPA, Shred Beer Co., Rocklin, CA
Category 43: German-Style Pilsner, 201 entries
- Gold – 801 Pilsner, Uinta Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, UT
- Silver – Southern German Style Pilsener, Craft Beer Base, Osaka, Japan
- Bronze – Pilsner, Hop Dogma Brewing Co., Half Moon Bay, CA <<<<<<<<<<<<<
Category 45: Munich-Style Helles, 156 entries
- Gold – Wander Back Lager, Wander Back Beerworks, Vineland, NJ
- Silver – Lager, Noble Twist, Saugatuck, MI
- Bronze – Kirkland Signature Helles Lager, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
*Out of a total possible 354 awards, 353 were awarded. A bronze was not awarded in Category 75, Belgian-Style Witbier.
Avg number of beers in each category: 69
A recording of the awards ceremony can be viewed here.
Previous years’ winners can be viewed here.
World Beer Cup Competition Statistics
- 17th competition (skipped 2020; annualized starting 2022)
- Entries: 8166
- Breweries: 1644
- Countries: 50
- Top 5 entering countries: United States, Japan, Canada, China, Brazil
- First-time brewery entries: 295
- Judges: 255
- International judges: 128
- Judge countries: 37
- Judging sessions and days: 14 sessions and 7 days
- Style categories: 113 beer | 5 cider
- Beer styles: 186 (includes all subcategories)
The 2026 World Beer Cup competition was made possible by the generous support of its sponsors: Fermentis, First Key, John I. Haas, Jenrey Ltd., Rahr Malting Co., Sahm Glass, and Siemens.
Author: mdrag
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