The Brewers Association (BA) has announced the results of the 2018 World beer Cup. Called the “Olympics of Beer,” the awards ceremony held May 3 during the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Nashville, Tenn. saw its largest turnout yet, with 8,234 beer entries from 66 countries.
The U.S. swept with a total of 242 awards. Second to the U.S. was Canada, with 14 awards, then Germany, with nine awards. The country with the highest winning rate, at 10 percent, was, perhaps unsurprisingly, Belgium. Panama won a World Beer Cup award for the first time, the BA said.
This contest was not rigged—beers were judged by a panel of 295 judges from 33 countries, and 72 percent of judges were from countries outside the U.S., the BA said. However, 807 of the 2,515, or about 32 percent, of participating breweries were from the U.S. Still, that’s a fraction of the country’s more than 6,300 breweries.
The judges evaluated 8,234 beers for 303 awards in 101 beer style categories over six sessions in three days. 302 awards were given; there was no gold award given for International-style Pilsener.
Here’s a brief overview of winners in the most-entered categories for the 2018 World Beer Cup:
American-Style India Pale Ale (377 entries):
Gold – Revision Brewing Co. Revision IPA
Silver – Green Cheek Beer Co. Radiant Beauty
Bronze – Pinthouse Pizza Bailing Room
Imperial India Pale Ale (196 entries):
Gold – Noble Ale Works Nobility
Silver – Revision Brewing Revision DIPA
Bronze – MadeWest Brewing MadeWest Donlon
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (196 entries):
Gold – Milwaukee Brewing Co. Gin Barrel O-Gii
Silver – Steamworks Brewing Co. Scarlet
Bronze – Dry Dock Brewing Co. Bligh’s Barleywine Ale
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout (190 entries):
Gold – Wild Acre Brewing Thunder Hug
Silver – Fat Bottom Brewing the Baroness
Bronze – Hermitage Brewing Three Tun
A complete list of winners is available on worldbeercup.org.
The World Beer Cup began in 1996 to recognize outstanding achievement in the brewing industry.
