World Beer Cup

The World Beer Cup is an international beer competition organized by the Brewers Association, a trade group representing America's small and independent craft brewers.[1] It is the largest competition in the beer industry[2] and has been described as "the Olympics of beer."[3][4] According to americancraftbeer.com, "Winning a World Beer Cup is like winning a Grammy or an Oscar…it brings the world’s attention to even the smallest brewery’s doorstep…and like a hit song or film, it can make a career."[4] The cup was founded by Association of Brewers president Charlie Papazian in 1996 and is awarded every two years.[5] The competition is held in conjunction with the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America.[2]

Beer World Cup logo

Competition and judging

According to the World Beer Cup, "all entries must be commercially available, fermented malt beverages, conforming to the trade understanding of “beer”, brewed by a permitted commercial brewery. “Commercially available” means available for sale at retail at the time of registration."[6] For the 2016 World Beer Cup, the entry fee was $160 per beer, in addition to a $160 application fee.[6]

Awards are given in more than 100 categories. Up to three awards - gold, silver, and bronze - may be awarded in any category, but sometimes not all three awards are given, depending on how the judges evaluate the entires. If they determine that no beer qualifies for a gold award, they may give out just silver and bronze medals. They may even give no awards at all, if all the entries are determined to be unsuited to the style of that category or to be unworthy of an award.[7]

Recent World Beer Cup events

In 2016 there were 6,596 beers from 1,907 breweries from 55 countries. Entries were judged by an international panel of 253 judges from 31 countries.[3] In 2018 there were 8,234 beers entered, a 25% increase over the 2016 cup and the largest field in the competition's history, with competitors from 66 countries.[5] There were 295 judges, three-fourths of them from outside the United States.[2]

Brewery awards

Champion Brewery (Very Small)
Year Brewery Brew Master City State Country
2016 Arch Rock Brewing Co. James Smith Gold Beach Oregon USA

Champion Brewery (Small)
Year Brewery Brew Master City State Country
2004 Oggi's Pizza and Brewing Company Tom Nickel San Clemente California USA
2006 Brauerei Michael Plank Michael Plank Laaber Bavaria Germany
2008 Port Brewing Company and Lost Abbey Tomme Arthur San Marcos California USA
2010 Ballast Point Brewing Company Ballast Point Brewers San Diego California USA
2012 Brauerei Michael Plank Michael Plank Laaber Bavaria Germany
2014 Pelican Brewery Darron Welch, Steve Panos Pacific City Oregon USA
2016 Noble Ale Works Evan & The Giants Anaheim California USA

Champion Brewery (Medium)
Year Brewery Brew Master City State Country
2004 Firestone Walker Fine Ales Matthew Brynildson Paso Robles California USA
2006 Firestone Walker Fine Ales Matthew Brynildson Paso Robles California USA
2008 Privatbrauerei Hoepfner Peter Bucher Karlsruhe Baden-Württemberg Germany
2010 Firestone Walker Brewing Company Matthew Brynildson Paso Robles California USA
2012 Firestone Walker Brewing Company Matthew Brynildson Paso Robles California USA
2014 Coronado Brewing Company Coronado California USA
2016 Brewery Ommegang Brewery Ommegang Cooperstown New York USA

Champion Brewery (Large)
Year Brewery Brew Master City State Country
2004 Miller Brewing Company Dr. David S. Ryder Milwaukee Wisconsin USA
2006 Miller Brewing Company Dr. David S. Ryder Milwaukee Wisconsin USA
2008 Blue Moon Brewing Company Warren Quilliam Golden Colorado USA
2010 Asia Pacific Breweries Limited APB Brewing Team Singapore
2012 AB InBev Claudio Ferro New York New York USA
2014 Coors Brewing Company Dr. David Ryder Golden Colorado USA
2016 Miller Brewing Co. Miller Brewing Co. Brewing Team Milwaukee Wisconsin USA

Champion Brewpub (Small)
Year Brewery Brew Master City State Country
2004 Laurelwood Pub & Brewery Christian Ettinger Portland Oregon USA
2006 Piece Brewery Jonathan Cutler Chicago Illinois USA
2008 Bend Brewing Company Tonya Cornett Bend Oregon USA
2010 Devils Backbone Brewing Company Jason Oliver Roseland Virginia USA
2012 Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant Iron Hill Brewery Team Media Pennsylvania USA
2014 Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant Iron Hill Brewery Team Media Pennsylvania USA
2016 12Degree Brewing Jon Howland & Tor O’Brien Louisville Colorado USA

Champion Brewpub (Large)
Year Brewery Brew Master City State Country
2004 Russian River Brewing Company Vinnie Cilurzo Santa Rosa California USA
2006 Russian River Brewing Company Vinnie Cilurzo Santa Rosa California USA
2010 Iron Hill Brewery Iron Hill Brewery Team Wilmington Delaware USA
2012 Pelican Pub & Brewery Darron R S Welch Pacific City Oregon USA
2014 Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant John Dean Topeka Kansas USA
2016 Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Julian Shrago, Ian McCall & Gene Wagoner Long Beach California USA

References
  1. "Brewers Association Purpose", BrewersAssociation.org, Brewers Association
  2. Stoller, Gary (May 4, 2018). "The World's Best Beers Win Awards At The 2018 World Beer Cup". Forbes.
  3. "2016 World Beer Cup Winners Announced". Beer Advocate. May 7, 2016.
  4. "Highlights from the 2018 World Beer Cup". Americancraftbeer.com. May 4, 2018.
  5. Baker, Jess. "2018 World Beer Cup Awards Marks the Largest Yet". craftbeer.com.
  6. "Eligibility & Fees". WorldBeerCup.org. Brewers Association.
  7. "Award Criteria & Judging", WorldBeerCup.org, Brewers Association
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