2018 World Beer Cup Winners Announced!

The Brewers Association (BA), the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers, recently shared the results of the 2018 World Beer Cup Awards. Undoubtedly the largest competition to date, these awards were presented at the conclusion of the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America® at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn.

An elite panel of 295 judges from 33 countries judged the beers in 6 sessions over three days. Judges from outside of the USA made up a whopping 72%. Over the course of the competition, judges evaluated 8,234 beers, which is a 25 percent increase in the number of entries from the 2016 World Beer Cup. Additionally, of the 2,515 participating breweries, 807 were from outside the United States.

Out of a possible 303 awards in 101 beer style categories, 302 were awarded. However, there was one gold award that wasn’t given out. It was in Category 36, International-Style Pilsener.

“Beer brings people together,” said Charlie Papazian, founder and past president, Brewers Association. “The World Beer Cup showcases the breadth of the global brewing community and winning an award symbolizes one of the greatest brewing achievements. Congratulations to all the winners on this remarkable accomplishment.”

Photos © Brewers Association

Competition Highlights

  • Average number of beers entered per category: 82 (a 13% increase from 2016)
  • Most-entered categories in 2018:
    • 377 entries in Category 93, American-Style India Pale Ale
    • 196 entries in Category 94, Imperial India Pale Ale
    • 196 entries in Category 28, Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
    • 190 entries in Category 29, Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout

  • Number of countries represented: 66 (a 20%increase from 2016)
  • Countries with the most awards:
    • United States: 242
    • Canada: 14
    • Germany: 9
  • The country with the highest winning rate: Belgium (10%)
  • Panama won its first-ever World Beer Cup award. All other award-winning countries were previous winners.

The Brewers Association introduced the World Beer Cup competition in 1996 to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. Since then,  the generous support of various sponsors has been making it possible to host this event. Presenting sponsor Krones is one of the many sponsors that made the 2018 World Beer Cup possible. Other partner sponsors also include Barth-Haas Group, First Key Consulting Inc., MicroStar Logistics, SAHM GmbH + Co. KG, and Siemens.

For more details, check out the 2018 World Beer Cup Fact Sheet and Winner List.


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