Colorado breweries brought home nearly two dozen awards Wednesday at the World Beer Cup, hosted by the Boulder-based Brewers Association.
Why it matters: The global contest, dubbed the “Olympics of Beer,” is the largest of its kind and considered one of the world’s most prestigious beer competitions.
The big picture: Colorado breweries collected 21 awards, including nine gold medals ranging from lagers to Belgian styles.
- The competition featured 9,300 beers from 60 countries.
Zoom in: Here are the Colorado breweries that saw the hoppiest endings.
Gold medal winners:
- River North in Denver: Nightmare Fuel (coffee stout or porter)
- Bull & Bush in Denver: Kauai Pie (dessert stout or pastry)
- Station 26 in Denver: Swift Half (session or Belgian-style table beer)
- Prost in Northglenn: Leichtbier (international light lager)
- Cerveceria Colorado in Denver: Venga! (international-style pilsner)
- Old 121 in Lakewood: ESB (extra special bitter)
- 12Degree in Louisville: Treachery (Belgian-style strong blonde ale)
- Banded Oak in Denver: French Lager Bièr Ambrée (Belgian-style strong specialty ale)
- Bent Barley in Aurora: Dry Irish Stout (classic Irish-style dry stout)
Zoom out: The Post in Lafayette won a silver and bronze medal for its Easy County Fine Malt Liquor and Top Rope beers, while River North in Denver scored a second medal in the bronze category for its Pumpkin Spice Bucket of Bolts.
Fun fact: Seven Colorado breweries were first-time winners — Prost, Cerveceria Colorado, Old 121, Banded Oak, Bent Barley, The Post and Cellar West, which took home a silver for its Farmhouse Saison.
- Verboten and Station 26 now hold the longest winning streaks of local breweries with three World Beer Cup medals in a row, according to the Colorado Brewers Guild.
What they’re saying: The Centennial State “continues to prove that it’s competitive on the world beer stage,” Colorado Brewers Guild executive director Shawnee Adelson said in a statement.
See the full list of local winners
