They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But with the Craft Brewers Conference underway there, the results of the event’s hallmark competition, the World Beer Cup, were bound to get out.
On Wednesday night, beermakers from around the globe celebrated their accolades in what’s billed as the industry’s largest and most prestigious competition. This year, World Beer Cup judges evaluated 9,300 beers from 2,060 breweries. Participation was down substantially from 10,213 beers from 2,376 breweries in 2023, possibly due to the fact the competition now happens annually instead of every other year.
Colorado made out with an impressive 21 medals, including nine gold. That’s a decrease compared to last year when local breweries brought 24 medals home to the Centennial State; however, the number of gold medals increased.
River North Brewery in Denver and The Post Brewing Co. in Lafayette were the night’s biggest winners with two medals each. River North brought home gold for its Nightmare Fuel in the coffee stout/porter category and bronze for its Pumpkin Spice Bucket of Bolts in the pumpkin beer category. Meanwhile, The Post garnered silver for East County Fine Malt Liquor in the other strong beer category and bronze for Top Rope in the American-style cream ale category.
Venga earned a gold medal in the international-style pilsner category at the 2024 World Beer Cup. (Provided by Cerveceria Colorado)
Otherwise, Colorado breweries placed in a wide array of styles, from international pilsner and international light lager to juicy/hazy strong pale ale and Australian-style pale ale.
If there’s one style brewers here seem to do well it’s barleywines, a category where two local breweries earned accolades. Loveland’s Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project took silver for Grow Old With You barleywine and Colorado Springs’ Goat Patch Brewing Co. landed bronze for Baaah-ley Wine.
“Colorado continues to prove that it’s competitive on the world beer stage. With nine gold medals this year ranging from lagers to Belgian styles, Colorado craft breweries are demonstrating that they can brew alongside the best brewers in the world,” Shawnee Adelson, executive director of the Colorado Brewers Guild, in a statement.
See the full list of local winners below and peruse the full list at worldbeercup.org.
Gold
Belgian-style strong blonde ale: Treachery, 12Degree Brewing, Louisville
Belgian-style strong specialty ale: French Lager Biere Ambree, Banded Oak Brewing Co., Denver
Classic Irish-style dry stout: Dry Irish Stout, Bent Barley Brewing Co., Aurora
Coffee stout or porter: Nightmare Fuel, River North Brewery, Denver
Dessert stout or pastry stout: Kauai Pie, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver
Extra special bitter: ESB, Old 121 Brewhouse, Lakewood
International light lager: Prost Leichtbier, Prost Brewing Co., Denver
International pilsener: Venga, Cerveceria Colorado, Denver
Session beer or Belgian-style table beer: Swift Half, Station 26 Brewing Co., Denver
Silver
Australian-style pale ale: Mountain Standard, Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins
Barleywine-style ale: Grow Old With You, Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project, Loveland
Classic saison: Farmhouse Saison, Cellar West Brewery, Lafayette
German-style Maerzen or Franconian-style rotbier: Falltoberfest, Launch Pad Brewery, Aurora
International pale ale: Colorado Pale Ale, Westbound & Down Brewing Co., Idaho Springs
Other strong beer: East County Fine Malt Liquor, The Post Brewing Co., Lafayette
Bronze
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American-style cream ale: Top Rope, The Post Brewing Co., Lafayette
Barleywine-style ale: Baaah-ley Wine, Goat Patch Brewing Co., Colorado Springs
Dortmunder/export or German-style Oktoberfest: Smooth Exportations, Denver Beer Co., Arvada
Juicy or hazy pale: Green Flash: Hazy West Coast IPA, SweetWater Brewing Co., Fort Collins
Juicy or hazy strong pale ale: Aspen Hazy IPA, Aspen Brewing Co., Aspen
Pumpkin beer: Pumpkin Spice Bucket of Bolts, River North Brewery, Denver