The World Beer Cup is one of the most prestigious global awards when it comes to beer. Some of the world’s best breweries come out to compete, and this year Canada came to win.
Held in Nashville this year the awards were judged during six sessions over a period of three days by an elite panel of 295 judges from 33 countries—72 percent of whom were from outside the United States. Judges evaluated 8,234 beers—a 25 percent increase in the number of entries from the 2016 World Beer Cup. Of the 2,515 participating breweries, 807 were from outside the United States, making this a truly global competition.
302 awards were handed out in 101 categories, which is a massive undertaking. Some highlights to the show included:
- Average number of beers entered per category: 82 (a 13 percent 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 percent increase from 2016)
- Countries with the most awards:
- United States: 242
- Canada: 14
- Germany: 9
- Country with the highest winning rate: Belgium (10 percent)
Bet you want to know who won from Canada? The full list is below, and BC was the game changer here pulling in most of the awards:
| Silver | Juxtapose | Four Winds Brewing Co. | American-Belgo-Style Ale | 2018 |
| Bronze | Flanders Sour Ale | Rebellion Brewing Co. | Belgian-Style Flanders Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ale | 2018 |
| Silver | 33 Acres of Euphoria | 33 Acres Brewing Co. | Belgian-Style Tripel | 2018 |
| Bronze | Breakfast of Champions Coffee Lager | Riot Brewing Co. | Coffee Beer | 2018 |
| Bronze | Black Tusk Ale | Whistler Brewing Co. | English-Style Mild Ale | 2018 |
| Gold | Working Class Hero Dark Mild | Riot Brewing Co. | English-Style Mild Ale | 2018 |
| Gold | Old Jalopy Pale Ale | Powell Street Craft Brewery | Extra Special Bitter | 2018 |
| Silver | Bord du Lac | Amsterdam Brewing Co. | French & Belgian-Style Saison | 2018 |
| Gold | Corvus Lingonberry Lime Gose | Ravens Brewing Co. | Leipzig-Style Gose or Contemporary Gose | 2018 |
| Silver | Kirke | Corsaire Microbrasserie | Ordinary or Special Bitter | 2018 |
| Silver | Ryes Against the Machine | Hell’s Basement Brewery | Rye Beer | 2018 |
| Gold | Scotch Ale Wee Heavy | Microbrasserie Gainsbourg | Scotch Ale | 2018 |
| Silver | Smoke & Mirrors Imperial Smoked Ale | Coal Harbour Brewing Co. | Smoke Beer | 2018 |
| Silver | Scarlet | Steamworks Brewing Co. | Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer | 2018 |
For the full list of winners, visit the official page of World Beer Cup.
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