California Claims Most Wins of Any State at 2026 World Beer Cup Competition

American Craft Beer|May 12th, 2026|

One of the beer industry’s most prestigious competitions, the World Beer Cup took place in Philadelphia on April 22, 2026 and awards were presented in 113 beer-style categories at the conclusion of Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America.

Considered by many to be the “Olympics of Beer” this competition is a very big deal.

Winning a World Beer Cup is like winning a Grammy, an Oscar, an Emmy. 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.

And once again California brewers won BIG.

Out of 353 total medals awarded globally, 44 California breweries brought home 68 awards. And not only did California dominate the event, they nearly took home 25% of the competitions gold medals.

“The California Craft Brewers Association is proud to once again see California’s craft brewers come home with the most wins of any state at the 2026 World Beer Cup,” said Kelsey McQuaid-Craig, Executive Director of the California Craft Brewers Association. “ From unique and rare beer styles to the highly coveted IPA categories, California showed why we are still number one in craft beer.”

Complete List of California Winners

Medal	Beer Name	Brewery	Category
Gold	Handgepluckte Kriek	AleSmith Brewing Company	Belgian-Style Fruit Beer
Gold	Howzit Punch	Alvarado Street Brewery	Fruited American-Style Sour Ale
Bronze	Power Plants	Barebottle Brewing Co.	Imperial India Pale Ale
Bronze	Sunset Sessions	Barebottle Brewing Co.	International Pale Ale
Silver	Kanpai Krush	Brewyard Beer Co.	Rice Lager
Gold	Redwood Remedy	Burgeon Beer Co.	American-Style Amber/Red Ale
Bronze	Tank Top & Schwartz	Burgeon Beer Co.	German-Style Schwarzbier
Gold	Mt. Cook	Cellarmaker Brewing Co.	Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale
Gold	Happy Days	Claremont Craft Ales	Strong Red Ale
Bronze	Small Batch Guava	Coronado Brewing Co.	Fruited Cider
Gold	In Tasty We Trust	Danville Brewing Co.	American-Style Strong Pale Ale
Gold	Double Nickels	Docent Brewing	American-Style Pale Ale
Silver	Stay Calm	East Village Brewing Co.	Coffee Beer
Gold	Oaty McOatface	East Village Brewing Co.	Robust Porter
Bronze	Shifted Visions	everywhere	Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale
Gold	High & Fine	Fieldwork Brewing Co.	Hoppy Lager
Bronze	Eclipse 2025 Garrison Brothers	FiftyFifty Brewing Co.	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout
Gold	15th Anniversary	Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.	British-Style Imperial Stout
Bronze	Danish Red Lager	Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.	Vienna-Style Lager
Gold	Pear Saison	Firestone Walker Brewing – Barrelworks	Brett Beer
Bronze	Beauty Everywhere	Firestone Walker Brewing – Barrelworks	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dessert or Pastry Beer
Bronze	Electric Eagle	Firestone Walker Brewing – Propagator	West Coast-Style India Pale Ale
Bronze	Romulus Red	Gladi8or Brews and Billiards	Irish-Style Red Ale
Gold	Spiced Apple	Gowan’s Heirloom Cider	Botanical or Spiced Cider
Gold	Gravenstein	Gowan’s Heirloom Cider	No/Low-Tannin Cider
Gold	Classic Dry	Gowan’s Heirloom Cider	Tannic Cider
Silver	1876	Gowan’s Heirloom Cider	Tannic Cider
Bronze	Josh’s Lil’ Shoes	Green Cheek Beer Co.	Session India Pale Ale
Silver	Saison For Papa	Green Cheek Beer Co. – Costa Mesa	Classic Saison
Silver	Pyros Prost	Hop Dogma Brewing Co.	Chili Beer
Bronze	Pilsner	Hop Dogma Brewing Co.	German-Style Pilsener
Bronze	California Common	Institution Ale Co.	American-Style Amber Lager
Silver	Mosaic	Institution Ale Co.	English-Style Pale Ale
Gold	Immutable Dawn	ISM Brewing	Classic India Pale Ale
Silver	Chepedelic	ISM Brewing	New Zealand-Style India Pale Ale
Bronze	Golden Stout	Karl Strauss Brewing Co.	Coffee Beer
Gold	Windansea Wheat	Karl Strauss Brewing Co.	South German-Style Weissbier
Bronze	Nenette	Kern River Brewing Co.	Belgian-Style Blonde Ale
Silver	Kamakura	Ketch Brewing	International-Style Pilsener
Silver	Snap Shot	Morgan Territory Brewing	American-Style Cream Ale
Gold	Lock’d, Bock’d, & Ready to Rock	Morgan Territory Brewing	German-Style Bock or Maibock
Silver	Seven Gables	Mountain Rambler Brewery	Scottish-Style Ale
Silver	Hop-Fu!	North Park Beer Co.	Classic India Pale Ale
Gold	Lupulin Collider	North Park Beer Co.	Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale
Gold	Friends & Neighbors	North Park Beer Co.	Vienna-Style Lager
Silver	Hidden Gem	OB Brewery	South German-Style Dunkel Weizen
Silver	Guillaume	Pizza Port Ocean Beach	Session Beer
Bronze	Oats	Pizza Port Solana Beach	Oatmeal Stout
Silver	So Into You	Radiant Beer Co.	Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale
Bronze	Blackside Snap	Riip Beer Co.	American-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout
Bronze	Pacifist Pelican	Riip Beer Co.	American-Style Brown Ale
Silver	Nueve Grados	Riip Beer Co.	Mexican-Style Light Lager
Bronze	Wannabe Wallaby	Riip Beer Co.	New Zealand-Style India Pale Ale
Bronze	Velvet Glow	Russian River Brewing Co.	International-Style Pilsener
Bronze	Shred IPA	Shred Beer Co.	Classic India Pale Ale
Bronze	Purr Pressure	Slice Beer Co.	Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale
Silver	Kolsch	Standard Deviant Brewing	German-Style Koelsch
Gold	Stone Cimmerian Portal	Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station	American-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout
Bronze	Wassah Matta U	Synth Beer Co.	Italian-Style Pilsener
Gold	Inferno	The Lost Abbey	Other Strong Beer
Bronze	Belle Saison	Third Window Brewing Co.	Brett Beer
Bronze	Petite Saison	Third Window Brewing Co.	Session Beer
Gold	Transmission Light	Transmission Brewing	American Light Lager
Silver	Red Blade	Urban Roots Brewing	American-Style Amber/Red Ale
Gold	Kaffe Americano	Urban Roots Brewing	Coffee Stout or Porter
Gold	Demons Run 2025 Reserve	Urban Roots Brewing	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout
Gold	Saca La Bolsita	Villains Brewing Co.	Mexican-Style Pale Lager
Bronze	Road Rash	Wagon Wheel Brewing Co.	Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale