(Cleveland, Ohio skyline at dusk)

Ohio is home to a vibrant craft beer scene. On February 16^th the Ohio Craft Brewers Association celebrated its best and we’ve got all the big winners for you…

This year’s inaugural competition featured almost 500 entries from all over the state. In all, 47 Ohio breweries, cideries and meaderies earned medals across 26 categories.

Masthead Brewing and Noble Beast Brewing of Cleveland were honored with Brewery of the Year awards after earning four medals each in the competition. And the recently re-opened Akronym Brewing in Akron also won four medals, but missed a Brewery of the Year award by a single point.

Five breweries won three medals each: Collision Bend Brewing in Cleveland, JAFB Wooster Brewery in Wooster, Three Tigers Brewing in Granville, Wandering Monsters Brewing in Cincinnati and Yellow Springs Brewery in Yellow Springs.

Of the eight breweries that earned three or more medals, six of them have previously been awarded prestigious honors at either the World Beer Cup or Great American Beer Festival competitions

And now (drum roll please) ALL of this year’s big winners…

2026 Ohio Beer Awards Winners

Category 1: European Pilsner

• Gold: Daytonian Rhapsody, Eudora Brewing Company, Kettering, Ohio
• Silver: Geist der Glocke, Bell Tower Brewing Co., Kent, Ohio
• Bronze: Golem, Gemüt Biergarten, Columbus, Ohio

Category 2: Golden, Blonde and Other Light Ales

• Gold: Sampsel House Kölsch, Uniontown Brewing Co., Ashland, Ohio
• Silver: Little Kings Cream Ale, Cincinnati Beverage Company, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Bronze: Hungarian Pearl, Immigrant Son Brewery, Lakewood, Ohio

Category 3: Hoppy Lagers

• Gold: Stinkin Lincoln New Zealand Pilsner, Uniontown Brewing Co., Ashland, Ohio
• Silver: IPL Eins, Wooly Pig Farm Brewery, Fresno, Ohio
• Bronze: Scusi, Traum Brewing, Upper Sandusky, Ohio

Category 4: Light European Lagers

• Gold: Rustic Helles, Wooly Pig Farm Brewery, Fresno, Ohio
• Silver: Brewer, Northern Row Brewery & Distillery, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Bronze: Lakeshore Lager, Collision Bend Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio

Category 5: Dark European Lagers

• Gold: Svartalfheim, Masthead Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
• Silver: Tmavé Pivo, Birdfish Brewing Company, Columbiana, Ohio
• Bronze: Rubezahl, Gemüt Biergarten, Columbus, Ohio

Category 6: World Lagers

• Gold: Float Day, Yellow Springs Brewery, Yellow Springs, Ohio
• Silver: Shower Beer, Masthead Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
• Bronze: Multinational Pilsner, Crooked Can Brewing Company, Hilliard, Ohio

Category 7: Porter and Stout

• Gold: Punderson Porter, Bummin’ Beaver Brewery, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
• Silver: Shuck Yeah, The 1547 Project, Cortland, Ohio
• Bronze: Porter, The Brew Brothers, Columbus, Ohio

Category 8: Classic UK and American Styles

• Gold: Old School, Three Tigers Brewing, Granville, Ohio
• Silver: All the Leaves, Broadview Brewing Company, Broadview Heights, Ohio
• Bronze: Stone Fort, Seventh Son Brewing Co., Columbus, Ohio

Category 9: Belgian Beers, German Wheat Beers and Traditional Brett Beers

• Gold: Valor, Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland, Ohio
• Silver: Hefeweizen, JAFB Wooster Brewery, Wooster, Ohio
• Bronze: Captain Stardust, Yellow Springs Brewery, Yellow Springs, Ohio

Category 10: Red Beers

• Gold: Ida Love a Red, Red Wagon Brewing, Columbia Station, Ohio
• Silver: Frontline, Akronym Brewing, Akron, Ohio
• Bronze: Scot’s an Evil Man, Schnitz Ale Brewery, Parma, Ohio

Category 11: Strong Beers

• Gold: Old Dick, New Berlin Brewing Company, North Canton, Ohio
• Silver: Brasky, Combustion Brewery & Taproom, Pickerington, Ohio
• Bronze: We Don’t Rat, We Don’t Run 2025, Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland, Ohio

Category 12: Sessionable Hoppy Beers

• Gold: Henry, Akronym Brewing, Akron, Ohio
• Silver: Light Rajah, The Brew Kettle, Middleburg Heights, Ohio
• Bronze: Small Axe, Three Tigers Brewing, Granville, Ohio

Category 13: American IPA

• Gold: Ca$h After Ten, Ghost Tree Brewing Company, Amherst, Ohio
• Silver: Evil Motives, Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland, Ohio
• Bronze: JAF IPA, JAFB Wooster Brewery, Wooster, Ohio

Category 14: West Coast IPA

• Gold: Danko, Three Tigers Brewing, Granville, Ohio
• Silver: The Cleveland Experiment V7, Masthead Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
• Bronze: Isolated IPA, JAFB Wooster Brewery, Wooster, Ohio

Category 15: Hazy, Juicy, New England IPA

• Gold: Fast Friends, Derive Brewing Company, Columbus, Ohio
• Silver: Creative Space, Yellow Springs Brewery, Yellow Springs, Ohio
• Bronze: Captain Hazy, Collision Bend Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio

Category 16: Imperial IPA and Dark Hoppy Beers

• Gold: The Word, Collision Bend Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
• Silver: Turtlenecks and Gold Chains, Derive Brewing Company, Columbus, Ohio
• Bronze: Now We’re Talkin’, Combustion Brewery & Taproom, Pickerington, Ohio

Category 17: Barrel-Aged Beers

• Gold: Celestial Reserve (Dow’s 65th Birthday Blend), Third Eye Brewing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Silver: Pounding Husks, Wandering Monsters Brewing, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Bronze: Bag of Hammers, Akronym Brewing (in collaboration with The Brew Kettle), Akron, Ohio

Category 18: Barrel-Aged Stout

• Gold: Faded Echoes – Ivory Depths, Counterbalance Brewing, Columbus, Ohio
• Silver: Underverse, Masthead Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio
• Bronze: Barrel Aged Cheap Heat, Streetside Brewery, Cincinnati, Ohio

Category 19: Spiced Holiday Beers

• Gold: Winter Warmer, New Berlin Brewing Company, North Canton, Ohio
• Silver: Slow Toboggan, Brink Brewing Co., Cincinnati, Ohio
• Bronze: John Dough, Wandering Monsters Brewing, Cincinnati, Ohio

Category 20: Flavored Beers

• Gold: Fox in the Stout, Seventh Son Brewing Co., Columbus, Ohio
• Silver: Chunkzilla, Wandering Monsters Brewing, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Bronze: Chai Spiced Imperial Stout, Parsons North Brewing Company, Columbus, Ohio

Category 22: Fruit Beers

• Gold: Cha-Cha-Cha… Cherry Bomb!, Four Paws Brewing, Columbia Station, Ohio
• Silver: Blood Brothers, Hop Brothers Brewing Company, North Ridgeville, Ohio
• Bronze: Nightfall, Traum Brewing, Upper Sandusky, Ohio

Category 23: Coffee Beer

• Gold: Wired Euphoria, Third Eye Brewing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Silver: Good Morning 818, Southern Ohio Brewing, Beavercreek, Ohio
• Bronze: The Daily Grind, Akronym Brewing, Akron, Ohio

Category 24: Historical Beer, Smoked Beer, Experimental Beer and Specialty Beverages

• Gold: Rauchfräug Strong Märzen Lager, Hoppin’ Frog Brewery, Akron, Ohio
• Silver: Lee Morgan, GlendAlehouse, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Bronze: Hanayori Mo Bīru, Eighty-Three Brewery, Akron, Ohio

Category 25: Sour and Mixed Culture Beers

• Gold: Barrel Aged Flemish Kriek, Parsons North Brewing Company, Columbus, Ohio
• Silver: Eau Rouge, Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland, Ohio
• Bronze: Reverie, Edison Brewing Company, Gahanna, Ohio

Category 26: Cider

• Gold: Kelly’s Dry, West End Ciderhouse, Athens, Ohio
• Silver: Shell Jelly, Funky Turtle Brewing Co., Toledo, Ohio
• Bronze: TinCap Pineapple, TinCap Hard Cider, Wilmington, Ohio

Category 27: Mead

• Gold: MVWS, Four Fires Meadery, Maumee, Ohio
• Silver: Booty Blue, Dutch Creek Winery, Athens, Ohio
• Bronze: Stonefruit Slow Jams, Four Fires Meadery, Maumee, Ohio

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“We created the Ohio Beer Awards to celebrate the best our industry has to offer, as well as to give feedback to brewers and help them make the finest beer possible,” said Mary MacDonald, executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. “There’s so much pride and passion that goes into the making of craft beer here in Ohio, and we want to do our part in sharing that with everyone.”