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8,375 Beers, 265 Judges, 1 Champion Event: Winners from the 2025 World Beer Cup
Winner winner, beer dinner.
Since 1996, the Brewers Association has recognized breweries at the World Beer Cup, one of the world’s most prestigious and esteemed competitions for craft beer and cider. This year, an international panel of 265 judges from 37 countries tasted 8,375 entries from 1,761 breweries and cideries in 49 countries, giving out 349 awards.
“The World Beer Cup competition continues to showcase the global industry’s dedication to innovative craftsmanship, diverse flavors, and technical excellence,” said Chris Williams, World Beer Cup competition director. “This roster of 2025 winners represents the pinnacle of craft brewing and cideries, demonstrating what’s achievable through dedication and passion. Congratulations to this year’s award winners; they have once again helped set the standard for excellence in their craft, inspiring innovation and fostering healthy competition within the industry.”
Overall, the sentiment in the industry has been pretty gloomy. “One of the most common questions we’re getting is some version of: When are we going to get through this? Well, what if this is it?” said Brewers Association President and CEO Bart Watson during his State of the Industry presentation. “Should brewers be carrying a murky crystal ball looking for brighter days ahead, or should they hunker down, accepting this version of reality?
Watson highlighted that the overall segment is down 4%, its weakest point since the global pandemic, and that brewery closures are still outpacing openings. But, caveats by saying we’ve still seen many stories of growth, with forty-three percent of breweries growing last year.
He concluded his State of the Industry address at this year’s 2025 Craft Beer Conference by reminding us that some of the dramatic headlines we’re seeing in the media can be found in the late 1980s and early 1990s, discussing “a fundamental change in American culture” surrounding drinking. Those headlines disappeared by the early 2000s, setting the stage for 25 years of growth in the beverage alcohol industry.
“If you take a long-term view, beer has weathered many cycles,” says Watson. “That may be cold comfort for the next quarter…but hopefully it’s reassuring and a good reminder for anyone looking to build a generational business.”
He continued, “Pioneering craft brewers…weathered equally rough seas and through a combination of innovation, smarts, and pure hard work found a way out the other side. You got this, and we got your back.”
Let’s celebrate all of the award-winning beers below. And support your local business by drinking one of them in the coming weeks.
A Quick Glance at the Winners of the 2025 World Beer Cup Awards
Photography courtesy of the Brewers Association
Here are the winners in the top five most-entered categories.
You can find the entire list of 2025 winners here.
5. Hoppy Lager (155 entries)
GOLD: Cold IPA | pFriem Family Brewers | Hood River, OR
SILVER: Super Smash | Unsung Brewing Co. | Anaheim, CA
BRONZE: Krispi Kiwi | Far Field Beer Co. | Lawndale, CA
4. German-Style Pilsener (286 entries)
GOLD: Haha Pils | Arbeiter Brewing Co. | Minneapolis, MN
SILVER: Kinabik | Snake Lake Brewing Co. | Sylvan Lake, Canada
BRONZE: Planks | MadeWest Brewing Co. | Ventura, CA
3. American-Style India Pale Ale (208 entries)
GOLD: Super Slap | Brewery X | Anaheim, CA
SILVER: Party Crusher | Beechwood Brewing | Huntington Beach, CA
BRONZE: Breakside IPA | Breakside Brewery & Taproom | Milwaukie, OR
2. West Coast-Style India Pale Ale (253 entries)
GOLD: Mosaic Takedown | Pinthouse Brewing | Austin, TX
SILVER: Chasmic Absorbption Through Whirlpools of Disarray | Ghost Town Brewing | Oakland, CA
BRONZE: Terraform | Wayward Lane Brewing | Schoharie, NY
1. Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (290 entries)
GOLD: Shifted Visions | Everywhere | Orange, CA
SILVER: How to Make Friends | Hana Koa Brewing Co. | Honolulu, HI
BRONZE: Riverside NEIPA | Guggman Haus Brewing Co. | Indianapolis, IN
About The Author
Grace Lee-Weitz
Currently Drinking:
Fort Point Beer Co. KSA
Grace is the Senior Content Editor for Hop Culture and Untappd. She also organizes and produces the largest weeklong women, femme-identifying, and non-binary folx in craft beer festival in the country, Beers With(out) Beards, and the first-ever festival celebrating the colorful, vibrant voices in the queer community in craft beer, Queer Beer. An avid craft beer nerd Grace always found a way to work with beer. After graduating with a journalism degree from Northwestern University, she attended culinary school before working in restaurant management. She moonlighted as a brand ambassador at 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. on the weekends before moving into the beer industry full-time as an account coordinator at 5 Rabbit Cerveceria. Grace holds her Masters degree in the Food Studies program at NYU.
