Colorado wins 21 World Beer Cup medals in 2024

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But with the Craft Brewers Conference underway there, the results of the event’s main competition, the World Beer Cup, would undoubtedly be announced.

On Wednesday evening, beer makers from around the world celebrated their accolades in what is being billed as the industry’s largest and most prestigious competition. This year, the World Beer Cup judges assessed 9,300 beers from 2,060 breweries. Participation fell significantly from 10,213 beers from 2,376 breweries in 2023, possibly reflecting the fact that the competition now takes place annually rather than every two years.

Colorado won a whopping 21 medals, including nine gold. That’s down from last year, when local breweries brought home 24 medals to the Centennial State; however, the number of gold medals increased.

River North Brewery in Deventer and The Post Brewing Co. in Lafayette were the biggest winners of the evening 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 secured silver for East County Fine Malt Liquor in the other spirits category and bronze for Top Rope in the American-style cream ale category.

Otherwise, Colorado breweries have offered a wide range of styles, from international lager and international light lager to juicy/hazy strong pale ale and Australian-style pale ale.

If there’s one style the brewers here seem to do well, it’s barleywines, a category in which two local breweries earned accolades. of Loveland Verboten brewing and barrel project took silver for Grow Old With You barleywine and Colorado Springs’ Goat Patch Brewing Co. won bronze for Baaah-ley Wine.

“Colorado continues to prove its competitiveness at the world beer level. With nine gold medals this year, ranging from lagers to Belgian styles, Colorado craft breweries are showing they can brew alongside the best brewers in the world,” Shawnee Adelson, executive director of the Colorado Brewers Guild, said in a statement.

See the full list of local winners below and view the full list at worldbeercup.org.

Gold

Strong blond beer in the Belgian style: betrayal, Brewing at 12 degreesLouisville

Strong Belgian-style specialty beer: French Lager Biere Ambree, Striped Oak Brewing Co.Deventer

Classic Irish style dry stout: Dry Irish Stout, Bent Barley Brewing Co.Aurora

Coffee stout or porter: Nightmare Fuel, River North BreweryDeventer

Dessert stout or pastry stout: Kauai Pie, Bull & Bush BreweryDeventer

Extra special bitter: ESB, Old brewery 121Lakewood

International light lager: Prost Leichtbier, Prost Brewery Co.Deventer

International pilsner: Venga, Cerveceria ColoradoDeventer

Session beer or table beer in the Belgian style: Swift Half, Station 26 Brewery Co.Deventer

Silver

Australian style pale ale: Mountain Standard, Odell Brewing Co.Fort Collins

Barleywine style beer: grow old with you, Verboten brewing and barrel projectLoveland

Classic season: Farm Saison, Basement West BreweryLafayette

German-style Maerzen or Franconian-style rotbier: Falltoberfest, Launch Pad BreweryAurora

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