Out of nearly 6,600 entries from 55 countries around the world, more than 250 breweries took home an award from the 2016 World Beer Cup held in Philadelphia last week as part of the Craft Beer Conference & BrewExpo America hosted by the Brewers Association.
This edition of the World Beer Cup garnered 6,596 beers from 1,907 breweries—a 38.5 percent increase in the number of entries from the 2014 World Beer Cup.
Judges from 31 countries named gold, silver and bronze award winners from each of the 96 beer style categories. This year, the average number of beers entered per category was 69, up from 50 in 2014.
The Brewers Association introduced the World Beer Cup competition in 1996 to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. “Brewing has no boundaries or borders,” says Charlie Papazian, founder, Brewers Association. “The World Beer Cup recognizes the very best in the global community of brewers—their innovation, creativity and the craft of beer and brewing.”
American-Style India Pale Ale received the most entries with 275, reflecting the most popular current style in the US according to recent analysis by the Brewers Association. The second most-entered category was Imperial India Pale Ale with 181 entries followed by American-Style Pale Ale with 167 entries.
The competition also bestowed Champion Brewery and Champion Brewmaster awards in each of six brewery categories based on the awards won by each brewery.
Very Small Brewing Company Category: Arch Rock Brewing Co., James Smith
Small Brewing Company Category: Noble Ale Works, Evan and The Giants
Mid-Size Brewing Company Category: Brewery Ommegang, Brewery Ommegang
Large Brewing Company Category: Miller Brewing Co., Miller Brewing Co. Brewing Team
Small Brewpub Category: 12Degree Brewing, Jon Howland and Tor O'Brien
Large Brewpub Category: Beachwood BBQ & Brewing, Julian Shrago, Ian McCall and Gene Wagoner
A complete list of award winners is available here.
