This evening marked the culmination of the 17th edition of the World Beer Cup (WBC), with winners announced to an audience of industry professionals at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Held annually in conjunction with U.S. brewing industry convention, the Craft Brewers Conference, this event – often referred to as the “Olympics of beer” – is the largest and most prestigious international beer-making competition on the planet.
According to the presenting trade organization, the Brewers Association, this year’s competition included 8,166 entries from 1,644 beverage producers based in 50 countries. Those beers were entered in 113 style categories (along with hard ciders in five categories of their own) and deliberated over by 255 certified judges from 38 countries. To put those figures in perspective, the first WBC was held in 1996 and included just 600 entries in 61 style categories from 250 breweries in 20 countries.
Even as the number of craft breweries and the quality of their wares has escalated worldwide, San Diego County brewing companies have regularly amassed an impressive amount of WBC hardware. In the decade preceding this year’s competition (which used to be held every other year, but switched to an annual frequency in 2022), San Diego beermakers racked up 83 medals.
The region’s largest single-year performance of 17 medals came in 2022, while the lowest total, seven (which is still impressive for a contest of this magnitude), came last year. San Diego brewers came into this year’s competition thirsting for gold after failing to earn any first-place finishes in 2025. Those demons were exorcised in a big way, with San Diego-based breweries earning eight golds. That number was further bolstered by two out-of-town brewing companies which operate satellite locations in San Diego County.
As a region, local brewing operations matched that 2022 high, earning 17 medals, with other companies with San Diego ties adding four more. The biggest winner of the bunch was North Park Beer Co., which took gold in the Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale category for Lupulin Collider and Vienna-style Lager category for Friends & Neighbors, while scoring a silver in the highly contested Classic India Pale Ale category for its flagship IPA, Hop-Fu!
San Diego operations earning multiple medals included Carlsbad-based Burgeon Beer Co. (gold in American-style Amber/Red Ale and bronze in German-style Schwarzbier), East Village Brewing (gold in Robust Porter and silver in Coffee Beer), Karl Strauss Brewing (gold in South German-style Weissbier and bronze in Coffee Beer), and Pizza Port Brewing (its Ocean Beach and Solana Beach brewpubs earned silver in Session Beer and bronze in Oatmeal Stout, respectively).
Other locals that combined for the region’s high gold-medal total included AleSmith Brewing (for a Belgian-style kriek brewed with cherries from Lyons Peak Brewing‘s estate in Jamul), The Lost Abbey (for its Belgian-style strong pale ale Inferno) and Stone Brewing’s Liberty Station brewpub (for its perennial award-winning export stout Cimmerian Portal).
The following is a complete list of San Diego County breweries and operations with local connections that won awards at this year’s WBC…
GOLD (10)
American-style Amber/Red Ale: Redwood Remedy, Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)
American-style Black Ale or American-style Stout: Stone Cimmerian Portal, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station (Point Loma)
American-style Pale Ale: Double Nickels, Docent Brewing (San Juan Capistrano) *
Belgian-style Fruit Beer: Handgeplukte Kriek, AleSmith Brewing (Miramar)
Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale: Lupulin Collider, North Park Beer Co. (North Park)
Mexican-style Pale Lager: Saca La Bolsita, Villains Brewing (Anaheim) **
Other Strong Beer: Inferno, The Lost Abbey Brewing (Vista)
Robust Porter: Oaty McOatface, East Village Brewing (East Village)
South German-style Weissbier: Windandsea Wheat, Karl Strauss Brewing (Pacific Beach)
Vienna-style Lager: Friends & Neighbors, North Park Beer Co. (North Park)
SILVER (6)
Classic India Pale Ale: Hop-Fu!, North Park Beer Co. (North Park)
Classic Saison: Saison for Papa, Green Cheek Beer Co. (Costa Mesa) **
Coffee Beer: Stay Calm, East Village Brewing (East Village)
International-style Pilsener: Kamakura, Ketch Brewing (Kearny Mesa)
Session Beer: Guillaume, Pizza Port Brewing (Ocean Beach)
South German-style Dunkel Weizen: Hidden Gem, OB Brewery (Ocean Beach)
BRONZE (5)
Coffee Beer: Golden Stout, Karl Strauss Brewing (Pacific Beach)
Fruited Cider: Small Batch Guava, Coronado Brewing (Bay Park)
German-style Schwarzbier: Tank Top & Schwartz, Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)
Oatmeal Stout: Oats, Pizza Port Brewing (Solana Beach)
Session India Pale Ale: Josh’s Lil Shoes, Green Cheek Beer Co. (Orange) **
* Company based outside the county, which operates a non-brewing venue in San Diego County
** Company based outside the county, which operates a brewing facility in San Diego County