đ usncan Note: 5 World Beer Cup-Winning Beers You Can Find Almost Anywhere
Disclaimer: This content has been prepared based on currently trending topics to increase your awareness.
Seamless pattern with alcohol.template for bar,pub
getty
The World Beer Cup is one of the worldâs most prestigious beer competitions and billed as the Olympics of beer. Each year, thousands of beers are entered from breweries across the globe. Only three medals are awarded per categoryâgold, silver and bronze. Winning any medal at the World Beer Cup can change a breweryâs fortune and has been known to lead to long lines and sell-outs. Many of the beers that do win awards at the World Beer Cup are produced in small quantities by regional craft breweries that often donât distribute much further than their taprooms. This can be frustrating for beer fans who arenât lucky enough to live close to one of the award-winning breweries. But every once in a while a brewery is so dialed in with a recipe that they are able to produce an award-winning beer on a massive scale without sacrificing quality. Judges at this yearâs World Beer Cup awarded several top medals to beers with wide national, or international, distribution. These beers range from lagers to a pale ale and a Belgian-style tripel. Many of them will be familiar to readers, but just because theyâre easy to find does not mean theyâre not worth seeking out. After all, at this yearâs competition in Indianapolis over the spring, judges tasted 8,375 entries submitted by 1,761 breweries and cideries from 49 different countries. Only a tiny fraction of those beers submitted earned medals, and all those who did are prime examples of their respective styles. Hereâs a closer look at some of the best beers in the world you can actually find close to your house.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing
Category: Extra Special Bitter
Medal: Gold
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 11, 2018: A Sierra Nevada Brewing Company neon sign burns in the window of a restaurant in San Francisco, California. The brewery’s flagship beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, recently took home a gold medal a the World Beer Cup (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The fact that Sierra Nevadaâs flagship beer won gold at the World Beer Cup in the Extra Special Bitter category led to some understandable head-scratching, as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is, as its name implies, a pale ale, not an ESB. But regardless of how you classify it, this is a great beer. Not only is it one of the brews that got me into craft beer, it remains one I continue to enjoy.
Kirkland Helles Lager, Deschutes Brewery
Category: Helles-Style Lager
Medal: Silver
Costco’s Kirkland Signature Helles-Style Lager has earned top medals at two of the world’s most prestigious beer competitions. Most recently it took home silver at the World Beer Cup
Phealan Robinson
The Kirkland Helles Lager is an easy-drinking lager available at almost every Costco. It took home the silver medal at this yearâs World Beer Cup and had previously earned gold at The Great American Beer Festival. Those are two of the most prestigious awards in the beer competition, and as Iâve previously written, this beer lives up to those honors; itâs light and refreshing but still full of character.
La Fin Du Monde, Unibroue
Category: Belgian-Style Tripel
Medal: Bronze
The World Beer Cup awarded La Fin Du Monde with a bronze medal in the Belgian-style triple category.
Unibroue
La Fin Du Monde, Unibroue, is a Belgian-style triple made in Canada that won bronze this year and gold at 2024âs World Beer Cup. The back-to-back medals prove this beers success is not a fluke. Dedicated to the French explorers’ journeys in what would become Quebec, this beer has won many awards. Fans love its mix of grain, fruit and spice notes.
Hoegaarden White, AB Inbev
Category: Belgian-Style Witbier
Medal: Silver
The World Beer Cup awarded Hoegaarden White a silver medal in the Belgian-style witbier category.
getty
Hoegaarden White is a ubiquitous Belgian white at most places beer is sold, and this year World Beer Cup judges found itâs also one of the best examples of the Belgian witbier style. As such, it features those classic citrus and coriander notes, which combine to make this excellent witbier a widely refreshing choice and a wonderful example of everything this style of beer can be.
Shiner Bock, Spoetzl Brewery
Category: Session Beer
Medal: Silver
Shiner Bock took home a silver medal in the sessionable beer category at the World Beer Cup. T(Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Billboard)
Getty Images for Billboard
This beloved Texas dark lager took home the silver medal at this yearâs World Beer Cup, demonstrating once again that mass availability doesnât equal lack of quality. Made with roasted barley malt and German specialty hops, Shiner Bock is available nationwide and is indeed an excellent and highly sessionable beer that you can likely grab from your nearest beer seller.
More From Forbes
