San Diego craft breweries won 12 medals at the 2023 World Beer Cup, the largest international beer competition often referred to “The Olympics of Beer Competitions”.

The event took place in Nashville as part of the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America, and it featured more than 10,000 beers from nearly 2,400 breweries spanning 51 countries. The Brewers Association, which is a not-for-profit trade association that promotes and protects American craft brewers, hosts the competition that included 103 different categories.

The BIG Winners!

AleSmith Brewing in Miramar, BattleMage Brewing in Vista, and North Park Beer Co. were Gold Medal winners. In addition to the three Gold Medals, local breweries won two Silver Medals and seven Bronze Medals. Pizza Port and Eppig Brewing were the only San Diego County breweries to win multiple medals with two apiece.

The list of all winning San Diego beers at the World Beer Cup:

GOLD

• AleSmith Brewing Co.: Olde Ale, “Old Ale or Strong Ale” category
• BattleMage Brewing: Summon Ifrit, “American-Style Amber/Red Ale” category
• North Park Beer Co.: NZ-Fu!, “International IPA” category*

SILVER

• Eppig Brewing (Vista): Meister, “American Wheat Beer” category
• Mother Earth Brew Co. (Vista): Boo Koo, “International Pale Ale” category

BRONZE

• Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad): Tight Focus, “International IPA” category
• Craft Coast Beer & Tacos (Oceanside): Old West, “American-Style IPA” category
• Eppig Brewing (Vista): Sinister Path, “Export Stout” category
• My Yard Live Beer Co. (San Marcos): Basic B@tch, “Honey Beer” category
• Pizza Port (Carlsbad): Oceano, “Australian-Style Pale Ale” category
• Pizza Port (Ocean Beach): Paloma Sour, “Specialty Berliner-Style Weisse” category
• Stone Brewing (Liberty Station): Stone Lifeblood, “American-Style Brown Ale” category

North Park Beer’s NZ-Fu! also won Gold at last October’s Great American Beer Festival, which is the United States predecessor to World Beer Cup.

The World Beer Cup

The World Beer Cup Competition Manager selects judges from a list of internationally recognized brewers, consultants, industry suppliers, and writers. Judging is blind, with no brand knowledge of any kind provided to judges. Beer entries are judged solely on their merits.

A list of all winners can be found here.

The World Beer Cup was developed by the Brewers Association in 1996 to celebrate the art and science of brewing.

The Capital of Craft™

The San Diego region (aka The ‘Capital of Craft™’), which is home to more than 150 independent craft beer manufacturers, continuously garners attention for its medal-winning beer styles, craft beer tourism, economic impact, and positive international reputation.

The San Diego Brewers Guild, a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization of allied brewery members, tradespeople, and other providers supporting the production and distribution of craft beer that was founded in 1997, promotes local small businesses and entrepreneurs of craft beer via education, events, and community involvement.

Keep up with San Diego Brewers Guild Company through their website here and on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

Congratulations to all San Diego winners for your well-deserved win!