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Last week’s CBC in Denver ended on Friday with the 2014 World Beer Cup awards and it was a total blast! The bi-annual competition which took place at the tail end of this year’s Craft Brewers Conference was the biggest ever and served as a fitting ending to a week of beer, business and too much fun in the Mile High City…
Some History – The World Beer Cup was developed by the Brewers Association in 1996 to celebrate both the art and the science of brewing and to recognize outstanding achievements globally. Every two years, an international panel of beer judges honors the top three beers in 91 categories with gold, silver, and bronze awards. The World Beer Cup is often referred to as “The Olympics of Beer Competition,” and we think that’s a fair take.
Bigger Than Ever – 2014’s competition drew the highest number of entrants on record. This year’s World Beer Cup saw 4,754 beers from 1,403 breweries representing 58 countries–that’s an amazing 21 percent increase in the number of entries from the 2012 World Beer Cup, which had 3,921 entries.
Totally Continental – Brewers from five continents earned awards this year. Last Friday’s ceremony honored brewers from 22 countries. A panel of 219 judges from 31 countries awarded 281 out of 282 total possible awards in 94 different beer style categories. And 76 percent of this year’s judging panel came from outside the United States. The judging took place on April 7th– 9th in Denver at the same time that the Craft Brewers Conference was going on.
Even More Competitive – This year’s event was particularly competitive; the proportion of winning breweries winning one or more awards was 18 percent, compared to 27 percent in 2012. There was a 75.6 percent increase in breweries competing this year versus 2012, which had 799 breweries that entered beers in the competition. A total of 253 breweries took home awards in 2014, a 16.6 percent increase over 2012.
Category Trends
• The average number of beers entered per category was 50, up from 41 in 2012.
• The category with the most entries was American-Style India Pale Ale, with 223 entries.
• The second most-entered category was American-Style Pale Ale, with 121 entries.
• The third most-entered category was Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer, with 111 entries.
Award Highlights
The 281 awards were won by 253 breweries, with very few breweries earning more than one award.
- 226 breweries won one award.
- 26 breweries won two awards.
- One brewery won three awards.
For a complete listing of this year’s winners go here.
