The World Beer Cup, the largest professional beer competition in the world, was held in Nashville, Tennessee in May 2023. The Brewers Association (BA), a nonprofit trade association dedicated to promoting and protecting small, independent craft breweries in America, recognized 307 winners from 51 countries in its 2023 Beer Competition. The awards ceremony celebrated the best beers in 103 beer categories, covering 176 different beer styles, including all sub-categories, and set a new standard for craft beer worldwide.
The judging process for the World Beer Cup took place over 18 sessions and 9 days, with a panel of 272 judges from 26 countries evaluating over 10,200 entries from 2,376 breweries representing 51 countries. Chris Williams, the World Beer Cup Competition Director, praised this year’s winners for setting a higher bar than ever before, saying, “Winning the World Beer Cup award is a testament to quality and innovation.”
The World Beer Cup was founded in 1996 and celebrates the art and science of brewing around the world, while raising consumer awareness of different styles and flavor profiles. It was previously a biennial event but has been held annually since last year, making 2023 the first consecutive event.
The World Beer Cup highlights included Category 102, American Style India Pale Ale, with 412 entries, and Category 103, Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale, with 374 entries. The United States had the most entries, with 8,135, followed by Canada, Japan, Germany, and Australia.
Out of a total of 309 awards in the beer style category, 307 were awarded, with only Category 20, Experimental India Pale Ale, and Category 77, English Ale, not winning Gold.
The World Beer Cup competition was made possible in part by the generous support of sponsors such as ABS Commercial, John I. Haas, Fermentis, First Key, Lahr Malting, Therm, and Siemens.
The Brewers Association represents more than 5,800 US breweries and hosts events such as the World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival, Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America, Homebrew Con, National Homebrew Competition, and American Craft Beer Week. The BA also publishes The New Brewer magazine and Brewers Publications, the leading publisher of brewing literature in the United States. Beer enthusiasts can learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com and homebrewing through the BA’s American Homebrewers Association.