May 4, 2026

Charlotte breweries win gold at the World Beer Cup

North Carolina breweries take home eleven medals

By Brian Beauchemin

Two Charlotte area breweries, Armored Cow Brewing and Brewers at 4001 Yancey, won gold medals at the 2026 World Beer Cup competition held in Philadelphia. The nine other medals were won by breweries spanning from the mountains of Bryson City to the coastline of Kill Devil Hills. Olde Hickory brewing won two medals while Asheville breweries took home three medals. One of those breweries was Hi-Wire Brewing, which has a taproom in Charlotte. All winning North Carolina breweries and their beers are listed below.

The Brewers Association (a not-for-profit trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers) introduced the World Beer Cup in 1996 to help celebrate the art and science of brewing. One of the brewing world’s most coveted awards, the event’s 30^th anniversary saw 8,166 entries. This year, North Carolina matched its eleven medals from 2025.

The highly anticipated and competitive event attracts breweries from across the globe with 1,644 breweries representing 50 nations submitting entries. Through the seven days of judging, 186 beer styles were evaluated divided into 113 beer and 5 cider categories. 255 international judges awarded 353 medals to 273 worldwide breweries.

To put into perspective the depth of competition, the average number of beers in each category was 69. The largest categories were no surprise, with West Coast-Style India Pale Ale having 293 entries and Juicy or Hazy IPAs with 274. The craft beer world has seen a reemergence of lagers over the last couple of years and rounding out the top five largest categories along with the Classic India Pale Ale category (205) were 201 German pilsner entries and 158 Munich-style helles entries.

“Thirty years in, the World Beer Cup remains a powerful reflection of how far global brewing has come — and where it’s headed,” says Chris Williams, World Beer Cup competition director. “Even in a year that challenged beverage alcohol producers to evolve, this year’s winners demonstrated that innovation, precision, and passion for craft are stronger than ever.”

Although it’s been a rough couple of years for breweries across the nation, North Carolina continues to show that our brewers can hold their own against the best. Congratulations to all of our medal-winning North Carolina breweries and especially to our Charlotte area ones as well!