North Carolina’s craft beer scene shines every fall at the NC Brewers Cup, the state’s largest and most prestigious professional beer competition. Organized by the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild since 2001, the Cup brings together hundreds of entries from breweries big and small to be blind-judged by BJCP-certified and professional judges using the latest Brewers Association style guidelines. Medals are awarded in dozens of categories (everything from classic lagers and IPAs to wild ales and barrel-aged stouts), plus a special “NC Home-Grown” category that celebrates beers made with at least 50 % North Carolina ingredients. Winners are announced each November at the NC Craft Brewers Conference in Winston-Salem, with the Brewery of the Year trophy going to the shop that racks up the most points across all categories. Over the years the competition has grown into a beloved celebration of Tar Heel brewing excellence, spotlighting both legendary names (Highland, NoDa, Fullsteam) and rising stars while giving beer lovers across the state a trusted guide to the very best local pints.
North Carolina’s craft beer scene shines every fall at the NC Brewers Cup, the state’s largest and most prestigious professional beer competition. Organized by the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild since 2001, the Cup brings together hundreds of entries from breweries big and small to be blind-judged by BJCP-certified and professional judges using the latest Brewers Association style guidelines. Medals are awarded in dozens of categories (everything from classic lagers and IPAs to wild ales and barrel-aged stouts), plus a special “NC Home-Grown” category that celebrates beers made with at least 50 % North Carolina ingredients. Winners are announced each November at the NC Craft Brewers Conference in Winston-Salem, with the Brewery of the Year trophy going to the shop that racks up the most points across all categories. Over the years the competition has grown into a beloved celebration of Tar Heel brewing excellence, spotlighting both legendary names (Highland, NoDa, Fullsteam) and rising stars while giving beer lovers across the state a trusted guide to the very best local pints.
2025 NC Craft Beer Cup Medal Winners
British Pale & Bitter Ale
Gold: Cricket Hill — Fullsteam Brewery
Silver: Iron Horse — Trolley Barn Fermentory
Bronze: “Made For Walkin’” — Salt Face Mule Brewing Company
Scottish & Irish Beer
Gold: Scott’s View — Compass Rose Brewery
Silver: Scott’s View — Compass Rose Brewery
Bronze: “Dawn of the Red” — Neoteric Brewing Company
British Porter & Brown Ales
Gold: Black Cat Porter — Lost Province Brewing Co
Silver: Grizzly Brown Ale — Cavendish Brewing Company
Bronze: “Boar Brown” — Pig Pounder Brewery
Honorable Mention: Gems & Rhinestones — Edit Beer Co.
American Porter, Amber, & Brown Ales
Gold: Green Man Porter — Green Man Brewery
Silver: Unibrown — Happy Valley Filling Station
Bronze: “Trains of Fayetteville” — North South Brewing
Honorable Mention: Might Be Better — Eno River Brewing
Stouts
Gold: The Throne — Cabarrus Brewing Company
Silver: Blue Tape Special 2024: Point of Origin — Eno River Brewing
Bronze: “Imperial Stout” — Town Brewing Company
Strong Ale
Gold: Forest Hills — Olde Hickory Brewery
Silver: Warrior Knight — Toasty Kettlyst Beer Company
Bronze: “King in the Castle” — Little Brother Brewing
Session IPA
Gold: Beach Beer — HopFly Brewing Company
Silver: Gentle Giant Session IPA — Primal Brewery
Bronze: “Season 34” — Edit Beer Co.
Honorable Mention: Trail Candy Tropical IPA — Lazy Hiker Brewing Co.
American Pale Ale
Gold: Dead West — Oklawaha Brewing Company
Silver: Turtle Speed — Wilmington Brewing Company
Bronze: “Beach Time” — Wilmington Brewing Company
Honorable Mention: Born for Dying — Incendiary Brewing Company
American-Style IPA
Gold: Tidal Break — Compass Rose Brewery
Silver: Lil’ Fish — Outer Dunes Brewing Company
Bronze: “Mindweaver” — Petty Thieves Brewing Co.
Honorable Mention:
Juicy/Hazy Pale Ale
Gold: Illusion Of Truth — Edit Beer Co.
Silver: Juice Whirled — Gypsy Road Brewing Company
Bronze: “Juice Train” — Seaboard Brewing
Juicy or Hazy IPA
Gold: 73 & Hazy — Royal Bliss Brewing Co
Silver: Foggy Nights VII — Leland Brewing Co
Bronze: “Trail Hazer” — Trailside Brewing Co.
Honorable Mention: Astrotrain v.6 — Seaboard Brewing
American-Style Sour Ale
Gold: Merican — Hatchet Brewing Company
Silver: Vera Sour — Diatribe Brewing Company
Bronze: “Rules of Acquisition” — Vaulted Oak Brewing
Honorable Mention: The Way Life Gose — Pitt Street Brewing Co.
European Hybrid Styles
Gold: Guidon Kölsch — Guidon Brewing Co.
Silver: Daycation Gold — Highland Brewing Company
Bronze: “Car Show Cosmo’s Kolsch” — Lake Norman Brewery
European Sour Ale
Gold: Gose — Ponysaurus Brewing Co.
Silver: Largesse — Divine Barrel Brewing
Bronze: “Beauty in the Cracks” — Twin Leaf Brewery
European Wheat
Gold: Broyhans Bock — Gilde Brewery
Silver: Banana Breeze — Pig Pounder Brewery
Bronze: “Hazy Skies Hefeweizen” — Pilot Brewing Company
Honorable Mention: 40 East — The Glass Jug Beer Lab
Belgian Ales
Gold: Cosmic Bloom — Eno River Brewing
Silver: Blonded by the Light — Fishtowne Brew House
Bronze: “Brushy Mountain Blonde Ale” — TwoBoros Brewery
Honorable Mention: Cast Net — Fishtowne Brew House
Saison
Gold: Saison — Flytrap Brewing
Silver: All is not lost — Petty Thieves Brewing Co.
Bronze: “New Slang Raspberry Saison” — Americana Beer Company
Honorable Mention: Songs To Fill The Air — Divine Barrel Brewing
Belgian Strong Ale / Monastic Ale
Gold: Hell Yes Ma’am — Raleigh Brewing Company
Silver: Luminosity — Twin Leaf Brewery
Bronze: “Reserve Ale” — Ponysaurus Brewing Co.
Honorable Mention: Death Machine — Hatchet Brewing Company
Pale European & International Lager
Gold: Phuket Sunset Thai Lager — Local Time Brewing
Silver: Pactolus Light Lager — Pitt Street Brewing Co.
Bronze: “Sexy Canoe” — Tarboro Brewing Company
Honorable Mention: Fire in the Mole — Mad Mole Brewing
Amber & Other Pale European Lager
Gold: Festbier — Resident Culture Brewing
Silver: Fontana Export — Mountain Layers Brewing Company
Bronze: “Tower Buzz” — Gaston Brewing Company
Honorable Mention: Yodeling Down Lake Starnberg — 760 Craft Works
Dark European Lager
Gold: Schwarzbier — Triple C Brewing Company
Silver: Midnight Waddle — Sneaky Penguin Brewing Company
Bronze: “Rain Czech” — Clouds Brewing
Honorable Mention: Duckin’ Funkel — Ghostface Brewing
German-Style Bock
Gold: Zuganator — Seaboard Brewing
Silver: Doppel Trouble — Ghostface Brewing
Bronze: “Bock Bock Goose” — Surf City Brewing Company
Honorable Mention:
Smoke Beer
Gold: Rauchbier — Diatribe Brewing Company
Silver: Embers and Periscopes — 760 Craft Works
Bronze: “East Meets West Rice Lager” — bmc brewing
Honorable Mention:
International Style Pale Ale & IPA
Gold: Yonder — Leland Brewing Co
Silver: New Zealand Pils — Diatribe Brewing Company
Bronze: “Drum>Space Galaxy” — Riverside Rhapsody Beer Company
Honorable Mention: Pyrle IPA — Little Brother Brewing
North American-Style Lager
Gold: Uno Mas — Lenny Boy Brewing Co.
Silver: Small Fires — Little Brother Brewing
Bronze: “Carolina Heritage” — Brunswick Beer and Cider
Pilsner-Style & Hoppy Lager
Gold: Heavy Hands — Little Brother Brewing
Silver: Foam Party — Trophy Brewing Company – Maywood
Bronze: “Wandering Waves” — Oaklyn Springs Brewery
North American-Style Amber & Dark Lager
Gold: Seaboard Oktoberfest — Seaboard Brewing
Silver: She Sells Seashells by the Sea Schwarz — Brunswick Beer and Cider
Bronze: “Last Day at the Office” — Neoteric Brewing Company
Other American Pale Lagers & Ales
Gold: Cotton Blonde — Cabarrus Brewing Company
Silver: User Friendly — Little Brother Brewing
Bronze: “Little Wing” — King Canary Brewing Company
Fruit Beer
Gold: Limelight — Ghost Harbor Brewing Company
Silver: Orange Hefe-Wit — Cavendish Brewing Company
Bronze: “Big SLURP” — NoDa Brewing Co.
Honorable Mention:Ultimo Hombre — Lower Left Brewing Company
Sour Fruit or Field Beer
Gold: Second Pick — Eno River Brewing
Silver: Manguava — Hatchet Brewing Company
Bronze: “Subject to Change (Blueberry Cheesecake Sour)” — Tobacco Wood Brewing
Field & Spiced Beers
Gold: Heat Seeking Pickle — Lower Left Brewing Company
Silver: Southern Basil — Fullsteam Brewery
Bronze: “Vanilla Cream Java Dream” — Hoptown Brewing Company
Brett, Mixed Culture, & Wild Ales
Gold: Raspberry Kaleidoscope — Lenny Boy Brewing Co.
Silver: Sisu 2025 — Cellarest Beer Project
Bronze: “Henotic 2025” — Cellarest Beer Project
Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer
Gold: Time Is Only Part Of The Equation — Divine Barrel Brewing
Silver: BBA Twice as Lonely with Macadamia & Vanilla — Resident Culture Brewing
Bronze: “Society #8” — DSSOLVR
Specialty Beer
Gold: Baklava Blond — Clouds Brewing
Silver: Belgian Moonlight — North South Brewing
Bronze: “Hops Mirage NA IPA” — Primal Brewery
Honorable Mention:Flashbacks — Trolley Barn Fermentory
Historic Beer
Gold: Smoke Over Lublin — Mountain Layers Brewing Company
Silver: You make me wanna Schopes — Gaston Brewing Company
Bronze: “Pleasing Gene” — Little Brother Brewing
NC Home-Grown
Gold: Sakura — Black Mountain Brewing
Silver: Time’s Arrow — Atomic Clock Brewing Company
Bronze: “Grandfather Paradox” — Atomic Clock Brewing Company
Honorable Mention: Spratt’s Lager — Town Brewing Company
About the The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild
The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild is the official voice and backbone of the Tar Heel State’s independent craft brewing community. Founded in 2000 by a handful of pioneering breweries (including Asheville’s Highland Brewing and Charlotte’s Olde Mecklenburg), the Guild was created to advocate for small, independent brewers at the state legislature, promote responsible growth, and foster collaboration in a rapidly expanding industry. Today it represents more than 300 brewery and brewpub members—from mountain towns to the Outer Banks—making North Carolina one of the top beer states in the country with over 400 independent craft breweries. The Guild hosts the annual NC Craft Brewers Conference, runs the hugely popular NC Brewers Cup competition, powers the NC Craft Beer Passport program, and fights for fair laws so local brewers can keep pouring world-class pints without red tape. More than just a trade group, it’s the heartbeat of North Carolina’s vibrant, independent beer culture.