Fancy a pint?
You might want to check out these Illinois breweries, which won medals at the 30th annual World Beer Cup. Nicknamed “The Olympics of Beer Competitions,” according to Forbes, the cup crowned the best beers across the globe in a variety of categories.
From lager to stout to cider, here’s a breakdown of this year’s Illinois winners.
What is the World Beer Cup?
The World Beer Cup is the largest beer competition hosted by the Brewers Association at its annual Craft Brewers Conference. The competition pits beers from across the world in a wide variety of categories, with breweries from 50 countries entering this year.
In 2026, the World Beer Cup saw 8,166 beers from 1,644 breweries judged across 113 beer and five cider categories. The beers were judged by 255 judges from 37 countries.
Which Illinois breweries won at 2026 World Beer Cup?
Eight Illinois breweries took home medals this year, scoring wins across the following seven categories:
Specialty Non-Alcohol Beer – 46 entries
Historical Beer – 37 entries
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dessert or Pastry Beer – 52 entries
American Light Lager – 98 entries
Gose – 52 entries
South German-Style Dunkel Weizen – 18 entries
Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout – 51 entries
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Eight Illinois beers rank among world’s best at 2026 World Beer Cup
Reporting by Hannah Hudnall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
