This State's Beers Have Been Crowned As Some Of The Best In The World
If you're looking to try many award-winning beers in one place, look no further than Colorado. The state is home to over 400 craft breweries, including well-known brands like New Belgium Brewery, and has long been considered one of the best — if not the best — in the country for craft beer. In particular, the city of Denver is known as one of the best beer cities in the United States. And all of this isn't just talk — it's proven. In 2026 alone, the state took home multiple accolades at the Beer World Cup.
The Beer World Cup has been going on since 1996, and it's basically the Olympics, but for beer. There are 113 award categories and over 8,000 beers from around the world are entered and judged. Colorado-based gold medal winners from 2026 include River North Brewery's Squirrels Just Want to Have Fun (best coffee beer), Bull & Bush Brewery's Ghoul Fuel — Rum Diaries Edition (wood- and barrel-aged beer), Ska Brewing's True Blonde (English-style pale ale), and Cannonball Creek Brewing Co.'s Project Alpha 81 (West Coast-style India pale ale). Colorado also picked up a considerable amount of runner-up awards, with silver medals awarded to 12 beers from 11 breweries (River North Brewery took home two silver medals).
Further proof that Colorado has some of the best beers in the world
2026 isn't the first year Colorado has taken home so many awards in the Beer World Cup — the state typically performs really well in this competition. In 2025, the state took home 21 medals in total. This included eight gold medals, seven silver medals, and five bronze medals, with multiple breweries taking home more than one award. Coopersmith's Pub & Brewing took home the silver medal for American Light Lager last year as well, proving Colorado is also a great place to find the best light beers.
Colorado has been dominating more beer competitions than just the World Beer Cup over the years, too. In 2025, the states' breweries took home 36 awards at the Great American Beer Festival, with brewery Westbound and Down taking home seven of them (including brewery of the year). And in the 2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, Colorado's Bull & Bush Brewery was named the top brewery of the year, and the state won awards in the International-Style Pale Ale, American IPA, Brut IPA, Imperial Stout/Porter, Brown Porter, (A-B): Old Ale, and many other categories. Needless to say, Colorado is the state to visit for craft beer — especially if you're visiting a brewery for the first time.