The Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Announces Winners of the 2026 Virginia Craft Beer Cup

Virginia Craft Beer Cup Winners Announced: Selvedge Brewing Earns Best of Show

RICHMOND, VA—The Virginia Craft Brewers Guild recognized the Commonwealth's top craft beers during the Virginia Craft Beer Summit & Gala on Monday, August 10, announcing the winners of the 2026 Virginia Craft Beer Cup™. This year's competition featured 347 beer entries and brought together 36 judges to evaluate beers spanning a wide range of styles.

"The Virginia Craft Beer Cup has assembled one of the most credentialed judging panels a regional competition can ﬁeld, with 94.4% of its 36 judges holding official BJCP rank, up from 91% the year prior, and 91.7% certiﬁed or higher, a bar that places this event's evaluation standards on par with national-caliber competitions,” said Charlie Harr, Head Cup Judge.

Judging rounds were hosted earlier this year at The Veil Brewing Co.’s Operations Facility. New this year, the Guild introduced a Pro-Am category, allowing professional breweries and home brewers to collaborate and enter joint creations into the competition.

"Virginia brewers continue to produce exceptional beers," said Stacie Gordon, Executive Director of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild. "The Virginia Craft Beer Cup is an opportunity to celebrate the talent, innovation, and dedication of our independent craft breweries while recognizing the beers that exemplify excellence in brewing."

Join the Guild in congratulating the recipients of this year’s awards:

Virginia Craft Beer Cup, 2026 Best of Show (Gold): Selvedge Brewing’s Batiste
Virginia Craft Beer Cup, 2026 Best of Show (Silver): The Answer Brewpub’s Rauchpause
Virginia Craft Beer Cup, 2026 Best of Show (Bronze): Port City Brewing Company’s Optimal Wit
Virginia Brewery of the Year™: Fine Creek Brewing Company
The Most Revolutionary Brew in Virginia™: Afterglow Brewing’s Declaration of Fermentation

The medalists of each beer style category, based upon BJCP beer style guidelines, are listed below:

American Lager & Light Lagers

Gold, Big Ugly Brewing's One Heart

Silver, Parkway Brewing Company's Macabrew Pilsner

Bronze, Harvest Gap Brewery's Stud Light Lager

American Wheat/German Weiss & Rye

Gold, 2 Silos Brewing Co's Hefe

Silver, Rockﬁsh Brewing Company's Hefeweizen

Bronze, Old House Brewing's The Stagshead

American Wild Ale

Gold, Fine Creek Brewing Company's 2026 Bière De Printemps

Silver, Stable Craft Brewing's Hermitage Berliner Weisse

Bronze, Broken Window Brewing Company, LLC's Sour Patch Jacob

Alternative Sugar/Grains

Gold, Caboose Brewing Company's Yo!

Silver, 7 Dogs Brewpub's Misty Mountain Honey Kolsch

Bronze, St. George Brewing Co.'s Honey Lager

Amber Ale

Gold, Crazy Rooster Brewing Company's Devil's Pay

Silver, Caboose Brewing Company's CTRL-ALT-DEL

Bronze, Waygone Brewery's Route 6

Amber Lager

Gold, Starr Hill Brewery's Under the Radar

Silver, Seven Arrows Brewing Co.'s Copper Canyon Mexican Lager

Bronze, The Farm Brewery at Broad Run's Vienna is for Lagers

Belgian Ales

Gold, Port City Brewing Company's Optimal Wit

Silver, Bald Top Brewing Company's Bière de Garde

Bronze, Caboose Brewing Company's It's Wit!

British Bitters/Scottish

Gold, SuperFly Brewing Co.'s TESTIFY

Silver, Caiseal Beer & Spirits Co. (The Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery)'s Red Ale

Bronze, Long Way Brewing's aRe U Kilting Me?

Brown Ale

Gold, Tradition Brewing Company's Tradition Honey Brown Ale

Silver, Gloucester Brewing Company's Low Ground

Bronze, The Virginia Beer Company's Trail Magic

Cream & Blond Ale

Gold, Water's End Brewery's Damn Beer

Silver, The Farm Brewery at Broad Run's Broad Run Blonde

Bronze, The Farm Brewery at Broad Run's American Ale

Dark European Lagers

Gold, Cave Hill Farms Brewery's Zeigenbock

Silver, Laudenbach Brewing's Schwarzwald Lager

Bronze, Olde Salem Brewing Company's Black Betty

Double IPA

Gold, Precarious Beer Project's Brewery Boyz Want To Believe

Silver, Pro Re Nata's Double Dose

Bronze, Three Leg Run's Fat Russell Crowe

European Sour

Gold, Strangeways Brewing Company's Uberlin

Silver, Fine Creek Brewing Company's Barrel Aged Sour Red

Bronze, Starr Hill Brewery's Stupid Sexy Flanders

Fruit

Gold, Blue Mountain Barrel House's Raspberries on Acid

Silver, 2 Silos Brewing Co's Squared Pants

Bronze, Southern Revere Cellars' Salty Beach

Hazy IPA

Gold, The Answer Brewpub's Unfamiliar Sheep

Silver, New Realm Brewing Company's Hazy Like a Fox

Bronze, Heliotrope Brewery's Nebular Velvet

IPA

Gold, New Realm Brewing Company's Kickﬂipper

Silver, WildManDan Brewery's Roy Kent

Bronze, Kindred Spirit Brewing's Headspace IPA

International Lager

Gold, Smartmouth Brewing Co.'s Señorita Vesa

Silver, Billsburg Brewery's Classic Lager

Bronze, Three Leg Run's El Vikingo

Irish Red

Gold, Iron Pipe Alewerks' Bearded Charmer

Silver, Water's End Brewery's Irish Red

Bronze, Seven Arrows Brewing Co.'s Maelstrom Irish Red

Kolsch/Leichtbier

Gold, Big Lick Brewing Company's Leicht & Frisch

Silver, Bear Chase Brewing Company's Kodiak Kolsch

Bronze, Great American Restaurants - Sweetwater Tavern's Barking Frog Kolsch

Monastic

Gold, Solstice Farm Brewery's Cerberus

Silver, Caiseal Beer & Spirits Co. (The Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery)'s Namur the Merrier Belgian Quad

Bronze, Trouvaille Brewing Company's Octave

Pale Ale

Gold, Decipher Brewing's 109 E. Pale Ale

Silver, Loudoun Brewing Company's Mosaic Sunshine

Bronze, Big Lick Brewing Company's Star City Pale Ale

Pale European Lager

Gold, Bingo Beer Co.'s Special

Silver, Strangeways Brewing Company's Helles Frozen Over

Bronze, Harvest Gap Brewery's Devil Dog Helles Lager

Pilsner

Gold, Selvedge Brewing's Batiste

Silver, Crazy Rooster Brewing Company's Burnin' Shore

Bronze, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery's Pils

Porter

Gold, SuperFly Brewing Co.'s MIDNIGHT TRAIN

Silver, Decipher Brewing's Porta

Bronze, Three Leg Run's We The People

Pro-Am

Gold, Heliotrope Brewery & Stephen Goadhouse’s Brave Helios, Wake Up Your Steeds

Silver, Lake Anne Brew House & Nick Arleth’s Sun-Ryes-Valley IPA

Bronze, Patch Brewing Company & Charlie Harr’s Chesterﬁeld's Secret Voyage

Smoked Beer

Gold, The Answer Brewpub's Rauchpause

Silver, Patch Brewing Company's Sea Smoke

Bronze, Northern Neck Brewing Company's McGinniss' Ordinary

Specialty IPA

Gold, Harvest Gap Brewery's Dark Star Cascadian Dark IPA

Silver, Eleven Eleven Brewing Company's Chinook Ones Pt 2

Bronze, Starr Hill Brewery's Exit Strategy

Stout

Gold, Barley Naked Brewing Company's Irish Prenup

Silver, 6 Bears and a Goat Brewing Co.'s O'Dark Thirty

Bronze, Outback Brewhouse's Choc-A-Bloc Stout

Strong Ale

Gold, Fine Creek Brewing Company's Wheatwine

Silver, Broken Window Brewing Company, LLC's Tim Reaper

Bronze, Caiseal Beer & Spirits Co. (The Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery)'s Fifth Force Imperial Stout

Strong European Lagers

Gold, Heliotrope Brewery's Armoured Bear

Silver, Barley Naked Brewing Company's Hung Monk

Bronze, Solstice Farm Brewery's Bottom Creek

Vegetable

Gold, Three Leg Run's You're Gherkin My Chain

Silver, Old Bust Head Brewing Company's Caramel Macchiato Stout

Bronze, Strangeways Brewing Company's Owl Stare Coffee Brown Ale

Wood Aged

Gold, Eavesdrop Brewery's Unspoken

Silver, Southern Revere Cellars' Three Oaks Bourbon Barrel Aged Honey Brown Lager

Bronze, Blue Mountain Barrel House's Dark Hollow

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