2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship Medal Winners and Breweries of the Year – Click Here
What’s a U.S. Open Beer Championship without the Top 10 Breweries by medal count?! We wanted to keep everyone at the edge of their hops before our final announcement of the 2025 competition. Your Top 10 Breweries of 2025 are……
1. Bull & Bush Brewery, CO – Grand National Champion and Brewery of the Year 1,001 – 2,000 Barrels
2. Sun King Brewery, IN – Brewery of Year 15,001 + Barrels
3. Wild Barley Kitchen and Brewery, TX – Brewery of the Year 251 – 500 Barrels
4. Brink Brewing Co, OH
5. Third Eye Brewing Company Hamilton, OH – Brewery of the Year 200,1 – 5,000 Barrels
6. Hop Dogma Brewing Company, Brewery of the Year 501 – 1,000 Barrel
7. Toppling Goliath Brewing Co., IA
8. Narrow Path Brewing, OH
9. StillFire Brewing, GA
10. Confluence Brewing Company, IA – Brewery of the Year 5,001 – 15,000 Barrels
Oxford, Ohio(July 15) – The 2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, a premier event celebrating brewing excellence, saw over 8,000 beers submitted from breweries across the nation, from Big Island Brewing in Hawaii to Bissell Brothers Brewing Company in Portland, Maine. Representing more than 170 diverse categories and subcategories, these entries showcased the creativity and craftsmanship of American brewers.
Today, the U.S. Open Beer Championship is thrilled to announce the 2025 medal winners, Breweries of the Year recipients, and the prestigious Grand National Champion, recognizing the finest beers in this highly competitive field.
Bull & Bush Brewery of Denver, Colorado, was awarded the 2025 Grand National Champion by winning 3 gold medals and 2 bronze medals. Their gold medal winners included Pimp My Rye Beer, Royal Oil, and Nappy Nap Time Tea Beer. The Bull & Bush Brewery, a Denver landmark since 1971, is a family-owned English-style pub renowned for its award-winning, hand-crafted beers and cozy, welcoming atmosphere.
Sun King Brewery of Indianapolis, Indiana, secured second place overall with two gold medals for Soul Shakedown Party Ale and Free Range Farmhouse Ale, three silver medals, and one bronze. Previously crowned Grand National Champion in 2019 and 2022, Sun King continues to demonstrate its brewing prowess.
Wild Barley Kitchen & Brewery out of San Antonio, Texas, placed third overall by winning 3 gold medals and a bronze medal. Gold medals included POG Slammer Wheat Beer, 1205 to Antwerp Belgian Pale Ale and Wild Dreams: Chapter 2 Sour. The brewery’s vibrant taproom pairs its award-winning brews with elevated pub fare, fostering a welcoming community atmosphere.
2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship Medal Winners and Breweries of the Year – Click Here
Pink Boots Category: Stone Brewing takes home the Gold
The U.S. Open Beer Championship partnered with the Pink Boots Society, an organization that assists, inspires, and encourages women and non-binary individuals in the fermented/alcoholic beverage profession through education, to create the Pink Boots Blend Category. The organization has partnered with Yakima Chief Hops for several years to sell a special hops blend to benefit the Pink Boots scholarship fund, and all beers developed using this hop blend were eligible to enter the category. She’s The Brewer IPA, brewed by Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido, CA, brought home the gold medal. All entry fees for the category will be matched by the U.S. Open Beer Championship and donated back to the Pink Boots Society Scholarship Fund.
New Categories for 2025: Rice Lager and Coffee Beer Style
The U.S. Open Beer Championship, known for offering the most diverse beer categories of any competition, continues to evolve by embracing emerging trends. This year, judges noted a significant number of rice lagers entered in the International Pilsner category, prompting the introduction of a dedicated Rice Lager category for the 2026 competition. This addition joins other innovative categories introduced in recent years, such as Imperial Hazy IPAs, Barrel-Aged German Lagers, and Near Gluten Beers, underscoring the championship’s commitment to recognizing the dynamic craft beer landscape.
Additionally, due to the growing popularity of coffee-infused beers across multiple styles, the U.S. Open introduced Coffee Beer Light and Coffee Beer Dark categories for 2025. These new categories will allow brewers to showcase the diverse expressions of coffee beers, from light and subtle roasts to bold, dark roast profiles.
What’s in a Name?
U.S. Open beer judges always enjoy the creativity behind the names that breweries choose for their products, and judge winners subjectively (based on laughter volume) at the competition’s conclusion. This year’s Top 10 on the laughs meter included:
Top 10 Beer Names at the U.S. Open Beer Championship
1) Not a Cure for Baldness – Buck Bald Brewing
2) She’s The Brewer West Coast IPA – Stone Brewing – California(Pink Boots Entry)
3) Fight! Flight! Or Pizza! – Moonraker Brewing
4) Thick Thighs and Luscious Eyes Imperial Stout – Hop District Community Brewing
5) Pants Off Pilsner – Dakota Point Brewing
6) That’s What She Saaz – Afterglow Brewing
7) Toxic Positivity – Sugar Monkey Brewing
8) Frankenfish Forschungbier – Muskellunge Brewing Company
9) Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter – Wild Ride Brewing
10) Olly Olly Gluten Free – Sibling Revelry Brewing
Honorable Mention
Anytime Wing Man(In honor of my wingman, Cam) Flix Brewhouse Oklahoma City
Georgia Bound(In honor of my home state) Hell ‘n Blazes Brewing Co.