Winners of the 2026 U.S. Open Beer Championship have been announced, and as might be expected, Colorado ended up with plenty of medals.

Described as the third-largest beer competition that takes place in the United States, the U.S. Open Beer Championship allows breweries from around the globe to compete in more than 180 categories and subcategories.

The Grand National Champion of 2026 was Third Eye Brewing out of Hamilton, Ohio, which ended up with five gold medals, two silvers, and two bronzes – a tie for the most medals won by a brewery in a single year (tying Maui Brewing’s performance in 1990) and setting a record for the most gold medals ever won by a brewery in one year. That said, a Colorado brewery was tight on its heels.

Coming in second place overall was River North Brewery out of Denver, Colorado, earning four gold medals, plus a silver and a bronze. It’s ‘Effed Up Quad’ beer also earned sixth-place in the competition’s ‘funniest name’ category.

It’s also worth noting that River North Brewery was dubbed the ‘Brewery of the Year’ in its respective size-based category of 1,001 to 2,000 barrels. Overall first-place spot Third Eye Brewery is a bit larger, in the category of 2,001 to 5,000 annual barrels brewed.

River North’s medals were as follows:

• Gold: Buckets of Bolts (Strong Ale), Nightmare Fuel (Dark Coffee Beer), Single Cast Adrift on the Baltic (Porter), Matt’s Secret Stache (Extreme Beer)
• Silver: Hello Darkness (Imperial Porter)
• Bronze: Effed Up Quad (Extreme Beer)

Other Colorado medal winners included:

• Bent Barley Brewing Company (Aurora): Honey Kolsch, Gold (Specialty Honey Beer)
• Bull & Bush Brewery (Denver): Razz Against the Cream, Silver (American Style Fruit Beer – Raspberry); Dipped in French Toast, Bronze (Herb and Spice Beer); Royal Oil 2015 Vintage, Gold (Barrel Aged Strong Beer); Royal Oil 208 Vintage, Silver (Barrel Aged Strong Beer); The Legend of the Liquid Brain Imperial Stout 2023 Vintage, Bronze (Barrel Aged Strong Stout/Porter); Woody Pils, Bronze (Barrel Aged German Lager)
• Cellar West Brewery (Lafayette, Erie): Sasquatch Slobber, Gold (English Summer Ale)
• Ceria Brewing Company (Arvada): Ceria Porter, Silver (Non-Alcoholic Stout)
• Gilded Goat Brewing Company (Fort Collins): Professor Funk 601, Gold (Belgian lambic and miscellaneous); Meandering Wheat, Silver (Fruit Wheat Beer – Tangerine)
• Highside Brewing Company (Fairplay): Unnamed Yet, Gold (Contemporary Gose)
• Liquid Mechanics (Lafayette): Lucid AF, Gold (American Strong Pale Ale); Creamy Fookin’ Pints, Bronze (American Stout)
• Littleton Brewing Company: Festbier, Gold (German-Style Oktoberfest/Wiesn)
• Los Dos Portrillos Cerveceria Castle Rock: Festbier, Bronze (German-Style Oktoberfest/Wiesn)
• Mythmaker Brewing (Fort Collins): Porter, Silver (Brown Porter)
• Old 121 Brewhouse (Lakewood): ESB, Silver (Extra Special Bitter)
• Platt Park Brewing Company (Denver): Nutorious Pistachio Cream Ale, Gold (Nut Beer)
• Pumphouse Brewery (Longmont): Spotted Dog Stout, Bronze (Foreign Stout)
• Station 26 Brewing (Denver): Tangerine Cream Non-Alcoholic, Silver (Non-Alcoholic Fruit & Spices)
• Vail Brewing Company: Pete’s Stash, Silver (International Style Pale Ale); MXL, Silver (Australasian, Latin American, or Tropical-Style Light Lager)

Find a full breakdown of the award winners here.

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