Raise a glass: Four Charlotte breweries win big at this year’s World Beer Cup
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Charlotte’s craft beer scene has exploded in the past decade, reaching more than 50 breweries in and around the city.
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Four local breweries took home medals at this year’s World Beer Cup, held May 10 at the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville. Presented by the Brewers Association, this year’s event saw a total of 2,376 breweries from around the world submit a combined 10,213 beers to be judged.
Before announcing the winners, Chris Williams, the competition director at the Brewers Association and the World Beer Cup, addressed the crowd of brewers.
“The World Beer Cup is the largest and most prestigious beer competition in the world,” Williams said. “Any brewery who hears their name called here tonight should take heavy satisfaction in knowing that their award-winning beer was not only marked as a world-class example by our judge panel, but it represents essentially the ideal example of beer brewed in any given style category.”
Lake Norman’s D9 Brewing Co. won a bronze medal in the chocolate beer category for its German Chocolate Cake. Like the dessert it’s inspired by, the 8% ABV stout is made with chocolate, coconut and pecans.
“German Chocolate Cake has always been one of our most popular seasonals, but sometimes that same familiarity can lead people to forget just how good it is,” said Aaron Gore, senior director of business development for D9 Brewing. “But this year, our team absolutely knocked it out of the park, and it feels good to remind folks that D9 has always been First in Flavor since day one.”
In the hoppy lager category, Lenny Boy Brewing Co. won bronze for Spaghetti Handshake, an Italian-style pilsner dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc and Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops. The beer is available year-round at the taproom, on draft and in cans. It’s been a busy six months for the brewery, head brewer John Watkins said.
“From medaling gold at GABF [Great American Beer Festival] with Plumonary Groove to medaling tonight at World Beer Cup with Spaghetti Handshake, this feels awesome,” Watkins said. “It’s always been a goal not only to medal at these awards, but to do so with styles I absolutely love — long-aged sours and lagers.”
Pilot Brewing won a silver medal in the extra special bitter category for its Pub Ale, a 5.6% ABV English style pale ale that also won a gold medal at the U.S. Open Beer Championship in 2021. It is currently available at Pilot Brewing in cans and on tap.
“Pilot Brewing is pumped to be one of Charlotte’s top award winning breweries,” said Rachael Hudson, co-owner and head brewer. “We’ve always taken pride in brewing high quality beer, and it’s satisfying to be validated by judges from all over the world.”
Sugar Creek Brewing Co. won a gold for its Quad in the Belgian-style abbey ale category. The brewery took the recipe for its award-winning Dubbel and “amped it up” to brew a stronger version of that recipe before naturally conditioning it in Champagne bottles to reach the desired flavor. Bottles are currently available in the taproom.
“It’s the achievement of a lifetime for a brewer,” said co-founder Joe Vogelbacher, who was quick to credit his brewing staff. “The brewers at Sugar Creek, of which we have six, they’re the ones who actually deserve the credit. It’s the attention to detail of the brewers that makes this high quality possible. I’m just like a conductor at an orchestra. I try to set the stage and conduct, but they’re the ones playing the instrument and they deserve the credit. They’re making the beautiful music.”
In the past, the World Beer Cup was held every two years, but it is now an annual event. The full list of winners can be found here.
This story was originally published May 11, 2023 at 5:45 AM.
