Twenty of Washington’s breweries/cideries scored nearly 40 medals
Each year the North American Brewers Association (NABA) invites breweries to submit beers and ciders for its judging competition. This year, the NABA adopted a new name to better reflect the competition: The NABA International Beer and Cider Awards. The winners of the 2025 competition were announced on Friday, June 6th. I share the list of Washington winners below. I also share some special shout-outs.
While the competition is open to breweries far and wide, most of the winners are from the Western U.S., which suggests that breweries in that region are most likely to submit beer for judging. As with most competitions like this, we do not know who did and did not enter; we only know who won medals.
- Cardinal Craft Brewing of Burlington won two medals this year. This brewery is operated by, and is part of, the Brewing Academy at Skagit Valley College. Congrats to the students who designed and brewed these medal-winning beers. BTW, the Academy is about to graduate another class of brewers. (Let me know if you’re hiring and I’ll hook you up.)
- Silver City Brewery won four medals and scored two of the three medals in the Bock category.
- Grains of Wrath Brewing won four medals and further solidified its reputation as one of the best IPA breweries in the country. Two of its medals were for IPAs, and a third was for Pale Ale.
- Spokane’s Uprise Brewing secured two of the three medals in the West Coast IPA category. That is impressive! A hotly contested category, very likely one of the most-entered categories.
- Not a Washington brewery, but Oregon’s Breakside Brewery deserves recognition. That brewery won a total of 13 medals this year. C’mon, Breakside, now you’re just showing off.
Washington’s NABA Medal Winners
Below I share the Washington winners. The medal earned, the beer/cider name, and the style category in which it won. You can see the complete list of all winners, from all states and in all categories, here.
Barrel Mountain Brewing
- Gold – Be Happy – American-Style Wheat Ale/Dark Wheat Ale/American Style Hefeweizen/Dark Hefeweizen
- Silver – Trail Builder – Double or Imperial India Pale Ale
- Gold – Ash Cloud – American-Style Amber Ale
Bellevue Brewing Co.
- Silver -Schwarzbier – Czech Dark Lagers
Cardinal Craft Brewing
- Gold – Vienna Lager – American-Style Amber Lager California Common
- Bronze – Brown Ale – English-Style Mild Ale
Dru Bru
- Silver – Margarita Sour – Strong Beers Barrel-Aged Beer
Dystopian State Brewing
- Gold – Black Circle – Oatmeal Stout
- Bronze – Six-Eye Samurai – Asian-Style Lager
Echoes Brewing Company, Poulsbo, WA
- Gold – Southern Star NZ Tripel – Belgian-Style Pale Ale Hoppy Belgian Ales
Farmstrong Brewing Co.
- Bronze – Pull and Be Damned Porter – Robust Porter
Fortside Brewing Company
- Bronze – Orange Whip – Hazy Pale AleHazy Session IPA
Fremont Brewing
- Silver NA – Dark – Dark Non-Alcoholic Beers
Grains of Wrath
- Silver – Cantina Especial – Latin American or Tropical-Style Lager or Ale
- Bronze – Papermaker Pale – American-Style Pale Ale
- Bronze – Rancho Cowabunga – India Pale Lager or Cold IPA
- Gold – Wastelandia – New Zealand or Australian-Style India Pale Ale
Incline Cider Company
- Bronze – Fujis Gold – Modern Cider
- Silver – White Peach – Fruit Flavored Cider and Perry
Loowit Brewing Company
- Bronze – Corsair Kolsch – Kolsch
- Silver – Grimlock – Robust Porter
- Silver – Two-Sixteen Red Ale – Irish-Style Red Ale
- Silver – Turbulent Juice – Hazy or Juicy India Pale Ale
Lucky Envelope Brewing
- Silver – Karakuchi Japanese Lager – Asian-Style Lager
- Gold – Fonio Grisette – Other Belgian-Style Ales
Recluse Brew Works
- Silver – Yellow Eyed Penguin- Other Hoppy Lager
Reuben’s Brews
- Bronze – Three Ryes Men – English Style Old Ale-Barley Wine
Schilling Cider
- Bronze – Excelsior Imperial Apple 1 – Traditional Cider
Silver City Brewery
- Silver – The Magnificent Scotch Ale – Scotch Ale (Wee Heavy)
- Silver – Old Scrooge – English Style Old Ale-Barley Wine
- Bronze – Copper Mountain – Helles Bock/Maibock/Traditional Bock
- Silver – Dark Lager – Helles Bock/Maibock/Traditional Bock
Sound 2 Summit Brewing
- Bronze – Brewberry Pie 1 – American Sour Ale
Trap Door Brewing
- Gold – Glowed Up – Hazy or Juicy Strong Pale Ale
- Silver – Birra Di Famiglia – Italian-Style Pilsner
- Gold – Day Beer – West Coast Pilsner
Uprise Brewing
- Silver – High Vis – West Coast India Pale Ale
- Bronze – Bright Side – West Coast India Pale Ale
RELATED:
Northwest wins big at 2025 World Beer Cup.
Washington’s 2025 GABF winners.
