Texas Craft Brewers Cup 2024

Celebrating its first year in 2022, the Texas Craft Brewers Cup is the premiere professional beer competition run and organized by The Texas Craft Brewers Guild to showcase the outstanding quality and variety of Texas craft beer and the brewers that make them. The awards ceremony was held on the evening of Saturday, February 17 at the Hilton in Downtown Austin as the closing event for the Texas Craft Brewers Guild’s Annual Meeting & Trade Show.

Building on the success of the first two years of the competition, a planning committee of brewers and experienced beer judges from across the state have contributed to updating the 30 unique medal categories for the third year of the competition. With a few notable exceptions (such as the always interesting Decadent Beer category) each category contains a variety of BJCP and Great American Beer Festival defined sub-styles to allow participating breweries to best match and categorize their entries.

Award Types

Medals

The judges will award a Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal in each category. These medals don’t come on your average ribbons – rather, in true Texas style, Texas Craft Brewers Cup medals have been crafted into custom, commemorative, large-and-in-charge bolo ties!

Breweries of the Year

Each medal awarded will have an equivalent point value (1 point for Bronze, 2 points for Silver, 3 points for Gold) used to determine Brewery of the Year award winners. The breweries will be divided into two similarly competitive groups based on brewery size (one for the very smallest breweries, and one for more mid-size to larger folks). Brewery of the Year cups will be awarded to the two breweries who each earn the most points in their respective groups.

Ambassador of Craft Awards

Exceptional Texas craft beers will not be the only award winners announced at the 2024 Texas Craft Brewers Guild Annual Meeting & Texas Craft Brewers Cup awards ceremony! During the event, the guild will also be taking the opportunity to publicly recognize select individuals and organizations for their dedication to advancing the Texas craft brewing industry with the presentation of the third annual Texas Craft Brewers Guild Ambassador of Craft awards.

Results

The awards ceremony occurred this weekend, and here are the results (Central Texas breweries in bold):

Category	Medal	Beer	Brewery	City
1 - German Pilsner	Gold	Neu! Pils	Hold Out Brewing	Austin
1 - German Pilsner	Silver	Gold	Live Oak Brewing Company	Austin
1 - German Pilsner	Bronze	Frau Nau	Buckstin Brewing Company	Nederland
2 - American and International Pilsner	Gold	Pilsner Resov	Equal Parts Brewing	Houston
2 - American and International Pilsner	Silver	Pikes Peak Pilsner	Walking Stick Brewing Company	Houston
2 - American and International Pilsner	Bronze	Patek Pils	Pondaseta Brewing Co.	Amarillo
3 - American & International Light Lager	Gold	Icy Boys	Zilker Brewing Company	Austin
3 - American & International Light Lager	Silver	Altstadt Light	Altstadt Brewery	Fredericksburg
3 - American & International Light Lager	Bronze	Devil’s Tears	Denton County Brewing Company	Denton
4 - American & International Lager	Gold	Mexican Lager	Union Bear Brewing Co.	Denton
4 - American & International Lager	Silver	Vacancy Classic	Vacancy Brewing	Austin
4 - American & International Lager	Bronze	Bat Outta Helles	Freetail	San Antonio
5 - Golden, Blond, & Light Ales	Gold	Neato Bandito	Deep Ellum Brewing Company	Dallas
5 - Golden, Blond, & Light Ales	Silver	Local Blonde	Texas Beer Company	Taylor
5 - Golden, Blond, & Light Ales	Bronze	Big Thicket	White Rock Brewing Company	Dallas
6 - Kölsch	Gold	Kayaker’s Kolsch	Central District Brewing	Austin
6 - Kölsch	Silver	Altstadt Kolsch	Altstadt Brewery	Fredericksburg
6 - Kölsch	Bronze	Cruzer	Real Ale Brewing Company	Blanco
7 - Session and Standard German & Czech Lagers	Gold	Das Daydrinker	The Brewtorium Brewery & Kitchen	Austin
7 - Session and Standard German & Czech Lagers	Silver	Defenestration Pils	Pecan Street Brewing Co.	Johnson City
7 - Session and Standard German & Czech Lagers	Bronze	Batch Pilz	Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches	Austin
8 - Session and Standard Dark German & Czech Lagers	Gold	Sky Screamer	Eureka Heights Brew CO	Houston
8 - Session and Standard Dark German & Czech Lagers	Silver	Dunkel	ETX Brewing Co	Tyler
8 - Session and Standard Dark German & Czech Lagers	Bronze	Electric Candlelight	Good Line Beer Co	Lubbock
9 - Strong German & Czech Lagers	Gold	Conundrum	Hound Song Brewing Co.	Columbus
9 - Strong German & Czech Lagers	Silver	HighWheel Doppelbock	Dorćol Distilling and Brewing	San Antonio
9 - Strong German & Czech Lagers	Bronze	The Architect	Flix Brewhouse San Antonio	San Antonio
10 - Classic UK Styles	Gold	Floating Embers	Ghost Note Brewing	Dripping Springs
10 - Classic UK Styles	Silver	Golden Eagle	Phantom Warrior Brewing Company	Killeen
10 - Classic UK Styles	Bronze	Amber Ale	Saint Arnold Brewing Company	Houston
11 - Stout & Porter	Gold	The Hot Stove	Texas Leaguer Brewing Company	Missouri City
11 - Stout & Porter	Silver	Overnight Oats	Wild Barley Kitchen & Brewery	San Antonio
11 - Stout & Porter	Bronze	MILF Stout	Bold Republic Brewing Company	Temple
12 - Session and Standard Hoppy Pale Ales and Lagers	Gold	Floating in Space	Good Line Beer Co	Lubbock
12 - Session and Standard Hoppy Pale Ales and Lagers	Silver	Sunrise Snorkel	Vacancy Brewing	Austin
12 - Session and Standard Hoppy Pale Ales and Lagers	Bronze	Flavor Country	Austin Beerworks	Austin
13 - American IPA	Gold	Ethics & Standards IPA	Oddwood Brewing	Austin
13 - American IPA	Silver	Neighbourhood Bully	Hound Song Brewing Co.	Columbus
13 - American IPA	Bronze	Nerf Warz	Bird Creek Brewing Company	Temple
14 - Hazy IPA	Gold	Lamborghini Truck	Bird Creek Brewing Company	Temple
14 - Hazy IPA	Silver	Hazy IPA	Frontyard Brewing	Spicewood
14 - Hazy IPA	Bronze	Juice Pack	TUPPS Brewery	McKinney
15 - Strong Hoppy Beer	Gold	EVA #3	Vallensons’ Brewing Company	Pearland
15 - Strong Hoppy Beer	Silver	Rose Colored Glasses	ODD Muse Brewing	Farmer’s Branch
15 - Strong Hoppy Beer	Bronze	Velvet Veil	Lakewood Brewing	Garland
16 - Specialty Hoppy	Gold	Let The People Dance	Pondaseta Brewing Co.	Amarillo
16 - Specialty Hoppy	Silver	Silent Laughter	Fast Friends Beer Company	Austin
16 - Specialty Hoppy	Bronze	Lady Wood Spruce Tip	Bear King Brewing Co.	Marble Falls
17 - Amber and Dark Beers	Gold	Karnstein	Acopon Brewing Company	Dripping Springs
17 - Amber and Dark Beers	Silver	Sunrise	Pondaseta Brewing Co.	Amarillo
17 - Amber and Dark Beers	Bronze	Pecos Amber Lager	Texas Beer Company	Taylor
18 - Barleywine & Strong Ale	Gold	Romanov’s Revenge	Maple Branch Craft Brewery	Fort Worth
18 - Barleywine & Strong Ale	Silver	Old Man Marley	Good Line Beer Co	Lubbock
18 - Barleywine & Strong Ale	Bronze	Old Empresarios	Fredonia Brewery	Nacogdoches
19 - Belgian & Farmhouse Ales	Gold	Let It Rip	False Idol Brewing	North Richland Hills
19 - Belgian & Farmhouse Ales	Silver	(R.U.D.) Refreshing Unfiltered Decoction	Starbase Brewing	Austin
19 - Belgian & Farmhouse Ales	Bronze	Squirtle Squad	False Idol Brewing	North Richland Hills
20 - Belgian Abbey Ales	Gold	Slim Chug	Buckstin Brewing Company	Nederland
20 - Belgian Abbey Ales	Silver	Triple Volunteer	Longtab Brewing Company	San Antonio
20 - Belgian Abbey Ales	Bronze	Tears of Osiris	Grain Theory	Abilene
21 - Fruit & Field Beer	Gold	Raspberry Fields	Maple Branch Craft Brewery	Fort Worth
21 - Fruit & Field Beer	Silver	Why Can’t I Be Turboman?	Funky Picnic Brewery & Cafe	Fort Worth
21 - Fruit & Field Beer	Bronze	Pumpkinator	Saint Arnold Brewing Company	Houston
22 - Chocolate & Coffee	Gold	Drip	Great Heights Brewing Company	Houston
22 - Chocolate & Coffee	Silver	MFC	Equal Parts Brewing	Houston
22 - Chocolate & Coffee	Bronze	Coffee Milk Stout	Frontyard Brewing	Spicewood
23 - American & European Sour	Gold	White Dwarf	True Anomaly Brewing	Houston
23 - American & European Sour	Silver	Jubilberry	Blue Owl Brewing	Austin
23 - American & European Sour	Bronze	Pink	Vallensons’ Brewing Company	Pearland
24 - Brett & Mixed Culture	Gold	SPON Three Year Blend	Jester King Brewery	Austin
24 - Brett & Mixed Culture	Silver	Stonewall	Vista Brewing	Driftwood
24 - Brett & Mixed Culture	Bronze	Rubus Rex	Vector Brewing	Dallas
25 - Wood & Barrel-Aged Sour & Brett Beer	Gold	Flanders Redux	True Anomaly Brewing	Houston
25 - Wood & Barrel-Aged Sour & Brett Beer	Silver	Killer Strains Golden Sour	Austin Beerworks	Austin
25 - Wood & Barrel-Aged Sour & Brett Beer	Bronze	Sea of Waves	True Anomaly Brewing	Houston
26 - Smoke & Chili Beer	Gold	Smoke Session	Armor Brewing Co	Allen
26 - Smoke & Chili Beer	Silver	Jalapeño Saison	On Rotation Brewery & Kitchen	Dallas
26 - Smoke & Chili Beer	Bronze	GiGi’s Juice	Maple Branch Craft Brewery	Fort Worth
27 - Barrel & Wood Aged Beer	Gold	Left Handed Hummingbird	Meanwhile Brewing Company	Austin
27 - Barrel & Wood Aged Beer	Silver	MFC Unwrapped	Equal Parts Brewing	Houston
27 - Barrel & Wood Aged Beer	Bronze	Rio Reserve	Back Unturned Brewing Co	San Antonio
28 - Experimental, Hybrid & Specialty Beer	Gold	Fireflies	True Anomaly Brewing	Houston
28 - Experimental, Hybrid & Specialty Beer	Silver	Chinese Yi Di	Fitzhugh Brewing	Dripping Springs
28 - Experimental, Hybrid & Specialty Beer	Bronze	Saison in the Abyss	Alamo Beer Company	San Antonio
29 - Wheat or Rye	Gold	Hefeweizen	Live Oak Brewing Company	Austin
29 - Wheat or Rye	Silver	Social Betty Ann	Edgewise Eight Brewing	Weatherford
29 - Wheat or Rye	Bronze	Weller Weiss	Two Docs Brewing Co.	Lubbock
30 - Decadent Beer	Gold	Kokomo Royale	Blue Owl Brewing	Austin
30 - Decadent Beer	Silver	Sinister Shadows	False Idol Brewing	North Richland Hills
30 - Decadent Beer	Bronze	Jamie Tart	Pondaseta Brewing Co.	Amarillo
31 - Legislative Pro-Am	Gold	House District 138 Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout	Senate Avenue Brewing Company	Jersey Village
31 - Legislative Pro-Am	Silver	FAYM- Forever Always Your Mckinney	TUPPS Brewery	McKinney
31 - Legislative Pro-Am	Bronze	Impeachment	Hold Out Brewing	Austin

With 36 medals, Central Texas is the region with the most awards! Congrats to all of our brewers!

Breweries of the Year

As mentioned above, two breweries were awarded Brewery of the Year based on medal count. The winner in the Under 600 bbl Group is Maple Branch Craft Brewery in Fort Worth, and the winner in the 600+ bbl Group is True Anomaly Brewing in Houston. The number of points earned per brewery is below – and we can award the unofficial Central Texas Brewery of the Year awards to Blue Owl Brewing and Live Oak Brewing, who tied at 5 points!