Montana Breweries Win Big at World Beer Cup

Whether it's on a hot summer afternoon, during a crisp fall football weekend, or even on a cool spring evening, there's rarely a bad time to enjoy a great craft beer.

Living in Montana, we're lucky to have no shortage of incredible breweries. It seems like every corner of the state has someone brewing something worth trying. While my taste buds may not qualify me as a professional beer judge, I do know one thing. Montana breweries continue to earn recognition from the people who are.

Celebrating National Recognition

That's why I always get excited when I see national awards recognizing breweries from the Treasure State.

The World Beer Cup announced its 2026 award winners, and several Montana breweries brought home medals. With 8,166 entries from 1,644 breweries around the world, earning a medal isn't easy.

The World Beer Cup is one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world, with breweries from across the globe competing for top honors.

Cheers to Montana's Award-Winning Breweries

Whenever Montana breweries make that list, it's something worth celebrating.

Every time I see a list like this, I immediately start making mental notes of which beers I need to try next. If they've impressed professional judges from around the world, they're probably worth ordering the next time I'm visiting one of Montana's breweries.

Congratulations to every Montana brewery that earned recognition this year. Your hard work continues to put Montana's craft beer scene on the map.

For beer lovers like me, you've just given us another excuse to visit a brewery and sample another great Montana beer.

Here are the Montana medal winners:

406 Brewing Company, Manhattan: Bronze Black Hop - 12F Cascadian Style Dark Ale American Black Ale Silver Stouter Space - 12I Oatmeal Stout Bronze JAMber Ale 12D - Brown Porter Bronze Belgian Pale 15A - Belgian-Style Pale Ale
Big Sky Brewing Company, Missoula: Silver POG 23A - Hard Seltzers
Bozeman Brewing Company, Bozeman: Gold Plum Street Porter 12E - Robust Porter Bronze Passion Fruit Vieux Bois Lambic Inspired 16CDE - Flanders-Style, Lambic, Geuze, and Traditional Beers with Brettanomyces Silver Funky Fugitive with Outlaw Brewing 20A - Collaboration Beers Gold Blackberry Lemonade Fizz 16F - American Sour Ale
Bridger Brewing, Bozeman, MT: Gold Higher Haze 10D - Hazy or Juicy Imperial or Double India Pale Ale Bronze Wildlands 6A - Cream Ale
Carters Brewing, Billings: Bronze Throwback Stout 12I - Oatmeal Stout Silver Biere de Mars 15BC - Saison and Bier de Garde Silver Downtown Dunkel 3D - Munich-Style Dark
Copper Furrow Brewing, Helena: Silver Tmave 3FG - American Black and Czech Dark Lager Silver Winter Warmer 13BCD - English-Style Old Ale and American or English Barleywine or strong ale
Lewis & Clark Brewing Company, Helena: Gold Miners Gold 7B - American-Style Hefeweizen Dark Hefeweizen Silver Prickly Pear 8B9B - English-Style Pale Ale and English-Style IPA Gold Tumbleweed 8B9B - English-Style Pale Ale and English-Style IPA Silver Backcountry 12B - English-Style Brown Ale Bronze Miners Silver 22A - Light Non-Alcoholic Beers Silver Yellowstone 6C - Golden Ale
Lolo Peak Brewery & Grill, Lolo: Bronze Black Berry Sour 16F - American Sour Ale
Old Bull Brewing, Frenchtown: Gold Last Best Quad 15G - Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale Bronze Kind Of A Big Dill 19K - Chili Beer
Outlaw Brewing, Bozeman: Gold Passport Pale Ale 8A - American-Style Pale Ale
Red Lodge Ales Brewing Co., Red Lodge, Gold Glacier Ale 11F – Altbier
Sacred Waters Brewing Company, Kalispell: Silver Meadow Creek Amber 11E - Irish-Style Red Ale Gold Starry Waters 3FG - American Black and Czech Dark Lager Silver Raft Soda 5D - Other Hoppy Lager
Thirsty Street Brewing Co, Billings: Bronze Red Palooski 16GHI - Mixed-Culture and Wild Beers, Fruit, and Oenobeer