Celebrating World Beer Cup: People, Beer, and a Little Root Shoot in the Middle

When the World Beer Cup rolls around, it’s not just about beer. It’s about people, places, and the long road from field to pint. This year hit especially close to home for Root Shoot. Not just because a handful of familiar names showed up on the medal list, but because some of those beers trace right back to our farm, our fields, and relationships we’re lucky to be part of.

Across the board, the 2026 competition saw 8,166 beers from 1,644 breweries judged in 113 beer categories and five cider categories. Medals were awarded across 186 styles, evaluated by 255 judges from 37 countries.

Big numbers. Bigger context.

And a reminder that even in a global competition this massive, the wins still come down to people doing the work, together.

Los Dos Potrillos Cerveceria at World Beer Cup

The Ones We Had a Hand In

Los Dos Potrillos Cerveceria

Bronze: Agua Fresca, Fruit Beer, Parker, CO

Root Shoot malts: Pilsner, Light Munich, Malted Corn.

Los Dos' Agua Fresca fruit beer took home a bronze, their first World Beer Cup medal. Ever.

If you’ve had it, you get it. Prickly pear, key lime, stupid drinkable Mexican Lager. Brewed with 100% Root Shoot malts: Pilsner. Light Munich. Malted Corn.

But honestly, the beer’s only half the story. This is the crew we’ve done Collabfests with, sweated through Field Day with, and loaded onto the Root Shoot Express for malthouse tours. And yeah… it usually ends with that Chili Relleno plate and “one more beer.”

Customers for almost four years. Friends for a whole lot longer. Seeing them get their first WBC medal? Couldn’t happen to better people.

The Post Brewing Company

Bronze: East County Fine Malt Liquor, Strong Beer, Lafayette, CO

Root Shoot malts: Malted Corn

No flash. No gimmicks. Just clean, dialed beer built on consistency.

Industry Ales

Bronze: Dri-Dek, Irish-Style Dry Stout, Chicago, IL

Root Shoot malts: English Pale

Chicago in the mix! Industry Ales is part of the Root Shoot family of brewers we work with and believe in, rooted in the same idea: let the ingredients do their job, and don’t get in the way of good process.

Industry Ales at World Beer Cup

The Ones We're Proud to Know (and Supply Along the Way)

We’d be missing the point if we only talked about the beers with our name directly in the grist. The bigger story is the network. Some are long-time customers. Some are collaborators. Some are just people we’ve crossed paths with in this industry long enough to know the work behind the beer. All of them part of the same ecosystem.

Shoutout to our Root Shoot customers who also took home some hardware:

• Verboten Brewing Co.

• Peculier Brewing

• Stodgy Brewing

• River North Brewery

• Odell Brewing Co.

• Crystal Springs Brewing

• Ratio Beerworks

Why This One Feels Different

Awards are great. They matter.

But from where we sit, this is about something bigger:

Farmers taking care of the land so the ingredients actually mean something.

Brewers trusting those ingredients enough to let them show.

And a beer industry that still runs on relationships more than headlines.

We talk a lot about “Sow, Grow, Malt, Deliver.” Moments like this are the “Deliver” part, but not as a transaction. It’s a beer landing on a global stage carrying a whole chain of people with it.

Go drink the evidence. Find these beers. Support these breweries. Order the thing you haven’t tried yet. And if you end up at Los Dos… Yeah. Get the chili relleno plate.