2026 Final Round Winners – Asheville, NC (June 20, 2026)

Samuel Adams Ninkasi Award
Dan Acheson Winfield, IL Urban Knaves of Grain

Samuel Adams Ninkasi Award

Gambrinus Club Award
Sponsored by Trip’s Beer Trips Portland Brewers Collective Portland, OR

Gambrinus Club Award

Homebrew Club of the Year Award
Presented by Under the Jenfluence Kansas City Bier Meisters Kansas City, MO

Homebrew Club of the Year Award

Homebrewer of the Year
Sponsored by Grainfather Benjamin Frymark San Diego, CA QUAFF

Homebrewer of the Year

Meadmaker of the Year
Sponsored by Redstone Meadery Kyle Ducharme Saint Albans, VT Green Mountain Mashers

Meadmaker of the Year

Cidermaker of the Year
Jeffrey Carlson Grand Rapids, MI Prime Time Brewers

Cidermaker of the Year

Table 1: Pale American Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Jeff Zwetsch of Anaheim, CA with Don Frakes	Ace Brewing Society
2nd	Rodney Kibzey of Portland, OR	Oregon Brew Crew
3rd	Pete Graham of Fishers, IN	Foam Blowers of Indiana, Inc (FBI)

Table 2: Pale European Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Steven Severn of Santa Ana, CA	Orange County Mash Ups
2nd	Ron Barnes of Basehor, KS with Jeremy Rott	Kansas City Bier Meisters
3rd	Juan Pablo Salcedo of San Ysidro, CA	Tijuana Homebrew Club

Table 3: Pale Lager

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Tom Zacher of Murrysville, PA	Three Rivers Underground Brewers (TRUB)
2nd	Ian Campbell of Portland, OR	Portland Brewers Collective
3rd	Rob Hardisty of Fort Collins, CO	Liquid Poets

Table 4: German Pilsner

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Russell Berger of Portland, OR	Portland Brewers Collective
2nd	Mark Hughey of Gainesville, VA
3rd	Larry Bentley of North Plainfield, NJ	Garden State Homebrewers (GSHomebrewers)

Table 5: Pale Malty European Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Chuck Beckman of Gilbert, AZ	Arizona Society of Homebrewers
2nd	Lee Birkett of West Dundee, IL	Midnight Carboys
3rd	Bob Teich of Clear Lake, MN	River City Brewers

Table 6: Amber European Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	David Towles of Amarillo, TX	High Plains Drafters [TX]
2nd	Kevin Worthen of San Antonio, TX	Bexar Brewers
3rd	Steve Ristau of Black Hawk, SD	Ale Riders Homebrew Club

Table 7: Dark European Lager

Place	Winner	Club
1st	David Towles of Amarillo, TX	High Plains Drafters [TX]
2nd	Beth Migalla of Highland Park, IL	North Urban Brewing Society (NUBS)
3rd	Chris Kaebisch of Edgerton, WI

Table 8: American Wheat & Blonde

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Adam Wyss of Alamo, CA	Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE)
2nd	Alex Owen of Stamford, CT
3rd	Alex Mullen of San Diego, CA

Table 9: German Wheat & Rye Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Chuck Redpath of Downers Grove, IL
2nd	Eric Boyle of Berkley, MI	Royal Oak Area Homebrew Club
3rd	Wuilmer Venegas of Toronto, ON	GTA Brews Homebrew Club

Table 10: Pale British Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Tim Lambert of Albuquerque, NM	Dukes Of Ale
2nd	Jamye & Cody Naramore of Quenemo, KS	Kansas City Bier Meisters
3rd	Michael Johnson of Salt Lake City, UT

Table 11: Scottish & Irish Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Greg Winterburn of Rockaway, NJ
2nd	Stephen P Polczynski of Moore, OK	Red Earth Brewers
3rd	David Carruthers of Puyallup, WA	Puyallup Brew Crew

Table 12: American Pale Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Jamye & Cody Naramore of Quenemo, KS	Kansas City Bier Meisters
2nd	Tom Leonard of Chandler, AZ with Ross Stuart	Arizona Society of Homebrewers
3rd	Taylor Shastid of Walnut Creek, CA	Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE)

Table 13: Amber & Brown American Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Craig Martin of Louisville, KY	Louisville Area Grain and Extract Research Society (LAGERS)
2nd	Jeffry Battles of Lemon Grove, CA with Bob Cook	QUAFF
3rd	Larry Reuter of Akron, OH with Donna	Society of Akron Area Zymurgists (SAAZ)

Table 14: Brown British Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Sebastian Seith of Hinsdale, IL	Brixie’s Brewers
2nd	John Luhmann of West Des Moines, IA	Kansas City Bier Meisters
3rd	Jeff Ong of Portland, OR	Portland Brewers Collective

Table 15: Irish & British Stout

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Preston Booth of Easley, SC	South Carolina Upstate Homebrewers Anonymous
2nd	Steven Jones of Fort Collins, CO	Liquid Poets
3rd	Peter Daniels of Columbus, OH	SODZ

Table 16: American Porter & Stout

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Trevor McGuire of Concord, CA	Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE)
2nd	Chris Johnson of Maplewood, NJ	Morris Area Society of Homebrewers
3rd	Taylor Shastid of Walnut Creek, CA	Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE)

Table 17: American IPA

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Weston Wright of Thornton, CO	Indian Peaks Alers
2nd	Russell Berger of Portland, OR	Portland Brewers Collective
3rd	Metts Potter of Morrow, OH	Bloatarian Brewing League

Table 18: Specialty IPA

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Jarrett Long of Arlington, TX with Amanda Long	Horsemen of the Hopocalypse
2nd	Steven Severn of Santa Ana, CA	Orange County Mash Ups
3rd	Mark Pennick of Denver, CO	The Brew Crew

Table 19: Hazy IPA

Place	Winner	Club
1st	David James of Eugene, OR	Cascade Brewers Society
2nd	Tom Fontes of Long Beach, CA	Long Beach Homebrewers
3rd	Colby Reineke of Minnesota, MN	Minnesota Home Brewers Association

Table 20: Strong American Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Benjamin Frymark of San Diego, CA	QUAFF
2nd	Eli Palma of San Diego, CA	QUAFF
3rd	Jeremy Gramkow of Boise, ID with Nicole Thompson	Snake River brewers

Table 21: Strong European Lager

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Alex Rezmerski of Louisville, KY	Louisville Area Grain and Extract Research Society (LAGERS)
2nd	Karl Wayne King of Colleyville, TX	Cap and Hare Homebrew Club
3rd	Brady Smith of Westfield, IN	Foam Blowers of Indiana, Inc (FBI)

Table 22: Strong British Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Tony Hamric of Leland, NC	Wort City Brewers
2nd	Mark Unick of Wentzville, MO	St Charles County Society of Brewers
3rd	Andy Cox of Wilton, CT	Underground Brewers of Connecticut

Table 23: Imperial Porter & Stout

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Joe Formanek of Bolingbrook, IL	Urban Knaves of Grain
2nd	Gerad Miller of Dayton, OH	Dayton Regional Amateur Fermentation Technologists
3rd	David Zwach of Manassas, VA	Downright Obsessed Homebrewers (DOH)

Table 24: Saison

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Mark Pennick of Denver, CO	The Brew Crew
2nd	Magnus Vasilis of Gothenburg, Sweden	Hembryggning Halleluja!
3rd	Bradford Berger of Pioneertown, CA	Mojave Desert Brewers Guild

Table 25: Belgian Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	James Allen of Highlands Ranch, CO with Steve Speth and Heather McCullough	Rock Hoppers Brew Club
2nd	Michael Johnson of Salt Lake City, UT
3rd	Pete Graham of Fishers, IN	Foam Blowers of Indiana, Inc (FBI)

Table 26: Strong Belgian Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Nicholas B Griner of Ayer, MA	Merrimack Valley Homebrew Club
2nd	Kevin Kiernan of Washington, DC	DC Homebrewers
3rd	Guillermo Velasco of Tijuana, BC with Antonio Aguirre	Tijuana Homebrew Club

Table 27: European Sour Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Dan Acheson of Winfield, IL	Urban Knaves of Grain
2nd	Kris Gould of Hamilton Township, NJ	ALEiens Homebrew Club
3rd	Ian Campbell of Portland, OR	Portland Brewers Collective

Table 28: Fruit Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Josh Willard of Ocala, FL	Brick City Brewers
2nd	Andy Scherzinger of Berthoud, CO with Fernando Puga	Weizguys Homebrew Club
3rd	Eric Boyle of Berkley, MI	Royal Oak Area Homebrew Club

Table 29: Spice, Herb & Vegetable Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Steve Powell of Sioux Falls, SD	Big Sioux Brewing Society
2nd	Andres Teene of Fort Collins, CO	Liquid Poets
3rd	Art Kim of Highland, IN	Illiana Beer Rackers Union (IBRU)

Table 30: Specialty & Seasonal Spiced Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Douglas Mandic of Denver, CO	Aurora City Brew Club
2nd	Eli Palma of San Diego, CA	QUAFF
3rd	Steven Jones of Fort Collins, CO	Liquid Poets

Table 31: Smoke-Flavored Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Russell Berger of Portland, OR	Portland Brewers Collective
2nd	Barry Forrest of Dallas, TX with Silvia Eyster	Horsemen of the Hopocalypse
3rd	Matthew Johnsen of Castle Rock, CO	Rock Hoppers Brew Club

Table 32: Wood-Aged Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Wesley Kulcak of El Campo, TX with Megan Kulcak	Bay Area Mashtronauts
2nd	Doug Brown of San Diego, CA	QUAFF
3rd	Robbie Proctor of Pleasant Hill, CA	Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE)

Table 33: American Wild Ale

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Paul Pitre of Eunice, LA	Redstick Brewmasters
2nd	Shaun Huggins of Universal City, TX	San Antonio Cerveceros
3rd	Kyle Hufford of Santa Barbara, CA

Table 34: Specialty Beer

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Kenneth Troy Traynham of Spring Hill, FL with Sue Traynham	Pour Decisions Home Brew Club
2nd	Dan Acheson of Winfield, IL	Urban Knaves of Grain
3rd	Ben Jankowski of Oyster Bay, NY

Table 35: Traditional Mead

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Kevin Wagner of Stilwell, KS	Kansas City Bier Meisters
2nd	Shane Kammerer of Shawnee, KS with Susan Kammerer	Kansas City Bier Meisters
3rd	Dan Acheson of Winfield, IL	Urban Knaves of Grain

Table 36: Fruit Mead

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Allen Martin of Gilbert, AZ	Arizona Society of Homebrewers
2nd	Kyle Ducharme of Saint Albans, VT	Green Mountain Mashers
3rd	Dan Acheson of Winfield, IL	Urban Knaves of Grain

Table 37: Spice Mead

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Dan Acheson of Winfield, IL	Urban Knaves of Grain
2nd	Austin Brown of Sterling Heights, MI	Brewers Anonymous
3rd	Kyle Ducharme of Saint Albans, VT	Green Mountain Mashers

Table 38: Specialty Mead

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Kyle Ducharme of Saint Albans, VT	Green Mountain Mashers
2nd	Kyle Ducharme of Saint Albans, VT	Green Mountain Mashers
3rd	Jarrett Long of Arlington, TX with Amanda Long	Horsemen of the Hopocalypse

Table 39: Traditional Cider & Perry

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Jeffrey Carlson of Grand Rapids, MI	PrimeTime Brewers
2nd	Doug Brown of San Diego, CA	QUAFF
3rd	Kristyn Minkoff of Gainesville, FL	Hogtown Brewers

Table 40: Strong & Specialty Cider & Perry

Place	Winner	Club
1st	Nelson Crowle of Foxfield, CO	Indian Peaks Alers
2nd	Mark Kunzelmann of St Louis, MO	St. Louis Brews
3rd	James Werner of New Berlin, WI	Beer Barons of Milwaukee