Texas brewers shine at U.S. Open Beer Championship

TEXAS - Texas breweries showcased their brewing prowess at the recent 2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, bringing home multiple medals, including a coveted "Brewery of the Year" title.

Wild Barley Kitchen & Brewery Named "Brewery of the Year"

Wild Barley Kitchen & Brewery out of San Antonio was named the U.S. Open's Brewery of the Year in the highly competitive 251-500 barrels category, a significant recognition of their consistent quality and diverse offerings. 

Wild Barley Kitchen & Brewery placed third overall by winning 3 gold medals and a bronze medal. Gold medals included POG Slammer Wheat Beer, 1205 to Antwerp Belgian Pale Ale and Wild Dreams: Chapter 2 Sour. 

Texas Breweries Earn Medals Across Diverse Categories

Several other Texas breweries earned individual medals across a range of beer styles:

Hazy/Juicy Strong Pale Ales

Zilker Brewing Co. of Texas secured a silver medal for its "Heavenly Daze" in the Hazy/Juicy Strong Pale Ale category, demonstrating strength in a popular style. 

ODD Muse Brewing Company also medaled in this category, taking home bronze for "Silver Spaceship."

Stout Categories

In the stout categories, Buckstin Brewing Company earned a silver medal for "Splittin' B's" in the Classic Irish Dry Stout competition, while Union Bear Brewing of Plano received a bronze in the same category for their "Dry Irish Stout." 

Wild Barley Kitchen and Brewery also earned a bronze for "Overnight Oats" in the Oatmeal Stout category. 

Flix Brewhouse El Paso brought home a bronze medal for "Midnight Release" in the British Imperial Stout category. 

Another Texas win came from Armor Brewing Company, which secured a gold medal for "Front Toward Enemy" in the Imperial Stout Specialty category, highlighting their innovative approach.

Pastry Stouts

Texas breweries also made a strong showing in the Pastry Stout division. 

Flix Brewhouse earned a silver medal for "Glazed & Unusual," and Vallensons Brewing Company took bronze for "Mint Condition."

German Styles

Union Bear Brewing of Plano continued to impress, securing a bronze medal for their "Kolsch" in the German Kolsch category. 

In the South German Weizenbock category, Flix Brewhouse-SAT won gold for "Shadowhorn," and No Label Brewing Co. earned bronze for "El Carlito."

Belgian and Saison Styles

Vista Brewing received a gold medal for "Le Saison" in the French and Belgian Saison category, and Wild Barley Kitchen and Brewery followed up with a gold for "1205 to Antwerp" in Belgian Pale Ale. 

Three Wide Brewing received a bronze for "Tienne" in the Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale category and for "Tropic Groove" in the Coconut Beer category.

Buckstin Brewing Company also earned a bronze in Belgian Dubbel for "Chugboat Island."

Lagers and Pilseners

In the Fruit Gose category, Armor Brewing Company won gold for "Blood Orange Gose." 

Central Machine Works Brewery earned gold for "American Lager" in the American-Style Lager category and gold for "Helles Lager" in the Munchner Helles category, also receiving a bronze for "Rice Lager" in the Rice Lager category. 

Oak Highlands Brewery secured a bronze medal for "Golden Dharma" in the International-Style Pilsener category. 

Turning Point Beer won gold for "City Lager" in the Australasian, Latin American, or Tropical-Style Light Lager category and bronze for "Sportz Fruit Punch" in American-Style Fruit Beer – General/Other. 

Flix Brewhouse-SAT continued its winning streak with a silver for "Lucha Libre" in Mexican Lager/Pilsener and silver for "Balrog’s Bock" in the Strong Bock category, along with a bronze for "Nakatomi Nights" in Belgian Quadrupel. 

Union Bear Brewing of Plano also secured a silver for "Schwarzbier" and a gold for "Bock" in their respective categories. 

Pondaseta Brewing Co. took home a silver for "Dad Bock" in the Traditional German-Style Bock category and bronze for "Razz Becky" in American-Style Fruit Beer – Raspberry and "Tang Walker" in Fruit Wheat Beer – Tangerine. 

Maple Branch Craft Brewery earned a bronze for "Levitator" in Strong Bock.

Specialty Beers

Project Halo Brewing won bronze for "High Frequency" in Baltic-Style Porter and gold for "Scattered Castles" in Nut Beer. 

Spoetzl Brewery received a gold medal for "Shiner Bock" and a bronze for "Shiner Lemonade Shandy" in the Session Beer category, alongside a silver for "Shiner Ruby Sunburst" in American-Style Fruit Beer – Grapefruit. 

No Label Brewing Co. received a silver for "Don Jalapeño" in Chili Pepper Beer, and bronze for "Perpetual Peace" in Barrel-Aged Strong Beer, and bronze for "No Label Root Beer" in Root Beer: A – Kids. 

Union Bear Brewing-Denton received a silver for "Saison w/ sage and honey" in Specialty Honey Beer and two bronze for "Amber Ale" and "UB Light" in Near Gluten Free/Gluten Reduced Beer.

Barrel-Aged Beers

In the highly competitive Barrel-Aged Dark Beer category, Turning Point Beer earned a silver medal for "Blackout Brunch" in the Barrel-Aged Breakfast Stout category. 

Vista Brewing won gold for "Daydreamer" in Barrel-Aged Fruited Sour Beer. 

Finally, Wild Barley Kitchen and Brewery secured both a gold for "Wild Dreams: Chapter 2" in Foeders & Casks Aged Beer and a bronze for "Mur de Barley" in Aged Beer.

These accolades underscore Texas's growing reputation as a hub for quality craft brewing, with breweries consistently delivering award-winning beers across a wide spectrum of styles.

To see all the winners, click here. 

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