5 Minnesota Beers Named Among Best In The World At 2025 World Beer Cup

In a worldwide competition of over 8,000 beers, a handful of Minnesota beverages were just named among the best on the planet.

The annual World Beer Cup was held on May 1. This worldwide competition looks to name the best beers in the world in a variety of different beverage styles. As the panel of experts whittled down the field to their finalists, the Land of 10,000 Lakes scored a total of 5 award-winning brews.

Having sampled a good amount of Minnesota-made craft beer, I can say we have a lot of phenomenal beverages made around the state. To see we had a good handful of winners in such a massive worldwide competition is no surprise at all!

The 2025 World Beer Cup consisted of 8,375 beverages from 1,761 breweries and cideries across 49 countries.

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The contest is a 7-day event with 14 sessions, where 265 judges from 37 countries evaluate each entry to eventually whittle it down to gold, silver, and bronze medalists in each of the contest's categories.

At the conclusion of this year's event, Minnesota's breweries collected a total of three gold medals and two silver medals. Here's a look at the winners.

Gold Medal Winner: Pantown Brewing Co. in St. Cloud, MN

I'm a sucker for these kinds of beer...they're delicious! I need to try this one sometime. Pantown Brewing earned one of Minnesota's gold medals with their Coffee Cream Ale in the Coffee Beer category.

They describe the beer as a spin on their Classic Cream Ale, "paired with Muggy's awesome Papua New Guinea coffee beans". They say it is light and clear, but still has a taste and smell of coffee and cocoa.

The beer has an ABV of 5.5% and an IBU of 14.

Gold Medal Winner: Arbeiter Brewing Co. in Minneapolis, MN

Another gold medal winner from Minnesota was Arbeiter Brewing Co. with their Haha Pils, a gold winner in the German-Style Pilsener category

This beer has collected a number of awards, including a couple at the MN Brewer's Cup in recent years.

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They describe this beer as one that "slaps so hard, it'll make you laugh". This is the brewery's flagship pilsner, named for Minnehaha Ave., where they're located. They say this is a cleaner-tasting and more hop-forward beer than other Pilsners, leaning into the style of a Northern German Pilsener.

This beer has an ABV of 5% and an IBU of 44.

Gold Medal Winner: Paddlefish Brewing Co. in Saint Peter, MN

Paddlefish Brewing Co. rounds out the gold medal winners with their Vinter Liv in the Historical Beer category.

Described by the brewery as an obscure Swedish Farmhouse Ale, it is brewed with birch leaves, juniper berries, Chinook hops, and imported Scandinavian kviek yeast. The brewery announced it will do a limited re-release of this seasonal beer this spring to celebrate the award.

This beer has a 7.2% ABV.

Silver Medal Winner: Hackamore Brewing Co. in Chanhassen, MN

Everything about this beer sounds delicious and fun!

Hackamore Brewing Co. collected a silver medal with their Saturday Morning Cartoons in the Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout category. Uh, yum! This brewery has a lot of fun and quirky-named beers, and this one is definitely in that tradition.

They describe this beer as a "Fudge Cereal Stout conditioned on Cinnamon Toast Cereal and aged in whiskey barrels".

Despite the name, this beer isn't messing around, having an ABV of 8.9%.

Silver Medal Winner: Lakeville Brewing Co. in Lakeville, MN

Last, but not least, Lakeville Brewing Co. collected a silver medal with their Alternative Medicine in the German-Style Altbier category.

They describe this beer as their take on an "often overlooked classic German bier". It has the same kind of maltiness as an Oktoberfest beer, with increased bitterness. It has hints of cherry, bread crust, and classic German hops.

This beer has an ABV of 5.7% and an IBU of 30.