For the first time ever, it’s beer award season in Missouri. Just a month after the Great American Beer Festival wrapped up in Denver, the spotlight swung back home as the state’s craft brewers toasted their own at the first-ever Missouri Beer Cup, hosted by the Missouri Craft Brewers Guild.
More than 181 beers from breweries across the state were judged in 38 categories, covering everything from crisp pilsners to barrel-aged stouts. The competition marks a milestone for Missouri’s craft beer scene — the first time the state’s brewers have organized a professional contest solely to celebrate their own.
For years, Missouri’s breweries have shown up strong on national stages, but this time, it’s all about Missouri recognizing Missouri. The Beer Cup is a homegrown celebration of quality, creativity, and community, poured straight from the heart of the Show-Me State.
The Guild
If you’ve followed Missouri beer for any length of time, you’ve seen the Guild’s fingerprints everywhere. Founded in 2011, the Missouri Craft Brewers Guild represents more than 100 independent breweries across the state. Its mission is simple: advocate for small brewers, promote Missouri-made beer, and build the kind of community that turns competition into camaraderie.
Membership stretches from Kansas City to the Bootheel, with more than two dozen breweries in the greater St. Louis area. That includes familiar names like Schlafly, 4 Hands, and Logboat, along with newcomers such as Blue Jay Brewing Co. — which just snagged VinePair’s 2025 Brewery of the Year.
And Kansas City? They made sure to make history of their own. BKS Artisan Ales was named Brewery of the Year – Under 1,000 Barrels, while Boulevard Brewing Company took home Brewery of the Year – Over 1,000 Barrels. Not a bad start for the Beer Cup’s first go-round.
For the Guild, the Missouri Beer Cup isn’t just another contest. It’s a toast to how far Missouri beer has come — and where it’s headed next.
St. Louis shines
When the results were announced, the St. Louis region showed up strong, proving why this corner of the state continues to set the standard for Missouri craft beer. Local and regional breweries took home 27 medals total, spanning everything from light lagers to imperial stouts. Here’s how they stacked up.
Gold Medals
Friendship Brewing Co. (Wentzville)
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Fest Friends – German Oktoberfest / Wiesen / Märzen – 5.8% ABV
Logboat Brewing Co. (Columbia)
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Strata Fresh Hop – American-Style Pale Ale – 5.6% ABV
Narrow Gauge Brewing Co. (Florissant)
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Vienna Lager – American Amber or Red / Vienna – 5.3% ABV
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Atlantic – English-Style Ales – Other – 9.4% ABV
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Old Town Porter – Porters – 5.7% ABV
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Helles Gamed – Munich-Style Helles or Dortmunder – 4.7% ABV
Silver Medals
Blue Jay Brewing Co. (St. Louis)
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Little Birds – American-Style Lager – 4.5% ABV
Good News Brewing Co. (O’Fallon)
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Oktoberfest – American-Style Maerzen / Oktoberfest – 5.1% ABV
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Hazelnut Coffee Milk Stout – Coffee-Flavored Beer – 5.4% ABV
Narrow Gauge Brewing Co.
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FloMO Pils – Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 4.8% ABV
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Mullanphy’s – Irish-Style Red Ale – 4.4% ABV
Public House Brewing Co. (Rolla)
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Cream Ale – American Cream Ale – 5.3% ABV
The Saint Louis Brewery / Schlafly Beer (St. Louis)
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Pumpkin Ale – Chocolate or Pumpkin Beers – 5.7% ABV
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Crisp IPA – Other Hop Forward Beers – 6.2% ABV
Third Wheel Brewing (St. Peters)
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Cheer Up Charlie – Stouts – Adjunct – 5.5% ABV
Bronze Medals
Blue Jay Brewing Co.
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Okay! – German-Style Wheat – 4.9% ABV
Good News Brewing Co.
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Czech Pils – Bohemian-Style Pilsener – 5.5% ABV
Logboat Brewing Co.
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Mamoot – English-Style Dark Mild Ale – 4.0% ABV
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Dark Matter – Porters – 6.6% ABV
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Helles – Munich-Style Helles or Dortmunder – 4.9% ABV
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Snapper – West Coast-Style India Pale Ale – 7.2% ABV
Narrow Gauge Brewing Co.
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Peanut Butter & Stout – Stouts – Adjunct – 10.5% ABV
- OJ Run
Public House Brewing Co.
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Revelation Stout – Stouts – 5.4% ABV
The Saint Louis Brewery / Schlafly Beer
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Munich Dunkel – American and German Dark Beers – 5.2% ABV
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Coffee Stout – Coffee-Flavored Beer – 5.7% ABV
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Unfiltered Wheat Beer – Light American Wheat or Blonde Ale – 4.4% ABV
Third Wheel Brewing
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Untethered Rage – Belgian-Style Ale – 8.0% ABV
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At Last – Herbs / Spice / Chili Beer – 3.8% ABV
A regional roundup worth raising a glass to
Altogether, St. Louis-area breweries took home 7 Gold, 8 Silver, and 7 Bronze medals. The spread captures what this region does best, balancing time-honored classics with inventive creativity.
The Missouri Beer Cup was open to any licensed Missouri craft brewery producing fewer than six million barrels a year. Entries were judged over three days in Kansas City using Brewers Association style guidelines.
In addition to medals, winners received judge feedback and marketing toolkits to help promote their beers. The awards were presented during the Guild’s annual conference at Boulevard Brewing Company, a fitting backdrop for an event that celebrates both craftsmanship and community.
Executive Director Sherry Wohlgemuth summed it up perfectly:
“The Missouri Beer Cup is about more than medals. The craft brewing industry is driven by collaboration and centered around building community.”
Why this matters
The Missouri Beer Cup is the next evolution for a Guild that already brings brewers together through its Missouri Loves Company collaboration series. Since 2020, the project unites dozens of breweries across the state to brew four seasonal releases, each inspired by a different global beer style.
Now it’s not just about brewing together, it’s about celebrating together. The medals are nice, sure, but what really shines is the energy behind them, a statewide network of small, independent breweries proving that when Missouri brewers come together, the result isn’t just great beer. It’s a community worth sharing a pint with.
