2022 NC Brewers Cup Competition Results

NC’s largest beer style competition releases results.

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2022 marked the 11th anniversary of the NC Brewers Cup competition, administered by the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild and sponsored by Pro Refrigeration, Inc., Tryon Distributing, Social Burro, and Lowe’s Foods, the “Official Grocer of NC Beer”. This year, 889 entries were submitted by 118 independent North Carolina craft breweries, making this the largest competition to date, and the single largest state-wide commercial competition in the Southeast.

As a strict style competition, sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), certified beer judges from across the Southeast traveled to the competition to select the top examples of each beer style category. All entries were received and organized at Pro Refrigeration, Inc in Mocksville, and then transported to our two judging locations: Gizmo Brew Works in Raleigh, NC and White Labs in Asheville, NC.

Medals were awarded in 36 style-based beer categories, including the “NC Homegrown” category.  Unique to North Carolina, qualifying entries in the NC Homegrown category were required to have at least 55% of the beer’s dry-weight ingredients sourced from North Carolina agricultural products.  For the first time this year, categories were based on the 2022 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines (also used for GABF and World Beer Cup.)  The top three NCBC categories in 2022 were:

  • Juicy/Hazy Style IPA with 74 entries

  • American-Style IPA with 62 entries

  • Sour Fruit or Field Beers with 57 entries

Pouring BeerOf special note, is this year’s gold medalist in the Juicy/Hazy Style IPA category – Gypsy Road Brewing for their beer Gypsy Juice.  Gypsy Juice won not only the gold medal in the largest category of the 2022 competition, but also won the gold medal in the largest category of the 2021 competition, with 72 entries. Incredible to see this same feat accomplished two years in a row!  Gypsy Juice also brought home the final Best of Show trophy in 2021!

While the Best of Show trophy was retired in 2021, this year one brewery will be awarded the title of NC Brewery of the Year.  This award celebrates the brewery who secures the most overall points, based on medals won. This announcement is scheduled to be made at the annual NC Beer Industry Awards Banquet taking place at the NC Craft Brewers Conference in Winston-Salem on November 2nd, 2022.

Click here for a listing of all 2022 NC Brewers Cup category winners.

Interested in sampling some medal-winning #NCBeer?  Plan a trip to one of the many craft brewery taprooms across our state during NC Beer Month!  NC Beer Month is happening this October, and is a month-long celebration of North Carolina’s beer craftsmanship and those destinations where it thrives?.

About Pro Refrigeration

Auburn, Wash.-based Pro Refrigeration, Inc., is the leading cooling technology and equipment company for craft fermented beverages and dairy in the US. The company provides innovative solutions for cannabis, food processing, and machine and process cooling with a complete product offering from ¾ to 300 HP serving applications that require chilled fluid from –45 F to +45 F. Pro also has a network of regional salespeople serving in each corner of the US. Visit www.prochiller.com for more information.

NC Craft Beer Logo     About North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild

North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild serves as the collective voice for the North Carolina craft beer community. They work to advance the best interest of the NC craft breweries, and to position North Carolina as a leader among the best craft beer states in the Nation. They are the leading advocate among North Carolina craft beer across all five tiers (supplier, brewer, wholesaler, retailer, and consumer). The Guild also hosts the annual NC Craft Brewers Cup in cooperation with the NC State fair.