A Boise beer is 2nd best on the planet? Idaho brewery wins at ‘Olympics of beer’
Hoist a cold one, Boise. It’s time for a “cheers.”
A beer brewed in Idaho won a silver medal this week at the World Beer Cup, an event sometimes referred to as “the Olympics of beer.”
Boise Brewing, located downtown at 523 W. Broad St., earned the honor for its Black Cliffs Stout. The category? American-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout.
By now, there is no questioning whether Black Cliffs is an elite, world-class recipe. It also won bronze in 2024 and gold in 2018. And it’s earned medals at other major beer events, too.
Put on by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup is in its 30th year, according to a press release, and is “the world’s most prestigious beer competition.”
“An international panel of 255 judges from 50 countries evaluated 8,166 entries using rigorous, blind-tasting protocols,” the release says. “The 2026 competition brought together 1,644 breweries representing 50 nations, underscoring the event’s role as a truly global benchmark for quality.
“The World Beer Cup awards ceremony capped off the Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where between 7-8,000 brewing, fermentation, distilling, and packaging professionals gathered for education, collaboration, and connection across the beverage alcohol industry.”
Meridian, Nampa breweries win
Boise Brewing wasn’t the only Treasure Valley brewery to pick up an award in April.
Mother Earth Brewing Company of Nampa and Loose Screw Beer Co. of Meridian both won silvers at the Best Of Craft Beer Awards, an annual competition held in Bend, Oregon.
Mother Earth was honored for its Boo Koo IPA, competing in the Pale Ale category. Loose Screw earned its award in the Amber Lagers division for City of Dreams, a Vienna lager.
An international competition, the Best of Craft Beer Awards featured 1,498 entries from 270 breweries, according to its website.
“As a board member of the Idaho Brewers Guild, it’s incredibly rewarding to see two Treasure Valley breweries recognized on this stage,” said Mike Garcia, owner of Loose Screw Beer Co.
“We’ve built a strong and collaborative craft beer community here, and honors like these further validate that breweries across Idaho are continuing to elevate quality and push the industry forward.”