The milestone 10th annual Oregon Beer Awards were announced on April 10th at a sold-out ceremony at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon. The Oregon Beer Awards is the premiere state-wide professional beer competition for the way they have pushed forward current tastes and palates while pairing down to manageable beer style categories and the rigorous judging standards, not to mention the industry leading awards ceremony that features emcees, comedy, video and stage presentations, and hall of fame tributes not unlike Hollywood awards shows.

The Oregon Beer Awards recognize winners in two distinctive ways: a double-blind beer judged competition that takes 6 days and over 80 judges from within the industry from multiple states that awards gold, silver and bronze medals; and an academy body of Oregon industry pros and affiliates that vote for winners in non-beer style categories.

Beer Style Competition:

The judged part of the Oregon Beer Awards competition is held over two weekends with a different set of judges each weekend. Unlike other competitions the categories beers are grouped into are designed to reflect current styles and trends. Part of the objective of the OBAs is to reward beers for being harmonious and dynamic which means they get penalized less for being slightly out-of-style from traditional definitions that have evolved in the current era. The competition is double-blind, meaning the beers are poured at ideal temperatures and marked by codes so that neither the judges nor the stewards that pour and serve the beer know what the beers are. Beers move up a bracketed system of judging rounds to make it to the top, early rounds are judged in triplicate, meaning three different group tables of judge sample every single beer to help eliminate bias and give every beer a fair shot at advancing. Part of the objective of the OBAs is to reward beers for being harmonious and dynamic which means they get penalized less for being slightly out-of-style from traditional definitions that have evolved in the current era.

2025 Competition Overview:

1,054 entries from 100 breweries across the state
94 judges
144 flights over 6 days
8 categories will be judged in 3 rounds; 19 categories will be judged in 2 rounds
Biggest categories: WC IPA (69), International Lager (58), Hazy IPA (53)
If you consolidate categories into broader families, some interesting numbers emerge:
IPA and All Hoppy Ales - 357 entries (average category size: 44)
Classic Pub Styles (UK, North American, Red Beers, Dark Hoppy, Golden) - 199 entries (average size: 28)
Lagers - 209 entries (average size: 41)
Sour/Mixed Ferm - 64 entries (average size: 21)
Adjunct Specialty Beers - 179 entries (average size: 36)
Barrel Aged Strong Beers - 54 entries (average size: 27)
Median category size: 33
Average (mean) category size: 35

The Beermongers repeats for best beer bar or taphouse

OBA Academy Non-Beer Competition:

The Oregon Beer Awards academy awards are for non-beer categories that reward people and places for industry excellence. These awards are voted upon by a group of over 200 industry pros that range from brewers to sales reps, taproom managers, beer buyers, journalists, media, affiliated industry, and related professional Oregon beer experts. The academy categories for the best of 2024 are: best new brewery, best bottle shop, best beer bar or taphouse, best brewpub experience, best branding or labels, craft advocate of the year, and regional brewing companies of the year.

2025 OBA Academy Winners:

BEST NEW BREWERY

Brujos Brewing

BEST BOTTLE SHOP

Belmont Station

BEST BEER BAR OR TAPHOUSE

The Beermongers

BEST BREWPUB EXPERIENCE

Fort George Brewery

BEST BRANDING AND LABELS

Obelisk Beer

CRAFT ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR

Jamie Floyd

HALL OF FAME

Gary Fish (founder and president of Deschutes Brewery)

REGIONAL BREWING COMPANIES OF THE YEAR:

North Coast: Fort George Brewery
Willamette: Block 15 Brewing
Central: pFriem Family Brewers
Eastern: Barley Brown's Beer
Southern: Arch Rock Brewing

OBA 2025 Beer Competition Winners:

FRESH HOP PALE ALES AND INDIA PALE ALES

🥇GOLD - Living Haus Beer Co Dino

🥈SILVER - Baerlic Beer Company Fresh Hop Splishy IPA

🥉BRONZE - Bend Brewing Company Fresh Hop Mosaic Mega Pint

FRESH HOP HAZY PALE ALES AND INDIA PALE ALES

🥇GOLD - Von Ebert Brewing Fresh Hop Sector 7

🥈SILVER - Fort George Brewery Fresh Hop Fields of Green

🥉BRONZE - StormBreaker Brewing Set Freshies To Haze

OTHER FRESH HOP BEERS

🥇GOLD - Binary Brewing Cones of Lorien

🥈SILVER - Oak Union Brewing Fresh Hop Green Idol

🥉BRONZE - Hetty Alice Brewing Company Fresh Hopped Italian Pils

SESSIONABLE HOPPY BEERS

🥇GOLD - pFriem Family Brewers Pale

🥈SILVER - pFriem Family Brewers XPA

🥉BRONZE - Breakside Brewery Breakside Total Entertainment Forever

IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE

🥇GOLD - Grand Fir Brewing Gastropod

🥈SILVER - pFriem Family Brewers Triple IPA

🥉BRONZE - Sunriver Brewing Company High Desert Diesel

DARK HOPPY BEERS

🥇GOLD - Crux Fermentation Project Crux Stout

🥈SILVER - Breakside Brewery Breakside Cheat Codes

🥉BRONZE - Deschutes Brewery Midnight Shenanigans

GOLDEN, BLONDE & OTHER LIGHT ALES

🥇GOLD - Living Haus Beer Co Toby

🥈SILVER - Deschutes Brewery CREAM Ale

🥉BRONZE - Breakside Brewery Breakside Double Hockey Sticks

BARREL-AGED STOUTS

🥇GOLD - Breakside Brewery Breakside Somebody New in the Old West

🥈SILVER - Alesong Brewing and Blending Oak & Ember

🥉BRONZE - Ferment Brewing Company Imperial Stout 2024

FRUIT BEERS

🥇GOLD - Pelican Brewing Company Raspberried at Sea

🥈SILVER - Sunriver Brewing Company Wood Series: Hawaiian Imperial Stout

🥉BRONZE - Viking Brewing Company Shield Maiden Raspberry Saison

EXPERIMENTAL BEERS & SPECIALTY BEVERAGE

🥇GOLD - Terranaut Beer Karo Ya Maro

🥈SILVER - Ginger Cult Cult Icon

🥉BRONZE - Public Coast Brewing Company Citra Drop Hop Water

DARK GERMAN & EUROPEAN LAGERS

🥇GOLD - Wayfinder Beer Secret Secret

🥈SILVER - Bend Brewing Company Forever Time

🥉BRONZE - Heater Allen/Gold Dot Beer Book Club Black Lager

INTERNATIONAL LAGERS

🥇GOLD - Oak Union Brewing Shinbatsu Japanese-Style Lager

🥈SILVER - Great Notion Brewing Mosca

🥉BRONZE - Level Beer Sweep the Leg

CLASSIC UK STYLES

🥇GOLD - Terranaut Beer Leave It, B

🥈SILVER - Hopworks Brewery Velvet Organic ESB

🥉BRONZE - Worthy Brewing Fuggle Around

CLASSIC NORTH AMERICAN STYLES

🥇GOLD - Falling Sky Brewing Upside Brown Ale

🥈SILVER - Hetty Alice Brewing Company Rewind IPA

🥉BRONZE - Sunriver Brewing Company Fuzztail

STRONG BEERS

🥇GOLD - Wayfinder Beer Sparkling Lager

🥈SILVER - Away Days Brewing Co. Bucket Hat Bobby English Barley Wine

🥉BRONZE - Fort George Brewery Cavatica Stout

STOUT & PORTER

🥇GOLD - StormBreaker Brewing Opacus Oatmeal Stout

🥈SILVER - Away Days Brewing Co. Docklands Baltic Porter

🥉BRONZE - Breakside Brewery Breakside Black Swift Stout

BELGIAN, GERMAN WHEAT & TRADITIONAL BRETT BEERS

🥇GOLD - Crux Fermentation Project Double Cross

🥈SILVER - Monkless Belgian Ales Meet Your Maker

🥉BRONZE - Breakside Brewery Breakside White

BARREL-AGED BEERS

🥇GOLD - McMenamins Edgefield Brewery Longest NIght Port Barrel

🥈SILVER - Fort George Brewery Sometimes Things Take Longer

🥉BRONZE - Alesong Brewing and Blending Cinnamon Roll Maestro

COFFEE & SMOKE BEERS

🥇GOLD - McMenamins Old Saint Francis School Bamberg Obsession

🥈SILVER - Bevel Craft Brewing Midnight Flyer

🥉BRONZE - Oregon City Brewing Co. Pipe Dream

AMERICAN SOUR BEERS

🥇GOLD - Level Beer Adventure Island

🥈SILVER - Wild Ride Brewing Tarty to the Party Marionberry Sour Ale

🥉BRONZE - Freebridge Brewing Slap & Pickle

FRUITED MIXED CULTURE BEERS

🥇GOLD - nebuleus whoopie pie

🥈SILVER - ColdFire Brewing ColdFire/UPRIGHT Kriek Arpeggio

🥉BRONZE - Oregon City Brewing Co. Coming To Fruition: Cherry

HOPPY LAGERS

🥇GOLD - Sunriver Brewing Company Che Figata

🥈SILVER - Oak Union Brewing Green Idol West Coast Pilsner

🥉BRONZE - pFriem Family Brewers West Coast Pilsner

LIGHT GERMAN & EUROPEAN LAGERS

🥇GOLD - Oregon City Brewing Co. 10° of Kevin Bacon

🥈SILVER - Heater Allen/Gold Dot Beer Gold Dot Helles

🥉BRONZE - pFriem Family Brewers Czech Lager

RED BEERS

🥇GOLD - Boneyard Beer Diablo Rojo

🥈SILVER - Upright Brewing Amber Lager

🥉BRONZE - Pelican Brewing Company MacPelican's Scottish Style Ale

MIXED CULTURE BEERS

🥇GOLD - nebuleus can we please just get this over with

🥈SILVER - ColdFire Brewing Elisabeth

🥉BRONZE - The Ale Apothecary Farmhouse

FLAVORED BEERS

🥇GOLD - Calapooia Brewing Co. Chili Beer

🥈SILVER - Great Notion Brewing Munchies

🥉BRONZE - Oakshire Brewing Co Trainsong Saison: Cardamom & Chamomile

HAZY OR JUICY IPA

🥇GOLD - Fort George Brewery 3way IPA

🥈SILVER - Brujos Populus

🥉BRONZE - Hetty Alice Brewing Company Spelt Heazy

WEST COAST IPA

🥇GOLD - Ruse Brewing Lava Lamp Potluck

🥈SILVER - Breakside Brewery Breakside Bayside IPA

🥉BRONZE - Sunriver Brewing Company No Whammies

AMERICAN IPA

🥇GOLD - Grand Fir Brewing Lichen

🥈SILVER - pFriem Family Brewers IPA

🥉BRONZE - Bend Brewing Company Tropic Pines

PILSNER

🥇GOLD - ColdFire Brewing Czech Pils

🥈SILVER - pFriem Family Brewers Pilsner

🥉BRONZE - Bronze: Ruse Brewing Pizza City

BREWERIES OF THE YEAR

Small Brewery of the Year (less than 1,000 barrels): Terranaut Beer

Medium Brewery of the Year (1,000-4,999 barrels): ColdFire Brewing

Large Brewery of the Year (5,000+ barrels): pFriem Family Brewers

All breweries who participate in the competition are eligible for the Brewery of the Year awards. Scoring for Brewery of the Year is determined by a point system using the following criteria:

Each medal won is worth a certian number of points.The value of a medal is determined by multiplying a baseline point score for each type of medal (Gold=6, Silver=5, Bronze=4) by the number of entries in that category (or twice the standard deviation above the mean number of entries in all categories, whichever is lower). So, if a category has 50 entries, the silver medal winning beer is worth 250 points. For IPA, the bronze medal would be worth 280 points (4 x 70).
A brewery’s total points are divided by either a) the number of entries from that brewery OR b) the median number of beers entered by breweries in that Brewery of the Year size group, whichever is higher.
In the case of a tie, the tiebreaker criteria in order are: total number of medals won, total number of gold medals won, total number of entries in gold medal-winning categories.

2025 Oregon Beer Awards Winners & Recap