2024 Winners of the Honey Beer Competition
September is National Honey Month and the National Honey Board is celebrating all month long by featuring the beverage, food and bakeries that utilize the best natural sweetener, honey! To highlight the great breweries that are utilizing honey, the winners of the 2024 Honey Beer Competition have been announced.
Over 200 beers were entered into the 10th annual Honey Beer Competition that competed in 12 beer style categories, a cider, hard seltzer and design category. The beverages were judged by BJCP certified judges on the beer’s aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel and the role honey played in the beer.
Taking the top prize with Best of Show Gold is Culture Brewing and its Kostka-Busser took home Gold at the National Honey Board’s 10th annual Honey Beer Competition. Kostka-Busser is a perfectly balanced historical beer featuring orange blossom honey. Best of Show Silver went to BeeDazzler from Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House. BeeDazzler is a lager that’s enhanced with Colombian acacia honey. Finally, Best of Show Bronze went to Primal Brewery’s Schnake West Coast IPA, a citrusy brew that uses wildflower honey for a full-bodied experience.
Another local brewer that took home a Silver medal is Hopworks Brewery for its Beestly Organic Honey Porter that utilizes organic honey from GloryBee Honey of Eugene, Oregon. Then Rogue Ales & Spirits were awarded a Gold medal in the design of its Blackberry Honey Kolsch.
2024 Honey Beer Competition Award Winners
Best of Show
Gold — Kostka-Busser, Culture Brewing, Solana Beach, CA
Silver — BeeDazzler, Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House, Portland, OR
Bronze — Schnake West Coast IPA, Primal Brewery, Belmont, NC
General Lager
GOLD — BeeDazzler, Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House, Portland, OR
SILVER — Hachimitsu Mai, Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House, Portland, OR
BRONZE — Dip N Dunkel, Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House, Portland, OR
General Ale
GOLD — Golden Lasso, Twisted Hippo , Chicago, IL
SILVER — Hive Mind, Vista Brewing, Driftwood, TX
BRONZE — Get Bee To A Nunnery, Nine Spot Brewing, Rochester, NY
Amber / Brown Ales
GOLD — Truck Stop Honey Brown, Back Forty Beer Company, Gadsden, AL
SILVER — Buzzberry Honey Raspberry Ale, Excel Brewing, Breese, IL
BRONZE — Cajun Fire Honey Ale, Cajun Fire Brewing Company, New Orleans, LA
Belgian-Style Ales
GOLD — Bees of Burden, Aeronaut Brewing Company, Somerville, MA
SILVER — Biere de Miel, Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co, Gilbert, AZ
BRONZE — Maggs 59 – Apiary, The Common Beer Company, Mason, OH
Fruit, Vegetable and Spice Beer
GOLD — Forager, Municipal Brew Works, Hamilton, OH
SILVER — Wildflowers, Runaway Blue Brewing Company, Newark, NY
BRONZE — Peachy Paws, FH Beerworks, Colorado Springs, CO
IPAs
GOLD — Schnake West Coast IPA, Primal Brewery, Belmont, NC
SILVER — Drip Tease, Alvarium Beer Company, New Britain, CT
BRONZE — Beez Kneez, Yough River Brewing Company, Connellsville, PA
Braggots
GOLD — Tow City, Obscurity Brewing, Elburn, IL
SILVER — Darling of the Laundromat, Etowah – The Dahlonega Brewery, Dahlonega, GA
BRONZE — Sick Brag!, East Nashville Beer Works, Nashville, TN
Stouts / Porters
GOLD — Second Helping, Mathews Brewing Company, Lake Worth, FL
SILVER — Beestly Organic Honey Porter, Hopworks Brewery, Portland, OR
BRONZE — Self Ordained, Fontana Farms Brewing, Delphi, IN
Wheat Beer
GOLD — Orange Blossom Honey Wheat, Volunteer Brewing Company, Middletown, DE
SILVER — Honey Wheat, Pals Brewing Company, North Platte, NE
BRONZE — Let’s Grow Local, MadTree Brewing Co, Cincinnati, OH
Sours
GOLD — Farm Find, Manor Hill Brewing, Ellicott City, MD
SILVER — Born Out Of Time, Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co, Gilbert, AZ
BRONZE — Tuxedo Entrance (Orange Suit), Kinsmen Brewing Company & Wise I Brewing, Milldale, CT
Barrel Aged
GOLD — Cellar Cuvée 15, Jackie O’s Brewery, Athens, OH
SILVER — Horn of the Goat, Perrin Brewing Company, Comstock Park, MI
BRONZE — Bobby Brucey, Twisted Hippo, Chicago, IL
Cider / Hard-Seltzer
GOLD — Strawberry Sumac Hydromel, Whistle Hop Brewing Company, Fairview, NC
Historical / Other
GOLD — Kostka-Busser, Culture Brewing, Solana Beach, CA
SILVER — Kveik, Culture Brewing, Solana Beach, CA
BRONZE — Local Honey, Woods Beer Company, San Francisco, CA
Design
GOLD — Blackberry Honey Kolsch, Rogue, Newport, OR
SILVER — Honey Ale, Kraemer & Kin, Alburgh, VT
BRONZE — Local Honey, Woods Beer Company, San Francisco, CA
To learn more about the Honey Beer Competition, visit honeybeercompetition.com.
About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.