The Oregon Beer Awards, an annual competition that seeks to celebrate and inspire innovation in the local brewing industry, named its medal winners in more than two dozen styles during a ceremony at Southeast Portland’s Revolution Hall.
In addition to announcing gold medal winners in the coveted IPA and Pilsner categories, the event on Friday included awards for Oregon’s best new brewery, best bottle shop as well as the state’s small, medium and large breweries of the year.
Before getting to the winners among the 104 breweries that participated in the competition, here are a few quick takeaways:
- The brewery road trip you need to make this year: Kings & Daughters only took home one medal in competition — bronze in the sessionable hoppy beers category for Upstream. But the Hood River brewery was a big winner nonetheless, earning recognition for both its branding and for its Hood River pub, The Walled Garden, which was named Oregon’s best new beer destination. Go with your family, grab a board game and order a Niçoise-y salad and a few rounds of grilled cheese and tomato soup for the kids.
- The state’s top hazy IPA brewer may surprise you: Local beer fans would not be surprised by the silver and bronze medal winners in the Hazy or Juicy India Pale Ale category — hop savants Great Notion and Ruse Brewing, respectively. But a tip of the cap goes to Bend Brewing, which not only took home the gold for its Because Science Hazy IPA, but also won the fresh hop version of the same category with its Keyboard Warrior.
- Oregon’s most underrated brewery stays winning: Ever since a reporting trip to Eugene in 2022, I’ve been telling just about anyone who would listen that ColdFire was among the state’s best breweries, despite being relatively unsung in Portland. This year, the brewery followed up its impressive 2025 gold medal in the highly competitive Pilsner category with five medals across an array of styles, from American IPA (bronze for The Henry) to hoppy lagers (bronze for Italian Pilsner) to mixed culture beers (gold for Elisabeth).
- For brewing ingenuity, head to central Oregon: Among the night’s big winners was UPP liquids, the new Bend brewery from former 10 Barrel Innovation brewer Tonya Cornett, which won five awards as well as Small Brewery of the Year. But sprinkled around the awards were medals for fellow newcomer Terranaut Brewing as well as stalwarts Bend Brewing (see above), Deschutes Brewing, McMenamins Old Saint Francis School and five medals, including two golds, for Sunriver Brewing.
- But the top Pilsner shouldn’t shock anyone: If anything, it’s surprising that any beer can unseat pFriem Pilsner in this category — its phenomenally consistent despite being mass produced and is an easy pick for the state’s signature beer (IPA fans don’t @ me, pFriem makes a good one of those, too, locking up gold in the American IPA category). The Hood River brewery took home five medals in all, including additional golds for French Pils (my favorite style) and Lager, as well as a secondary medal in Pilsner for its outstanding Czech Lager.
- The brewery keeping barrel-aged stouts alive: Breakside Brewery has range, with head brewer (and Oregon Beer Awards competition director) Ben Edmunds racking up 10 medals in all, including golds in the Flavored Beers, Golden/Blonde Ale, Fresh Hop IPA and Imperial IPA categories. But my eyes went to the barrel-aged stouts, where Breakside earned a podium sweep, taking home gold, silver and bronze medals in the category, helping the Milwaukie-based brewery win Large Brewery of the Year.
Below, find all of the 2026 Oregon Beer Awards winners:
American IPA
Gold: IPA, pFriem Family Brewers…