American Homebrewers Association crowns 48th National Homebrew Competition winners
Asheville handed out 120 NHC medals, and the biggest entry pools show homebrewers still chasing crisp lagers, pale beers and Belgian depth.
At Homebrew Con in Asheville, the American Homebrewers Association handed out 120 medals across 40 categories, turning the 48th National Homebrew Competition into a sharp snapshot of where amateur brewing stands right now. The field was deep, with 3,575 entries from 1,054 AHA members representing 46 states, Washington, D.C., and seven countries.
That scale matters because the National Homebrew Competition is still the standard-bearer for the hobby. The first contest ran in 1979 in Boulder, Colorado, with just 34 entries, and the AHA says more than 170,000 entries have been evaluated since then. This year’s final round was judged June 17-18 in Asheville before the awards ceremony on June 20, and the first round stretched across nine cities, including San Diego, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Longmont, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Tampa.
The entry totals also point to what judges are seeing most often at the top end of the hobby. Dark European Lager led the pack with 152 entries, followed by Pale European Beer with 137 and Strong Belgian Ale with 123. That mix says plenty about the state of homebrewing: clean lager work is still a proving ground, pale European styles remain a benchmark for precision, and Belgian ales still draw brewers who want complexity without losing control.
The competition’s biggest individual honors went to Benjamin Frymark of San Diego, California, for Homebrewer of the Year; Jeffrey Carlson of Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Cidermaker of the Year; Kyle Ducharme of Saint Albans, Vermont, for Meadmaker of the Year; and Dan Acheson of Winfield, Illinois, for the Ninkasi Award. The AHA also recognized the Gambrinus Club Award, presented by Trip’s Beer Trips, and the Homebrew Club of the Year Award, presented by Under the Jenfluence, underscoring how much of the hobby’s strength still comes from clubs, shops, and community networks.
Homebrew Con 2026 ran June 19-20 in Asheville and marked the 46th year of the gathering, which the AHA described as volunteer-run and sponsorship-fueled. It also came as the association operates independently after moving away from the Brewers Association. With membership around 23,000, down from a peak of 46,000, a 3,575-entry competition still reads as a durable sign of life. In Asheville, the message from the medals was clear: the hobby is still rewarding precision, classic styles, and the brewers who can make them sing.
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