San Diego County Fair names 2026 Craft Brew Competition winners
A Schwarzbier from Imperial Beach took Best of Show, while Ocean Beach earned both brewery titles in San Diego County Fair’s 2026 craft brew contest.
The San Diego County Fair has named its 2026 Craft Brew Competition winners, and the top beer was a German-style Schwarzbier from Imperial Beach, California. The fair’s results page says the competition is about craftsmanship, dedication, talent, passion and quality, which fits the way this contest is being used: not just as a medal table, but as a public nod to serious brewing work.
Reserve Best of Show went to Delirium Nocturnum, a Belgian-style dark strong ale from West Hollywood, California. Third Place Best of Show was Jacaranda, a rye ale or lager with or without yeast from Claremont, California. Ocean Beach, California, also had a strong showing, taking both Champion Brewery and Champion San Diego Brewery in the results PDF.
The rest of the category winners stretched well beyond beer. The 2026 results list Champion Cidery/Meadery as Corvalis, Oregon, Champion Seltzer Brewer as Redlands, California, and Champion Non-Alcoholic Brewer as Koningshoeven Abbey in Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands. That spread matters for anyone watching how California competition beer programs are evolving, because the fair is clearly treating cider, mead, seltzer and non-alcoholic brewing as part of the same broader craft landscape.
Entries for the competition were accepted from Dec. 15, 2024 through March 18, 2025, with drop-off and mail-in submissions running from March 4 through March 18. Beer Awards Platform says the winning beers were also featured at the Beer Experience bar and the Craft Brew Festival during the 2026 San Diego County Fair, and the fair’s Craft Brew Celebration took place Sunday, June 21 at Chevrolet Paddock Green, with VIP hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and general admission from noon to 5 p.m.
The fair’s competitive exhibits page says entrants can win ribbons and cash prizes while showing their work to more than 1 million fair visitors. That scale is why a Best of Show Schwarzbier from Imperial Beach, and a double win for Ocean Beach, lands as more than a line on a results sheet: it puts the winners in front of a huge fair crowd and keeps San Diego’s beer competition scene firmly in view.
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