Corrales brewery Ex Novo wins bronze at World Beer Cup again

Ex Novo Brewing’s latest World Beer Cup bronze is more than a trophy for the shelf in Corrales. It gives the village brewery a fresh sales pitch, a stronger regional profile and another piece of proof that a Sandoval County taproom can compete on the same stage as major beer producers around the world.

The winning beer, Munder, She Wrote, took bronze in the 2026 World Beer Cup, extending Ex Novo’s run of international recognition. The competition, developed by the Brewers Association in 1996, awarded 353 medals to 273 producers worldwide this year, a scale that makes any finish notable. Ex Novo has now picked up World Beer Cup medals in multiple years, including silver and bronze awards in 2022 and 2023, signaling a sustained competitive streak rather than a one-time breakout.

Munder, She Wrote is a Dortmunder Export lager at 5.8% ABV and 33 IBU. Ex Novo lists Hallertau Mittelfrüh and Tettnang hops and 34/70 yeast in the beer, and the brewery described the beer as double-decocted to get the body and mouthfeel right. That technical precision matters in a category where small differences in balance, bitterness and texture can separate medalists from the pack.

For Corrales, the reward is reputational as much as it is technical. A local brewery with an internationally recognized lager can turn a medal into more taproom traffic, stronger word-of-mouth and a better foothold for sales outside the village. The medal also feeds directly into the kind of local branding that resonates in Sandoval County, where businesses often rely on a mix of neighborhood loyalty and destination traffic from across the metro area.

Ex Novo’s own history adds to that story. The company says it was founded in Oregon in 2014 by Joel and Sarah Gregory, expanded to Corrales in 2019, and that Corrales is the hometown of founder and CEO Joel Gregory. That local connection gives the brewery a familiar address, but the World Beer Cup finish gives it a wider reach, the kind that can help a small New Mexico business turn a bronze medal into a stronger bottom line.