World Beer Awards 2026: Japan Takes 130 Medals and 7 World’s Best Titles – Complete Winners List

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World Beer Awards 2026: Japan Takes 130 Medals and 7 World’s Best Titles — Complete Winners List

The World Beer Awards 2026 (WBA), announced on August 11-12, 2026, brought 130 medals to Japan — 55 Gold (including 49 Country Winners), 47 Silver, and 28 Bronze[1]. On top of that, Japanese beers claimed the World’s Best title in 7 style categories, with Swan Lake Beer winning two of them outright[2].

This article covers the complete list of all 130 medals across 46 breweries, the details of the 7 World’s Best titles, the top-performing breweries led by Daisen G Beer’s 7 medals, and how these results compare with Japan’s 12 medals at the World Beer Cup 2026. All records are also searchable in our free Beer Awards Database (11 competitions, 48,089 records).

🍺 What you’ll find in this article

  • Complete list of all 130 Japanese medals at World Beer Awards 2026 (55G / 47S / 28B)
  • Details of the 7 World’s Best style titles (Swan Lake’s double crown, Derailleur’s WC IPA, and more)
  • Top Japanese breweries ranking — Daisen G Beer leads with 7 medals
  • How the WBA’s Country Winner → World’s Best system works, and how it differs from the World Beer Cup

🍺 If you try just one

Swan Lake Beer “Amber Swan Ale” (World’s Best Amber) — brewed at the foot of the Gozu mountains in Agano, Niigata. Swan Lake also took World’s Best Porter, making it the only double World’s Best winner from Japan this year. Both are year-round beers you can actually buy from the brewery’s online shop and Japanese bottle shops — a world champion you can taste for yourself.

Hop-kun
Hop-kun

130 medals puts Japan 5th out of 62 countries — behind Germany (228), France (210), China (173) and Belgium (137)! And 7 World’s Best titles, spanning everything from traditional lagers and pale ales to flavoured beers!

Riho-kun
Riho-kun

If Japan’s 12 medals at the World Beer Cup in April made you wonder how 130 is possible here, that’s the design of the competition, not a skill gap. The WBA awards medals country by country before crowning a single World’s Best per style — so read the “49 Country Winners” and “7 World’s Best” numbers separately. That’s where the real story is.

🏅 What is the World Beer Awards? (2026 at a glance)

Item Details
Competition World Beer Awards 2026 (WBA)
Organizer Paragraph Publishing (UK) — part of The World Drinks Awards series
Results announced August 11-12, 2026, at Sprowston Manor Hotel, Norwich, UK[1]
Judging system Beers are judged by style within each country first — the best gets Country Winner (plus Gold/Silver/Bronze medals). Country Winners then compete for the World’s Best title in each style[2]
Categories 11 groups, 107 styles in the tasting competition (a separate bottle/can design competition is not covered here)
2026 medals 1,795 tasting medals worldwide — Gold 620 (incl. 569 Country Winners), Silver 656, Bronze 519 — across 62 countries[1]
Source: full-count tally of the official World Beer Awards 2026 Winners List PDF

The WBA has run since 2007 and is built on a “win your country first, then fight for the world” structure. That makes it fundamentally different from the World Beer Cup (a single worldwide blind judging with only 353 medals total in 2026) — medal counts between the two competitions are not directly comparable.

📊 Japan’s 130 medals — summary

Category Group Gold Silver Bronze Total
Lager 12 11 8 31
Pale Beer 11 10 3 24
Flavoured Beer 8 7 4 19
IPA 6 6 5 17
Wheat Beer 5 6 5 16
Speciality Beer 5 4 1 10
Stout & Porter 4 2 2 8
Dark Beer 3 0 0 3
Mid-Strength 0 1 0 1
No & Low Alcohol 1 0 0 1
Japan total 55 47 28 130
Source: World Beer Awards 2026 Winners List (official PDF). Gold includes 49 Country Winners

Lager leads with 31 medals, followed by Pale Beer (24), Flavoured Beer (19), IPA (17) and Wheat Beer (16) — a spread that runs from classic German-style lagers to spice- and fruit-forward brews.

🌏 Japan’s 7 World’s Best titles

These beers beat the Country Winners of every other nation to take the world title in their style[2].

🥇 Swan Lake Beer (Niigata) — World’s Best Amber + World’s Best Porter

“Amber Swan Ale” won the Amber (Incl. Irish Reds) title and “Porter” won World’s Best Porter. A double world title for the veteran brewery from Agano, Niigata — the biggest single result for Japan this year, and both beers are regular year-round releases.

🥇 Derailleur Brew Works “WC IPA” — World’s Best American Style IPA

The Osaka brewery (operated by Cyclo Inc., based in the Nishinari district) took the world title in the fiercely contested American Style IPA category with its West Coast IPA. Derailleur finished with 5 medals in total, including Country Winners for its “SHIN” Altbier and “Hazy IPA”.

🥇 Yokosuka Beer “Red Brick Brewery” — World’s Best Bitter Over 5.5%

The Kanagawa brewery beat the British at their own game, taking the world title in the stronger Bitter category.

🥇 U.B.P Brewery “Urawa City Ale” — World’s Best Bitter Up To 4.5%

The Urawa, Saitama brewery won the sessionable Bitter category. U.B.P also took Country Winners for “Iroha” (Belgian Style Witbier) and “Kickoff Pils” (Classic Pilsener) — all three of its medals were Country Winners.

🥇 Huîtrière “Mimosa Saison” — World’s Best Brut Beers

A world title in the champagne-dry Brut Beers category for one of Japan’s newer names.

🥇 Yatsugatake Brewery “Touchdown Mizudashi Coffee Lager” — World’s Best Flavoured Chocolate & Coffee

The cold-brew coffee lager from Yatsugatake Brewery (Moeginomura, Kiyosato, Yamanashi) took the Chocolate & Coffee world title. Its “Touchdown Pilsner” also won a Gold.

🥇 All 55 Gold medals (including 49 Country Winners)

“Country Winner” marks the highest-rated beer of that style in Japan; “Gold” is the gold-medal tier below it.

Brewery Beer Style (Group) Tier
Cyclo Inc./Derailleur Brew Works SHIN Altbier (Dark Beer) Country Winner
Iwatekurabeer Redale English Style Brown Ale (Dark Beer) Country Winner
Fujizakura Heights Beer Sakura Bock Strong (Dark Beer) Country Winner
Yatsugatake Brewery Touchdown Mizudashi Coffee Lager Chocolate & Coffee (Flavoured Beer) Country Winner
SanktGallen Brewery Sweet Vanilla Stout Flavoured Stout & Porter (Flavoured Beer) Country Winner
Agara Craft Peach Ale Fruit & Vegetable (Flavoured Beer) Gold
Myoko Kogen Alpen Blick Beer Baked Tomato Spicy Ale Fruit & Vegetable (Flavoured Beer) Country Winner
Iwatekurabeer Japaneseherbale Sansho Herb & Spice (Flavoured Beer) Country Winner
Ushiku Brewing Cranberry Dream Radlers & Beer Mixes (Flavoured Beer) Country Winner
Tsukuba Umenoki Smoke 2026 Edition Smoke (Flavoured Beer) Country Winner
Nagahama Roman Beer Barrel Aged Wee Heavy Wood Aged (Flavoured Beer) Country Winner
Cyclo Inc./Derailleur Brew Works WC IPA American Style (IPA) Country Winner
Groundtap Brewery Misen American Style (IPA) Gold
Myoko Kogen Alpen Blick Beer Haneuma IPA English Style (IPA) Country Winner
Cyclo Inc./Derailleur Brew Works Hazy IPA Milkshake IPA/New England IPA (IPA) Country Winner
Hino Brewing Donto Yare IPA Session (IPA) Country Winner
Yokosuka Beer Saison Speciality (IPA) Country Winner
Ishikawa Brewery Co.,Ltd. Toyoda Beer Amber/Dark Kellerbier & Rotbier (Lager) Country Winner
U.B.P Brewery Kickoff Pils Classic Pilsener (Lager) Country Winner
Yatsugatake Brewery Touchdown Pilsner Classic Pilsener (Lager) Gold
Myoko Kogen Alpen Blick Beer Pilsner Czech Style Pale (Lager) Country Winner
Tama No Megumi Dunkel Dark Lager (Lager) Country Winner
Miyazaki Hideji Beer Yahaza Helles/Münchner (Lager) Country Winner
Agara Craft IPL Hoppy Pilsener (Lager) Country Winner
Groundtap Brewery Groundtap Lager International Lager (Lager) Gold
Monsuta Okinawa Supreme International Lager (Lager) Country Winner
Groundtap Brewery Folk Lager Light (Lager) Country Winner
Mugikura Brewing Katyo Fugetsu Seasonal: Oktoberfestbier/Märzen (Lager) Country Winner
Daisen G Beer Pilsner Zwickl/Pale Kellerbier (Lager) Gold
Hitachino Nest Beer Non Ale Pale (No & Low Alcohol) Country Winner
Swan Lake Beer Amber Swan Ale Amber (Incl. Irish Reds) (Pale Beer) Country Winner
Kirishima Beer Pale Ale American Style Pale Ale (Pale Beer) Country Winner
Nasu kohgen Beer Nine-tailed Fox Barley Wine (Pale Beer) Country Winner
Spring Valley Brewery Fruity Saison Belgian Style Ale (Pale Beer) Country Winner
Nara Brewing Co. Ltd. Integral Belgian Style Strong (Pale Beer) Country Winner
Yokosuka Beer Red Brick Brewery Bitter Over 5.5% (Pale Beer) Country Winner
U.B.P Brewery Urawa City Ale Bitter Up To 4.5% (Pale Beer) Country Winner
Ushiku Brewing Waraukadoniha Fukukitaru Bière De Garde/Saison (Pale Beer) Country Winner
NagisaBeer co.,ltd. Pale Ale English Style Pale Ale (Pale Beer) Country Winner
SanktGallen Brewery Goldenale Golden Ales (Pale Beer) Country Winner
One's Brewery KLS Kölsch (Pale Beer) Country Winner
Huîtrière Mimosa Saison Brut Beers (Speciality Beer) Country Winner
Daisen G Beer Gougin Experimental (Speciality Beer) Country Winner
Ushiku Brewing Beyond The Border Rouge Grape Ale (Speciality Beer) Country Winner
Kujukuri Ocean Beer Rice Ale Rice (Speciality Beer) Country Winner
Nori's Beer Nanbu CHA Ale Tea Beer (Speciality Beer) Country Winner
Daisen G Beer Stout Porter (Stout & Porter) Gold
Swan Lake Beer Porter Porter (Stout & Porter) Country Winner
Iwatekurabeer Oysterstout Stout (Incl. Dry and Irish) (Stout & Porter) Country Winner
Daisen G Beer Imperial Stout Strong Porter (Stout & Porter) Country Winner
Spring Valley Brewery Brewers Line #1 American Style Wheat Beer (Wheat Beer) Country Winner
Mojiko Beer Brewery Bavarian Style Hefeweiss (Wheat Beer) Country Winner
U.B.P Brewery Iroha Belgian Style Witbier (Wheat Beer) Country Winner
Fujizakura Heights Beer Schwarz Weizen Dark (Wheat Beer) Country Winner
Brew Classic Doris' Jaguar Hoppy Wheat Beer (Wheat Beer) Country Winner

🥈 All 47 Silver medals

Brewery Beer Style (Group)
Hitachino Nest Beer Espresso Stout Flavoured Stout & Porter (Flavoured Beer)
Adachi Beer Cassis Hazy Fruit & Vegetable (Flavoured Beer)
Adachi Beer Mango Hazy Fruit & Vegetable (Flavoured Beer)
Cyclo Inc./Derailleur Brew Works Citrus Sour Ale Fruit & Vegetable (Flavoured Beer)
Kirishima Beer Kirishima Hyuganatsu Fruit & Vegetable (Flavoured Beer)
Agara Craft Sansho Beer Herb & Spice (Flavoured Beer)
Shimanami Brewery The Lager Strikes Back 01 Smoke (Flavoured Beer)
Hopdog Brewing Farm To You DDH IPA American Style (IPA)
Otama Brewing Magic Time IPA American Style (IPA)
Brew Classic Tuatara Milkshake IPA/New England IPA (IPA)
Rokko Beer Hazy Session IPA Session (IPA)
Yokosuka Beer IPA Session (IPA)
Hansharo Beer Osakeman IPA Speciality (IPA)
Kirishima Beer Amber Amber/Dark Kellerbier & Rotbier (Lager)
Shimanami Brewery Dark Lover Aged Bock (Lager)
Shimanami Brewery Strike Pilsner Classic Pilsener (Lager)
Tama no Megumi Pilsner Classic Pilsener (Lager)
Nagahama Roman Beer Oumi Pilsner Czech Style Pale (Lager)
Monsuta Dark Lager Dark Lager (Lager)
Kankiku Brewery Kankiku Helles Helles/Münchner (Lager)
Shimanami Brewery Shimanami Hoppin Lager Hoppy Pilsener (Lager)
Kankiku Brewery Fusanomai Lager International Lager (Lager)
Yatsugatake Brewery Touchdown Kiyosato Lager International Lager (Lager)
Spring Valley Brewery Hojun Lager 496 Seasonal: Oktoberfestbier/Märzen (Lager)
Nara Brewing Co. Ltd. Lighthouse Stout & Porter (Mid-Strength)
SanktGallen Brewery Amber Ale Amber (Incl. Irish Reds) (Pale Beer)
Kirin Brewery Company, Limited Good Ale American Style Pale Ale (Pale Beer)
Swan Lake Beer Barley Barley Wine (Pale Beer)
Daisen G Beer Yago Belgian Style Strong (Pale Beer)
Miyazaki Hideji Beer Ohrai Belgian Tripel Belgian Style Triple (Pale Beer)
Rokko Beer Saison Bière De Garde/Saison (Pale Beer)
Hansharo Beer Tarozaemon English Style Pale Ale (Pale Beer)
Doppo Beer Golden Ale Golden Ales (Pale Beer)
Spring Valley Brewery Japan Ale Golden Ales (Pale Beer)
Rokko Beer Kölsch Kölsch (Pale Beer)
SanktGallen Brewery ChiChi no hi IPA(BRUT IPA) Brut Beers (Speciality Beer)
Cyclo Inc./Derailleur Brew Works Burrata Ale Experimental (Speciality Beer)
Hokkaido Wine Co., Ltd. Tenshi no Shizuku Niagara Grape Ale (Speciality Beer)
Mugikura Brewing Ishin Kigen Rice (Speciality Beer)
SanktGallen Brewery Brown Porter Porter (Stout & Porter)
Groundtap Brewery Groundtap Stout Stout (Incl. Dry and Irish) (Stout & Porter)
NagisaBeer co.,ltd. American Wheat American Style Wheat Beer (Wheat Beer)
Daisen G Beer Weizen Bavarian Style Hefeweiss (Wheat Beer)
Fujizakura Heights Beer Weizen Bavarian Style Hefeweiss (Wheat Beer)
Otaru Winery Beer Weizen Bavarian Style Hefeweiss (Wheat Beer)
Groundtap Brewery Asanagi Belgian Style Witbier (Wheat Beer)
Fujizakura Heights Beer Weizen Kristal (Wheat Beer)

🥉 All 28 Bronze medals

Brewery Beer Style (Group)
Adachi Beer Pineapple Hazy Fruit & Vegetable (Flavoured Beer)
NagisaBeer co.,ltd. Mikan Ale Fruit & Vegetable (Flavoured Beer)
Nasu kohgen Beer White Wolf Herb & Spice (Flavoured Beer)
Fujizakura Heights Beer Rauch Smoke (Flavoured Beer)
Daisen G Beer India Pale Ale American Style (IPA)
SanktGallen Brewery Yokohama Xpa American Style (IPA)
Uchu Brewing IPA Milkshake IPA/New England IPA (IPA)
Rokko Beer West Caost Session IPA Session (IPA)
Ushiku Brewing Beyond the Border Speciality (IPA)
Kirishima Beer Pilsner Classic Pilsener (Lager)
Miyazaki Hideji Beer Taiyo Lager Classic Pilsener (Lager)
Uchu Brewing P! P! P! Classic Pilsener (Lager)
Myoko Kogen Alpen Blick Beer Dark Lager Dark Lager (Lager)
Uchu Brewing Lager Helles/Münchner (Lager)
Kankiku Brewery Soyokaze Hoppy Pilsener (Lager)
Hitachino Nest Beer Nipponia International Lager (Lager)
Monsuta Okinawa Dry International Lager (Lager)
Rokko Beer Bay Ale American Style Pale Ale (Pale Beer)
Tama No Megumi Pale Ale English Style Pale Ale (Pale Beer)
Otama Brewing Osushi Golden Ales (Pale Beer)
Hopdog Brewing Farm To You Akitakomachi Golden Ale Rice (Speciality Beer)
Hansharo Beer Yoritomo Porter (Stout & Porter)
Kirishima Beer Stout Stout (Incl. Dry and Irish) (Stout & Porter)
Agara Craft Weizen American Style Wheat Beer (Wheat Beer)
Spring Valley Brewery Silk Ale American Style Wheat Beer (Wheat Beer)
Yatsugatake Brewery Touchdown Rockweizen Bavarian Style Hefeweiss (Wheat Beer)
Yokosuka Beer Weizen Bavarian Style Hefeweiss (Wheat Beer)
Rokko Beer White "daidai" Ale Belgian Style Witbier (Wheat Beer)

🏆 Top Japanese breweries at WBA 2026

Brewery Medals Breakdown
Daisen G Beer 7 G4 / S2 / B1
SanktGallen Brewery 6 G2 / S3 / B1
Rokko Beer 6 G0 / S3 / B3
Cyclo Inc./Derailleur Brew Works 5 G3 / S2 / B0
Fujizakura Heights Beer 5 G2 / S2 / B1
Kirishima Beer 5 G1 / S2 / B2
Groundtap Brewery 5 G3 / S2 / B0
Spring Valley Brewery 5 G2 / S2 / B1
Yatsugatake Brewery 4 G2 / S1 / B1
Agara Craft 4 G2 / S1 / B1
Myoko Kogen Alpen Blick Beer 4 G3 / S0 / B1
Ushiku Brewing 4 G3 / S0 / B1
Shimanami Brewery 4 G0 / S4 / B0
Yokosuka Beer 4 G2 / S1 / B1
All 14 Japanese breweries with 4+ medals at WBA 2026 (tallied from the full winners data)

Daisen G Beer (Kumezakura Brewery, Houki, Tottori) leads with 7 medals, including four Golds spanning kellerbier, experimental beer and barrel-worthy stouts. Sankt Gallen (Kanagawa) and Rokko Beer (Hyogo) follow with 6 each, while Derailleur, Fujizakura Heights Beer, Kirishima Beer, Groundtap Brewery and Spring Valley Brewery all took 5. Spring Valley is notable for winning at both the World Beer Cup (Gold + Silver) and the WBA in 2026.

Rune-chan
Rune-chan

Nara Brewing’s “Integral” took the Belgian Style Strong Country Winner — that’s their third international win of 2026 after the double gold at the World Beer Cup! And Hitachino Nest “Non Ale” winning the no-alcohol Pale category really is a sign of the times, woof!

🔍 130 vs 12 — how to read WBA against the World Beer Cup

In 2026 Japan won 12 medals at the World Beer Cup (April, Philadelphia) and 130 at the WBA. The gap reflects competition design, not ability.

World Beer Cup 2026 World Beer Awards 2026
Award system Single worldwide judging; one G/S/B per category Country Winner + G/S/B per country, then one World’s Best per style
Total medals 353 (118 categories) 1,795 tasting medals (107 styles × countries)
Japan 12 medals (5 Gold) 130 medals (55 Gold, 7 World’s Best)
What it measures Head-to-head against the world’s best Depth of the domestic field + style world titles (World’s Best)
Comparison of the two competitions (sources: official announcements[1][3])

The number to compare internationally is the 7 World’s Best titles — those are direct wins over every other country’s Country Winner, carrying weight comparable to a World Beer Cup gold.

🗺️ Related articles

❓ FAQ

Q1. What is a “Country Winner” at the World Beer Awards?

It’s the title given to the highest-rated beer of each style within each country — the top tier of the gold medals. Only Country Winners advance to the World’s Best judging. Japan took 49 Country Winners in 2026, and 7 of them went on to win the world title.

Q2. Aren’t 130 medals too many?

The WBA awards medals per country, so its totals run far higher than the World Beer Cup’s (1,795 tasting medals worldwide in 2026 versus 353). The 130 shows the depth of Japan’s field; the numbers that measure world-level success are the 7 World’s Best titles and 49 Country Winners.

Q3. Can I buy the winning beers?

Swan Lake Beer, Daisen G Beer, Sankt Gallen, Fujizakura Heights Beer and Hitachino Nest sell year-round through their official online shops and Japanese bottle shops (some ship internationally via distributors). Smaller breweries’ winners may be taproom-only — check each brewery’s official SNS for availability.

Q4. Does this include the design awards?

No. This article and our awards database cover the tasting competition only; the WBA’s separate bottle/can design competition is out of scope.

📚 Sources

  1. [Primary] World Beer Awards Winners 2026 FINAL (official winners list PDF) — primary source for all medals, announcement dates and venue; all tallies in this article are based on a full count of this PDF (1,795 records)
  2. [Primary] World Beer Awards 2026 – Taste Winners (official site) — primary source for World’s Best titles and the judging system
  3. [Primary] Brewers Association: World Beer Cup 2026 official announcement — WBC 2026 medal and category totals
  4. [Secondary] Beer & Brewer: World Beer Awards names the best brews on the planet — press coverage of the World’s Best winners

📍 About the author

Riho — craft beer enthusiast & software engineer

Based in Seattle for 8 years; has visited 200+ breweries across the US and Japan and maintains a free awards database covering 11 competitions and 48,089 records. This article is based on a full cross-check of the official WBA winners list.

Data sources: World Beer Awards 2026 Winners List (official, August 2026) / rihobeer.com awards database

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