Canal Park Brewing takes silver medal at 2026 World Beer Cup
Duluth’s Canal Park Brewing Company won a silver medal in the wood- and barrel-aged beer category at the World Beer Cup, held April 22 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Night Trekker Baltic Porter, aged in a Vikre Distillery Aquavit barrel, with its hints of coffee, dark fruits and caramel, earned the award. The beer also won a gold medal in 2025 at the Minnesota Brewers Cup.
The 2026 award is Canal Park Brewing Company’s second silver medal at the World Beer Cup. Its Nut Hatchet Nut Brown earned the honor in 2014 in the English-style brown ale category.
Established in 1996, the World Beer Cup is a global competition that evaluates beers from around the world. The Brewers Association — the nonprofit trade group dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers — organizes the event. A panel of 255 judges from 50 countries evaluated 8,166 entries from 1,644 breweries across 50 nations and bestowed 353 World Beer Cup awards.
Duluth-area breweries have won nine World Beer Cup medals since the event was established in 1996. Winners from previous years are listed below:
- Earth Rider Brewery, North Tower Stout, gold medal in the oatmeal stout category, 2025
- Bent Paddle Brewing, Little Düssel Do-Ya, gold medal in German-style altbier category, 2024
- Ursa Minor Brewing, Equanimity, gold medal in Irish-style red ale category, 2023
- Earth Rider Brewery, North Tower Stout, gold medal in oatmeal stout category, 2022
- Bent Paddle Brewing, Altbear Altbier, gold medal in German-style altbier category, 2022
- Bent Paddle Brewing, Bent Hop IPA, bronze medal in international India pale ale category, 2022
- Earth Rider Brewery, North Tower Stout, bronze medal in oatmeal stout category, 2018
- Canal Park Brewing, Nut Hatchet Nut Brown, silver medal in English-style brown ale category, 2014
This graphic from the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild shows the state’s medal winners in the 2026 World Beer Cup.