Portland, Oregon-based Ground Breaker Brewing, the first 100% dedicated gluten-free brewery in the United States, has captured its first World Beer Cup award at the 2018 awards ceremony. Ground Breaker’s IPA No. 5 won the the Silver award in the Gluten-Free beer category. Awards were given in 101 beer-style categories during the World Beer Cup award ceremony on May 3, 2018 at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Ground Breaker’s IPA No. 5 won the Silver medal in the Gluten-Free beer category. IPA No. 5 previously won the Silver medal in the Gluten-Free beer category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival®. “We were very happy to win this medal alongside some other amazing Oregon breweries at this year’s World Beer Cup awards,” said James Neumeister, founder and head of R&D at the gluten-free craft brewery. “We were a little disappointed to see the beer not show at the 2016 World Beer Cup. We know it’s a great beer and we were determined to prove that this year.”
IPA No. 5 is available in a 12 ounce can package
Having studied many of the medal-winning IPAs on the market, the brewers at Ground Breaker knew they needed to give some creative love to their award-winning flagship beer. “IPA No. 5 has such a well-established identity,” remarked Tyler Kueber, head brewer. “We didn’t want to disrupt or change that, but we did want to take another look at the hops and give them a bit of a makeover.” Kueber and the Ground Breaker crew most recently took home a Gold medal in the Gluten-Free category at the 2017 GABF for the brewery’s Dark Ale. “We had the opportunity, thanks to another brewery here in Portland, to bring in some special hops we wouldn’t normally be able to get our hands on. We are fortunate to have such a supportive brewing community, and I think that’s part of the reason why you see Oregon breweries hauling in so many medals every year.”
With the addition of another 15 barrel unitank by the end of May, Ground Breaker will be producing more IPA No. 5 than ever. “With the establishment of our Colorado market, the demand for IPA No. 5, especially in cans, is higher than ever,” said Neumeister. With a World Beer Cup medal to its name, the consumer’s desire for IPA No. 5 will continue to climb.
World Beer Cup winners were selected by an international panel of 295 beer judges from 33 countries, 72 percent of whom were from outside the United States. Widely regarded as the “Olympics of Beer,” the World Beer Cup saw an impressive field of 8,234 entries from 2,515 breweries in 66 countries—the largest competition to date. Presented by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup has been held biennially since 1996, to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement.