National Honey Board Announces 2025 Honey Beer Competition Medalists
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Hachimitsu Mai, a Japanese-style lager fermented with Chilean ulmo honey, citrus, jasmine and mint took home Best of Show Gold at the 11th Honey Beer Competition. Hachimitsu Mai also won Gold in 2023. The Honey Beer Competition is certified and judged according to the Beer Judge Certification Program.
“The Honey Beer Competition continues to spotlight the remarkable ways brewers are using honey to push the boundaries of craft beer,” Catherine Barry, vice president of marketing for the National Honey Board, said. “What stands out this year is the diversity of styles represented in the Best of Show Medalists. Our first place beer is a crisp, easy-drinking Japanese lager at 5% ABV, while third place went to a bold imperial stout coming in at 14.5% ABV. That range really showcases the versatility of honey—it can be used in easy-drinking light lagers to more flavorful, intense imperial stouts.”
Archival Brewing from Belmont, Mich., took home the Best of Show Silver Medal for Take it to the Grave, a Scottish heather ale brewed with wildflower honey and heather flower. Rounding out the podium with Best of Show Bronze is Athens, Ohio-based Jackie O’s Brewery. Love Handles is a rich, luscious imperial American-style stout aged in bourbon barrels for 28 months with meadowfoam honey.
Best of Show Winners
Gold Medal: Hachimitsu Mai — Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Oregon
Silver Medal: Take it to the Grave — Archival Brewing, Belmont, Michigan
Bronze Medal: Love Handles — Jackie O’s Brewery, Athens, Ohio
Category Winners
Amber/Brown Ales: Stardog — Mathews Brewing Company, Lake Worth Beach, Florida
Barrel Aged: She May — Free Range Brewing, Charlotte, North Carolina
Belgian-Style Ales: Belgian Honey Ale — Bellefonte Brewing Company, Wilmington, Delaware
Braggots: Darling of the Laundromat — Etowah, Dahlonega, Georgia
Ciders: 40 Myke-Myke — Cider Corps, Mesa, Arizona
Fruit/Vegetable/Spiced: Take it to the Grave — Archival Brewing, Belmont, Michigan
General Ales: Honey Kölsch — River North Brewery, Denver, Colorado
General Lagers: Hachimitsu Mai — Deschutes Brewery, Portland, Oregon
Hard Seltzer: Gold-Lavender Lemon Haze — Primal Brewery, Belmont, North Carolina
Historical/Other: Honey Cream Ale — Birdhouse Brewing Company, Honeoye, New York
IPAs: B-Movie — Replay Brewing, Fort Mill, South Carolina
Sours: Boughs On Which the Wild Bees Settle — Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co, Gilbert, Arizona
Stouts/Porters: Love Handles — Jackie O’s Brewery, Athens, Ohio
Wheat Beers: Honey Wampus Cat — Bubba Brews Brewing Company, Bonnerdale, Arkansas
Design/Packaging: Buzz Factory, Aeronaut Brewing Company, Somerville, Massachusetts
For a full list of winners, more information and pictures, please go to honeybeercompetition.com or contact Jasmyne Harris at Jasmyne@honey.com.
About the National Honey Board
The National Honey Board (NHB) is an industry-funded agriculture promotion group that works to educate consumers about the benefits and uses for honey and honey products through research, marketing and promotional programs. The Board’s work, funded by an assessment on domestic and imported honey, is designed to increase the awareness and usage of honey by consumers, the foodservice industry and food manufacturers. The 10-member Board, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, represents producers (beekeepers), packers, importers and a marketing cooperative.
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