Every year since 2009, thousands of beers from professional breweries around the globe have poured into the U.S. Open Beer Championship for rigorous blind judging. What makes this competition truly unique among major beer championships is its open invitation to the best homebrewers in the country. Gold-medal winners from the American Homebrewers Association’s National Homebrew Competition get the chance to enter their beers head-to-head against commercial craft breweries—same style categories, same blind panels, zero special treatment.
This isn’t just a feel-good nod to hobbyists. It’s a powerful reminder of where nearly the entire modern craft beer industry began. The vast majority of today’s professional craft brewers started exactly where these competitors still stand: in a kitchen, garage, or basement with a five-gallon batch and a dream. In fact, the American craft beer movement itself was largely founded and fueled by homebrewers who turned passion into profession, scaling up recipes that once filled only their own bottles and growlers.
Since the U.S. Open’s founding, dozens of those homebrewers have accepted the invitation and walked away with medals—sometimes even gold—standing shoulder to shoulder with full-time commercial brewers who have years of experience and professional equipment. Their success proves that great beer still starts with the same thing it always has: skilled hands, quality ingredients, and a love of the craft.
Here’s a look back at every homebrewer who has medaled at the U.S. Open Beer Championship over the years.
2009
- Gold, Strong Scottish Ale — Phil Ferrall (Cumming, GA), The Next to Last King of Scotland
- Bronze, Specialty/Anything Goes — Kevin Cosentino, Kevin’s Wild Ale
2010
- Bronze, ESB — Jimmy Vervaecke, Pub Ale
- Bronze, English Brown Ale — Jake Ocque & Tom Ocque, Mutter 5
2011
- Silver, English Pale Ale — Matt Tucker & Jake Tucker (Oviedo, FL), Pale Ale
- Bronze, Rye/Roggen — Stacy Myers, Horseman of the Hopocalypse
- Bronze, French/Belgian Ale — Phil Sullivan, Sully’s Belgian Blonde
2012
- Gold, Barley Wine — Michael Habrat, Chris Bartik, Brett Goldstock & Suzy Pessutti (San Diego, CA), Nevral Rust
- Silver, German Alt — Kent Shultz, Alt
- Bronze, ESB — David Motter, Crown Jewels ESB
2013
- Silver, German Lager/Pilsener — Gautam Bagchi (Ohio), Barky Pilsner
- Bronze, American IPA — Kelsey McNair, Hop-Fu! IPA
- Bronze, German Alt — Mark Girard, Ctrl+Alt+Delete
- Bronze, Herb and Spice Beer — Andrew Mitchell, Hibiscus Saison
2014
- Silver, Altbier — Jeffrey Jantz (Albuquerque, NM), Rauch Katze
- Bronze, Schwarzbier — Jeff Lewis (Hilliard, OH), Brandy’s Black Lab Lager
2015
- Silver, German Wheat — Scott Hixson (Mississippi), YYY’s Man Says
- Bronze, Marzen/Oktoberfest — Nick Rodammer (Michigan), Rodtoberfest
- Bronze, Spice Cider — Jeff Carlson (Michigan), Westside Sweet Heat
2016
- No homebrewer medalists recorded.
2017
- Silver, American Amber/California Common — Keith Eisel (North Carolina), Dream Steam
- Bronze, American Light — Derrick Flippin (North Carolina), Pinky Restraint
- Bronze, Vienna — Derrick Flippin (North Carolina), Thanks for the Decoction Pot
2018
- Silver, Imperial IPA — Randy Sauter (South Dakota), Double IPA
- Silver, American Stout — David Byer (North Carolina), Session RIS
2019
- Bronze, English Barley Wine Ale — David Byer & John O’Brien (Hot Springs, NC), Don’t Swallow the Cap
2020
- Bronze, Baltic-Style Porter — Justin McClenahan (Silver Spring, MD), Odin’s Beard
2021
- No homebrewers competed (AHA National Homebrew Competition canceled due to COVID-19; no eligible gold-medal homebrews).
2022
- Gold, American Wheat — Caleb Meinke (Cambridge, WI), Willow Run
- Bronze, Heller Bock/Maibock — Jeff Klatt, Perfidious Bock
2023
- Silver, French/Belgian Ale (Belgian Session Ale) — Joseph Belevender (Warren, MI), North Biere
- Silver, Light Lager — Caleb Meinke (Cambridge, WI), Len’s Light Lager
- Bronze, American Barley Wine — Alex Cigan (Brooklyn, NY), Contrived Spontaneity
2024
- Gold, Brut IPA — Christopher Burgess (Castle Rock, CO), Like Falling Off a Bike
- Gold, Strong Scottish Ale — Lucas Orr (San Diego, CA), Kilt Dropper
- Bronze, Belgian Pale Ale — Mark Kunzelmann (St. Louis, MO), Belgian Pale Ale
2025
- Gold, Historical Beer — LaVaughn Barker (Wisconsin), Sheba’s Nectar
2026
- Gold, American Lager — Wayne Doucette (Big Lake, MN), Lynn’s Lager
- Gold, English Barley Wine Ale — Joe Skiles (Carol Stream, IL), Calculating Infinity
Notable multi-medalists / standouts
- Caleb Meinke (Cambridge, WI) is among the most decorated, medaling in three different years (2022 gold; 2023 silver ×2).
- David Byer (North Carolina) medaled in consecutive years (2018 solo silver; 2019 bronze with John O’Brien).
- 2024 was a strong year for homebrewers, with two golds (tying the single-year homebrewer medal record at the time).
This list covers every documented homebrewer medal from the competition’s inception through the most recent (2026) results. Official full medal lists by year are available on theusopenchampionships.com.