Wren House Brewing Co. owner/founder Drew Pool told us during a podcast in 2022 that his goal was to win Brewery of the Year. Tuesday night in Downtown Mesa, that goal was achieved as Wren House claimed the coveted Brewery of the Year title at the 2026 Arizona Craft Beer Awards.
The ACBA is presented by PHOENIX magazine and the Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild.
On the strength of its Spellbinder Hazy IPA gold medal and three other silver medals, Wren House becomes the fifth different beermaker to win the prestigious Brewery of the Year title, in this, the fifth year of ACBA competition. Pinnacle Brewing Co. won in 2025, Barrio Brewing Co. in 2024, Pedal Haus Brewery in 2023 and Oro Brewing Company in 2022.
Barrio and MotoSonora Brewing Co. were named runners-up (tie) this year.
12 West Brewing Co. won Best of Show gold for its Zona Light. Rickety Cricket Brewing Co.’s 2025 B.A. Bee’s Knees was Best of Show silver and O.H.S.O.’s Sudoku earned Best of Show bronze.
Andrew Bauman, the executive director of the Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild, presented his annual Director’s Award to Rachel Benkowski for her contributions to the Arizona craft beer scene. Benkowski recently earned Advanced Cicerone status and co-founded the Beer Babes Family charity. She’s also known to her thousands of Instagram followers as @brews.with.beerkowski.
See all our winners in each category below.
PHOENIX magazine would like to give a special thanks to the Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild for its work to grow the awards competition and gathering the entries. We had a dozen volunteer stewards and 30+ judges pour through 243 entries in 21 categories from 40+ breweries.
Join us for the 2026 Arizona Craft Beer Fest on Saturday, October 31 in Downtown Mesa to celebrate these winners and help raise money for the Arizona Craft Brewer’s Guild so we may continue the awards program for years to come.
FUN FACTS & FIGURES
5 for 5!
These four beers are batting a perfect 1.000 and have medaled in all five years of ACBA competition:
- Desert Monks’ Alewife’s Pumpkin Pie (gold in ’22, bronze in ’23, silver in ’24, silver in ’25, silver in ’26)
- Barrio Blonde (silver in ’22, gold in ’23, bronze in ’24, bronze in ’25, gold in ’26)
- Wren House Spellbinder (bronze in ’22, gold in ’23, silver in ’24, bronze in ’25, gold in ’26)
- Saddle Mountain’s ClanDestine (bronze in ’22, bronze in ’23, silver in ’24, gold in ’25, bronze in ’26)
Encore Performance
These beers are repeat winners (2025 & 2026) for the same medal and category:
- SanTan’s MoonJuice, gold in American IPA
- Verde Brewing’s Dark Lager, bronze in German Vienna/Marzen/Dark Lager
- Grand Canyon’s Prickly Pear Wheat, silver in American Fruit/Fruited Wheat
- Desert Monks’ Alewife’s Pumpkin Pie, silver in Herb/Spice
- Pedal Haus’ Biere Blanche, silver in Belgians
- MotoSonora’s Twin Cam, bronze in American Pale/Session IPA/Wheat
- Fate’s Halfway to Hefen, gold in American Pale/Session IPA/Wheat
Welcome to the Party!
First time winners in 2026 include: Wanderlust, Lake Pleasant, Starfire, Rickety Cricket and Vulture Peak. Breweries that have won previously but captured gold for the first time: Four Peaks, Sana Sana and Phantom Fox.
We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Trophy Case!
For the 2nd year in a row, Wren House won the most medals of any brewery, capturing four in 2026. Six other breweries won 3 medals each, 12 breweries won a pair and 15 other breweries each won a single medal. In total, 34 breweries are going home with hardware from the 2026 Arizona Craft Beer Awards.
BREWERY OF THE YEAR
Wren House Brewing Co.
Runners-up: Barrio Brewing Co. & MotoSonora Brewing Co. (tie)
ACBA uses a scoring system to determine BOTY. 6 points are awarded for gold, 5 for silver, 4 for bronze. Wren House had 21 total points this year. Barrio and MotoSonora tied at 16.
BEST IN SHOW
Gold: Zona Light, 12 West Brewing Co.
Silver: 2025 BA Bee’s Knees, Rickety Cricket Brewing
Bronze: Sudoku, O.H.S.O. Brewery + Distillery
A smaller panel of 5 judges chose these three as the most exceptional among all 21 gold medal winners.
HAZY IPA
Gold: Spellbinder, Wren House Brewing Co.
Silver: Nectaron Hazy IPA, The Brewery at Tirrito Farm
Bronze: Pleasantly Hazy, Lake Pleasant Brewing Co.
AMERICAN PILSNER/LAGER
Gold: Zona Light, 12 West Brewing Co.
Silver: Day Drinker, Pedal Haus Brewery
Bronze: Local Lager, Fate Brewing Co.
AMERICAN FRUIT / FRUITED WHEAT
Gold: Snozzberry, Rickety Cricket Brewing
Silver: Prickly Pear Wheat, Grand Canyon Brewing + Distillery
Bronze: no medal awarded
GERMAN VIENNA / MARZEN / DARK LAGER
Gold: El Mirage Marzen, MotoSonora Brewing Co.
Silver: Parlor Garnet, Bone Haus Brewing
Bronze: Dark Lager, Verde Brewing Company
WEST COAST IPA
Gold: Deadman Wash, Bone Haus Brewing
Silver: More Than Jake, O.H.S.O. Gilbert
Bronze: West Clear, Arizona Wilderness Brewing
STOUT/PORTER
Gold: Dangerous Night, Phantom Fox Beer Co.
Silver: Nolan’s Porter, Barrio Brewing Co.
Bronze: Pan American Stout, Wanderlust Brewing Co.
AMERICAN AMBER / BROWN
Gold: A-Mountain, Hundred Mile Brewing
Silver: Machine Gun Teddy, Goldwater Brewing
Bronze: Dragoon Amber, Dragoon Brewing
EXPERIMENTAL IPA
Gold: Unczeched, LazyG Brewhouse
Silver: Rosemary IPA, Greenwood Brewing
Bronze: Gothic Gecko, Zonafide Beverages
BLONDE/GOLDEN ALE
Gold: Barrio Blonde, Barrio Brewing
Silver: Sunshine Blonde, LazyG Brewhouse
Bronze: Colonia, Pinnacle Brewing
OKTOBERFEST
Gold: Oktoberfest, Four Peaks Brewing
Silver: OktoberWest, 12 West Brewing
Bronze: Ludwig, Pinnacle Brewing
U.K. STYLES
Gold: DMC-12 Irish Red, MotoSonora Brewing
Silver: Rojo, Barrio Brewing
Bronze: Clandestine, Saddle Mountain Brewing
AMERICAN IPA
Gold: Moon Juice, SanTan Brewing
Silver: Dragoon IPA, Dragoon Brewing
Bronze: Refuge, Arizona Wilderness
WOOD AGED
Gold: 2025 BA Bee’s Knees, Rickety Cricket Brewing
Silver: Double Barrel-Aged Mexican Black King Snake, Wren House
Bronze: Bullpen Bourbon Stout, Verde Brewing
GERMAN PILSNER / LAGER
Gold: Check Please, Hundred Mile Brewing
Silver: Festbier, Wren House
Bronze: Harry’s House, The Shop Beer Co.
SOURS
Gold: The FUZZ Peach Kettle Sour, Mudshark Brewery
Silver: Dill You Take Me Higher?, Saddle Mountain Brewing
Bronze: Sana Fresca, Sana Sana Cerveceria
AMERICAN PALE / SESSION IPA / WHEAT
Gold: Halfway to Hefen, Fate Brewing
Silver: Apache Trout, Wren House Brewing
Bronze: Twin Cam, MotoSonora Brewing
SPECIALTY
Gold: What the HEFE?, Vulture Peak Brewing Company
Silver: Gold Buckle Honey Lager, Verde Brewing Co.
Bronze: Hatch Chile Gatos, Fate Brewing Co.
BELGIANS
Gold: Tamarindo Blush, Sana Sana Cerveceria
Silver: Biere Blanche, Pedal Haus Brewery
Bronze: Saison Blue, Dragoon Brewing Co.
HERB/SPICE
Gold: Sudoku, O.H.S.O. Brewery + Distillery
Silver: Alewife’s Pumpkin Pie, Desert Monks Brewing
Bronze: Pumpkin Springs, Grand Canyon Brewing Co.
IMPERIAL IPA: JUICY, HAZY, OR AMERICAN
Gold: Jingling & Jangling, Catalyst Crafted Ales
Silver: Surveillance Pigeon, Pinnacle Brewing Co.
Bronze: Sonderlust, Starfire Brewery
HAZY PALE / INTERNATIONAL PALE
Gold: Campy, O.H.S.O. Brewery + Distillery
Silver: Desert Daydream, Four Peaks Brewing
Bronze: no medal awarded
