After a year of discouraging news in San Antonio’s beer scene, local brewers have reason to celebrate. An Alamo City Belgian blonde honoring Allied troops vanquished the 2026 World Beer Cup. Elsewhere, a handful of its Hill Country peers are sporting their own medals of valor.
Brewing history
Although plenty of Texas brewers went home with bragging rights, Longtab Brewing Co. was the lone San Antonio producer to receive a medal at April’s prestigious World Beer Cup. The Northwest Side brewery’s Jedburgh Belgian Blonde nabbed a silver medal in the Belgian-Style Blonde Ale category.
The beer is an easy sipper but pays homage to pivotal history. The name borrows from World War II Office of Strategic Services' elite Jedburgh teams — clandestine paratroopers dropped into Nazi-occupied Europe to help guide the resistance with hit-and-run attacks and sabotage, famously recounted in Herman Wouk’s War and Remembrance.
The “Jeds” were also the honorees of Longtab’s 2026 Fiesta medal, a continuation of the veteran-owned operation’s tributes to Military City. Most of the company’s beers, like Pineland Oppression and First in Asia, are nods to frontline lore.
Still, drinking the ale doesn’t require any operational knowledge. The Jedbergh is a golden, medium-bodied ale offering notes of banana and apple and a slightly sweet finish.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” says Longtab owner Dave Holland in a statement. “Our Jedburgh Belgian Blonde, named in honor of the WWII Jedburgh teams and the legacy they represent, holds deep meaning for us, which makes this recognition all the more significant.”
Pinthouse's winning brew made history.Pinthouse Pizza/ Facebook
The winner’s circle
Other area brewers joined Longtab in taking home one of the Beer World Cup’s 350-plus fiercely competitive medals.
Austin’s Pinthouse Brewing, which opened its first San Antonio taproom in March, came away with two awards. Its Hecho En Szechuan Rice Lager took home bronze in the Herb and Spice Beer category and Fully Adrift Double IPA won the gold in the Imperial IPA category.
The latter’s recipe showcases Thora, a newly released public hop varietal known for its intense tropical and citrus aromatics. According to a release, Pinthouse believes that this is the first time a beer brewed with the Thora hop has won a World Beer Cup medal.
In the Hill County, Blanco’s Real Ale Brewing Co.’s acclaimed Real Heavy, a Scotch ale, received a silver medal in the Scotch Ale category. Altstadt Brewery from Fredericksburg was awarded a bronze in the German-Style Bock or Maibock category for its Altstadt Bock, a Bavarian-style Dunkles Bockbier that is brewed with a blend of pilsner and crystal malts.
Not to be outdone, Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas, was a bronze medalist in the American-Style Lager category with its Shiner Premium.
Enjoy all of Thirsty Pups' latest offerings in Castle Hills.Thirsty Pups Brewery/ Facebook
Spring flings
Out with the stouts. San Antonio breweries are putting headier beers in winter storage in favor of breezier brews suitable for the hot months ahead.
- Cibolo Creek Brewing’s recently dropped Kendall County Fruhlingsfest, German for “spring festival” and a sibling to the Boerne brewer’s Oktoberfest Marzan. The beer features German Munich, pilsner, Crystal 40, and biscuit malts to sprout a bready amber that Cibolo Creek crew says is easy to drink on warm days, and has enough malt character to keep darker beer fans satisfied.
- Freetail Brewing Co. just tapped Automatic Luddite IPA, an American IPA that offers notes of citrus and pine, and a tasty balance between bitterness and hoppiness.
- Thirsty Pups Brewery keeps cranking out new releases like Same Difference, a Mexican lager that contains ingredients found in Mexico and the Philippines, including calamansi, a small citrus fruit that blends the flavors of orange, tangerine, and lime.
- Five Stones Artisan Brewery celebratory Nancy E’s is lighting the candles for the New Braunfels brewery’s 13th birthday. Named after owner Seth Weatherly’s mother Nancy Elaine Weatherly, the brown ale is brewed with a Hungarian nut roll made by the Hill Country matriarch herself.
- Künstler Brewing tapped Flower Moon, named for the May 1 full moon — a hat tip to a season filled with planting, spring blooms and rebirth. Flower Moon is a Hazy IPA featuring botanicals and floral edges.
