Since 2010, Japanese breweries have earned more than 60 awards in World Beer Cup competitions. Osaka-based Minoh Beer is responsible for four of those wins: one gold, one silver, and two bronze. Since 1997, the team has been brewing up classic beer styles and occasionally incorporating local specialties such as yuzu, koji, and other local, seasonal produce.
Minoh’s World Beer Cup awards are about more than filling their trophy case. We chatted with the team to learn how their wins help them connect with new customers, boost business, and improve their brewing process.
What does a World Beer Cup award mean to your brewery?
Winning at the World Beer Cup means a great deal to our brewery. As one of the world’s most respected beer competitions, being recognized by such an outstanding panel of judges gives us confidence that the quality of our beer is being appreciated on the global stage. It also means a lot to our brewers. Their hard work and dedication are recognized, which gives the whole team even more motivation to keep improving.
Just as importantly, our customers, distributors, and long-time supporters celebrate the achievement with us. The news gradually reaches new audiences and often becomes the first reason people discover Minoh Beer. In that sense, a World Beer Cup medal is not only an award—it’s an opportunity to connect with more people through our beer.
How has your win impacted your business?
Winning a World Beer Cup award had a clear impact on our business. In 2026, we won a medal for our Irish-style Dry Stout. While many brewers say that dark beers can be a difficult style to sell, stout has always been one of Minoh Beer’s flagship beers, and we’re fortunate to have a strong customer base that enjoys dark beer.
As soon as we announced the award on social media, we saw an increase in orders from both existing customers and retailers. We also celebrated the award by adding a World Beer Cup medal sticker to our bottle labels. In addition, many supermarkets and liquor stores displayed POP signs highlighting the award.
These efforts helped us reach not only dedicated craft beer fans who regularly visit beer bars, but also consumers who may have only been casually interested in craft beer. For many of them, the World Beer Cup recognition gave them the confidence to pick up a bottle of Minoh Beer for the first time.
Each World Beer Cup entry receives judge feedback. How have you incorporated this feedback into your brewing process?
Every time we enter the World Beer Cup, the judges’ feedback is one of the most valuable resources for our brewing team. We share all of the comments with everyone involved in brewing, and then taste the beer again together to see whether we perceive the same aromas and flavors that the judges noted. This process encourages valuable discussion within the team and helps us look at our beers from a fresh perspective.
Of course, sensory evaluation also has a subjective element, and different judges may perceive the same beer differently. Even so, we greatly value their feedback because it comes from highly experienced professionals. Their comments help us recognize both our strengths and the areas where we can continue improving. We see the feedback as an important tool for continuously improving the quality of our beers, and it motivates us to keep striving to brew better beer every day.
What tips do you have for a brewery entering the World Beer Cup for the first time?
One of the biggest challenges can be choosing the right category. This is especially true for hybrid styles or beers made with unique local ingredients. For us, beers brewed with koji or traditional Japanese ingredients don’t always fit neatly into a single category, so we spend a lot of time thinking about where they belong.
Choosing the most appropriate category is very important. Occasionally, the judges’ feedback suggests that a beer may have been entered into a different category than expected, which reminds us how much category selection matters.
Another important point, especially for international breweries, is to consider the condition of the beer when it arrives. Shipping overseas can put a lot of stress on the beer, so it’s essential to package and ship it in a way that ensures it reaches the competition as fresh and in the best possible condition.
Most importantly, enjoy the experience. The World Beer Cup is not only a competition but also a valuable opportunity to learn, receive professional feedback, and continue improving as brewers.
Anything else to share?
We have entered the World Beer Cup many times over the years, and we are truly honored to have received multiple awards. This year was especially meaningful because it was the first time we attended the World Beer Cup awards ceremony in person. The excitement of the ceremony and the opportunity to celebrate with brewers from all over the world exceeded all of our expectations.
Seeing the global craft beer community come together gave us a broader perspective on where our industry is today. It also inspired us to set new goals for our brewery and reminded us that there is always more to learn and improve.
We returned to Japan even more motivated to keep brewing the best beer we can. We hope to continue participating in the World Beer Cup for many years to come.
Check out all the World Beer Cup winners here, and download our marketing toolkit to promote your win!
