Nashville, TN was the place to be on May 7-10, 2023 for the Craft Brewer's Conference & Brew Expo America. This conference is America's largest Craft Brewing industry gathering and was filled with networking, tours, seminars, book-signings, tastings, nightly events, and more!  

The conference culminated with the Brewers Association World Beer Cup Awards Ceremony. This year’s World Beer Cup competition saw 10,213 entries from 2,376 breweries representing 51 countries. At the conclusion of the awards ceremony, a total of 307 awards were presented. A final list of winners can be viewed here.

“The World Beer Cup brings together the finest brewers and beers from around the globe and celebrates creativity, craftsmanship, and passion for great beer,” said Chris Williams, World Beer Cup competition director. “Receiving a World Beer Cup award is a testament to quality and innovation, and we commend this year’s winners for setting the bar higher than ever.”

Among the winners were two Iowa breweries: Confluence Brewing Company and PIVO Brewery. In addition to their World Beer Cup accolades, both of the winning Iowa breweries have earned the Iowa Green Beer Certification developed by the Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Confluence Brewing Company of Des Moines, IA has earned a bronze level certification in part due to their high level of energy efficiency and use of the Brewers Association Sustainability Bench-marking Tool. Using this tool, Confluence analyzes their usage of natural resources in efforts to minimize consumption levels. The brewery has also put a strong focus on resource and solid waste management through the use of recyclable packaging and spent grain landfill diversion.

PIVO Brewery in Calmar, IA earned a silver level certification for their overall waste reduction practices. PIVO has implemented tracking mechanisms to manage everything from their energy and water usage to their wastewater generation rate. These practices allow the brewery to take proactive measures towards decreasing their overall waste generation.

The Iowa Green Brewery Certification is a free service for all Iowa breweries that awards sustainable achievements at various levels; Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.  The points-based system scores each brewery’s sustainable practices and awards these achievements with a local press release, window clings and a certificate of achievement that promote positive public relations, bragging rights on social media about the breweries the IWRC works with, and continued support to help implement sustainable practices to increase scoring while decreasing negative impacts on the environment.

Make sure to visit these establishments and congratulate them on their award and their efforts to be responsible stewards of our environment.