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Two Duke City breweries recently took home hardware from the World Beer Cup, a competition billed on its website as 鈥渢he most prestigious beer and cider competition in the world.鈥�

Quarter Celtic Brewpub garnered a silver medal for its Crimson Lass in the Irish Red Ale category, while Ex Novo Brewing Co. received bronze for Munder, She Wrote in the Dortmunder/Export or German-Style Oktoberfest category.

Run by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup celebrated its 30th anniversary by recognizing some of the top beers and ciders in 118 categories. According to a release, 鈥渁n international panel of 255 judges from 50 countries evaluated 8,166 entries using rigorous, blind-tasting protocols.鈥� That field included 1,644 breweries from 50 different nations.

In other words, competition can be pretty stiff.

Quarter Celtic medaled for the fourth straight year. Crimson Lass is a year-round staple brewed in the style of a traditional Irish red ale with an ABV of 5.1%. The beer was also a silver medal winner at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival, and frequent Quarter Celtic diners will also recognize Crimson Lass from the batter for its ever-popular fish and chips.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always nice to be recognized,鈥� Brady McKeown, Quarter Celtic co-owner, said. 鈥淭here are a lot of good breweries in New Mexico. It鈥檚 one of those sort of hidden gems in the brewing world.鈥�

While Ex Novo has enjoyed its share of success in the past, the medal is a significant milestone for head brewer Tevin Gray.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very prestigious award for us,鈥� Gray said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e won a handful of them in the past. Me personally, it鈥檚 my first big award like this. So being one of two (winners in the state) is definitely a testament to the hard work we put in. We鈥檝e got a really awesome brew staff here. They do their job well.鈥�

Crimson Lass has been around since Quarter Celtic鈥檚 inception, and at this point, McKeown says there isn鈥檛 much tweaking to be done with the recipe. With that longevity and success comes a sense of pride. Since Quarter Celtic isn鈥檛 in the package business, the red ale is only available at its two sa国际传媒官网网页入口 locations.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been brewing that for the entire 10 years that we鈥檝e been open, so we feel like we have that one pretty dialed in,鈥� McKeown said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to win with a house beer that we can always have on, we can talk about it all year long and people can try it all year long 鈥�I鈥檓 pretty proud to be able to make a world-class beer that represents our heritage.鈥�

Munder, She Wrote is a seasonal release that debuted at Ex Novo in 2024 and is described as 鈥渃risp, full bodied and hoppy.鈥� With an ABV of 5.8%, it鈥檚 a little stronger than the average lager. It鈥檚 also a favorite of Gray and the rest of the brewery team.

鈥淚 really pride myself on being as traditional as possible. That鈥檚 why we took a lot of time to match our water profile from Dortmund, Germany,鈥� Gray said. 鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 a simple recipe, but traditional German malts, German hops, just keeping everything traditional 鈥� especially for something like the World Beer Cup where true to style is the way to do it.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not trying to do fancy, we鈥檙e just trying to do simple very well. That鈥檚 why this one stands out for me.鈥�

With the exception of a few lucky finds in retail markets, Munder, She Wrote is likely no longer available, but given recent success, it鈥檚 fair to expect a return next year, Gray says.

鈥淚 would love to see it come back in its full form. If not later on this year, definitely by next summer,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e all enjoyed it. It seemed to go over well with everybody. It wasn鈥檛 like a small batch of one-off or anything like that. It鈥檚 cool that it made it to cans, it made it to stores, so people could go out and buy it, try it.鈥�

MORE ACCOLADES: Quarter Celtic also earned a pair of medals at the 2026 Australian International Beer Awards, taking silver for its Vienna Festbier and bronze for A Clean Pair of Schwarz 鈥� both seasonal offerings. The competition concluded on May 8.