The World Beer Awards splits stout and porter into as many as eight subcategories a year, Stout, Milk Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Imperial Stout, Sweet Stout, Tropical Stout, Porter and Strong Porter, each judged blind, first against other entries from the same country, then against every other national winner worldwide. We pulled all of the Stout & Porter category winners from 2018 through 2026 to see which breweries keep winning, which country dominates the dark-beer categories, and whether any of it is available to buy in the US.
2026 winners
The newest results spread the eight titles across eight different countries, with no repeat winners from 2025 in this specific set of subcategories.
2026
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Keller Holz | Imperial Stout | Moldova |
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Fresh Beer 30 Kilometers | Milk Stout | China |
| World’s Best Oatmeal Stout | Orm’s Oel | Dokkr | England |
| World’s Best Porter | Swan Lake Beer | Porter | Japan |
| World’s Best Stout | Rye River Brewing Company | Nocturne Export Stout | Ireland |
| World’s Best Strong Porter | Camba | Spirit of Tallinn | Germany |
| World’s Best Sweet Stout | Harvey’s | Sweet Sussex Stout | England |
| World’s Best Tropical Stout | Lion Brewery | Tropical Stout | Sri Lanka |
Has any beer won World’s Best Stout or Porter more than once?
Yes. Two breweries stand out as repeat winners of the exact same title:
- Cassels (New Zealand), Milk Stout: won World’s Best Milk Stout four times, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023, under two slightly different brewery-name listings (Cassels Brewing Co. in 2019-2020, Cassels from 2022). It missed 2021, when Brighton Bier’s Fat Boy (United Kingdom) took the title.
- Primator (Czech Republic), Stout: won World’s Best Stout three times, 2018, 2019 and 2025.
A handful of other breweries picked up two wins each with the same beer in consecutive or near-consecutive years, including Weiherer/Cervejaria Bamberg’s Zapfenduster (Germany, Imperial Stout, 2024-2025), Black Sheep Brewery’s Milk Stout (England, 2024-2025) and Caracu’s Sweet Stout (Brazil, 2024-2025), all three defended their titles back to back.
Which country has won the most World’s Best Stout & Porter titles?
Adding up every Stout & Porter subcategory win from 2018 to 2026:
| Country | Wins |
|---|---|
| Germany | 7 |
| England | 6 |
| Ireland / Republic of Ireland | 4 |
| Chile | 4 |
| New Zealand | 4 |
| Czech Republic | 3 |
| United Kingdom | 3 |
| Finland | 3 |
| Japan | 3 |
| Brazil, China, Sri Lanka, Australia, United States, Switzerland, Canada, Colombia | 2 each |
Germany leads with 7 total wins, most of them concentrated in Imperial Stout and Strong Porter, ahead of England’s 6 (built mostly on Milk Stout and Oatmeal Stout wins). New Zealand’s entire total of 4 comes from one beer, Cassels’ Milk Stout, which is unusual for a top-5 country in this dataset.
Cassels has won World’s Best Milk Stout four times since 2019, more than any other brewery has won any single Stout & Porter subcategory in the dataset.
Full winners list, 2018-2026
All Stout & Porter subcategories, year by year. The World Beer Awards has added and dropped a couple of subcategories over the years (Tropical Stout and Sweet Stout are more recent additions, while a combined “Flavoured Stout/Porter” category only appeared in 2018), so the exact number of subcategories varies slightly by year.
2025
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Porter | Brouwerij Noordt | Simcoe Porter | Netherlands |
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Weiherer/Cervejaria Bamberg | Zapfenduster | Germany |
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Black Sheep Brewery | Milk Stout | England |
| World’s Best Oatmeal Stout | Kross | Stout | Chile |
| World’s Best Strong Porter | Maisel & Friends | Chocolate Bock | Germany |
| World’s Best Sweet Stout | Caracu | Sweet Stout | Brazil |
| World’s Best Tropical Stout | Lion Stout | Is There A Lion In You? | Sri Lanka |
| World’s Best Stout | Primator | Stout | Czech Republic |
2024
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Weiherer/Cervejaria Bamberg | Zapfenduster | Germany |
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Black Sheep Brewery | Milk Stout | England |
| World’s Best Oatmeal Stout | Fox Hat Brewing | Phat Mongrel | Australia |
| World’s Best Porter | Newme Brewery | Dark Cloud Porter | China |
| World’s Best Stout | Flying Lion Brewing | Rye Stout | United States |
| World’s Best Strong Porter | Round Corner Brewing Ltd | Underwater Song | England |
| World’s Best Sweet Stout | Caracu | Sweet Stout | Brazil |
2023
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Strong Porter | Jim&Dad’s Brew Company | Impromptu | Taiwan |
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Crew Republic | Roundhouse Kick | Germany |
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Cassels | Milk Stout | New Zealand |
| World’s Best Porter | Ruegener Insel-Brauerei | Biscuit Porter | Germany |
| World’s Best Stout | Kross | Stout | Chile |
| World’s Best Sweet Stout | Blue Monkey | Cinder Toffee Stout | England |
2022
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Original Beer Company | Bullrock Stout | South Korea |
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Cassels | Milk Stout | New Zealand |
| World’s Best Oatmeal Stout | Belhaven | Scottish Oat Stout | United Kingdom |
| World’s Best Porter | Reuben’s Brews | Robust Porter | United States |
| World’s Best Stout | Nasukohgen | Nasu Royal Stout | Japan |
| World’s Best Strong Porter | Ollenaut | Must Eksport | Estonia |
| World’s Best Sweet Stout | BlackPig Brewing Company | O’Piggy | Switzerland |
2021
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Oatmeal Stout | Salto | Stout | Serbia |
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Praxis | Imperial Stout | Portugal |
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Brighton Bier | Fat Boy | United Kingdom |
| World’s Best Porter | Brick Lane Brewing Co | Revolver Dark Hoppy Ale | Australia |
| World’s Best Stout | The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company | More Complicated Than Your Girlfriend Stout | Belgium |
| World’s Best Strong Porter | Les Trois Mousquetaires | Porter Baltique | Canada |
| World’s Best Sweet Stout | indie alehouse | Double Dutch | Canada |
2020
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Stout | McGargles | Export Stout | Ireland |
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Cassels Brewing Co. | Milk Stout | New Zealand |
| World’s Best Oatmeal Stout | Williams Bros Brewing | Chokka Blokka | United Kingdom |
| World’s Best Porter | Hyokoyashikinomori Brewery | Swan Lake Beer Porter | Japan |
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Olaf Brewing | Northern Comfort | Finland |
2019
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Cassels Brewing Co. | Milk Stout | New Zealand |
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Jester | Cosmonauta | Chile |
| World’s Best Oatmeal Stout | Cervezas Vericcio | Oatmeal Stout | Chile |
| World’s Best Porter | Wolf’s Brewery | Port Artur | Russia |
| World’s Best Stout | Primator | Stout | Czech Republic |
| World’s Best Strong Porter | Guinness | West Indies Porter | Ireland |
| World’s Best Sweet Stout | Birra Morena | Celtica Sweet Stout | Italy |
2018
| Category | Brewery | Beer | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| World’s Best Flavoured Stout/Porter | Bogota Beer | Macondo Coffee Stout | Colombia |
| World’s Best Imperial Stout | Riegele BierManufaktur | Noctus 100, Schwarzes Geheimnis | Germany |
| World’s Best Oatmeal Stout | Boyne Brewhouse | Oatmeal Stout | Ireland |
| World’s Best Porter | Bogota Beer | Chapinero Porter | Colombia |
| World’s Best Stout | Primator | Stout | Czech Republic |
| World’s Best Strong Porter | Malmgard | X-Porter | Finland |
| World’s Best Sweet Stout | Schuetzengarten | Swiss Stout | Switzerland |
| World’s Best Milk Stout | Pyynikin | Stout | Finland |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Stout & Porter subcategories does the World Beer Awards judge?
It varies by year, typically between six and eight: Stout, Milk Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Imperial Stout, Sweet Stout, Tropical Stout, Porter and Strong Porter have all appeared as standalone subcategories since 2018.
Who runs the World Beer Awards?
Paragraph Publishing, the company behind thedrinksreport.com, runs the World Beer Awards as part of its broader World Drinks Awards programme, which also covers wine and spirits.
Has any US brewery won a Stout & Porter title?
Yes, twice: Reuben’s Brews (Seattle) won World’s Best Porter in 2022 with its Robust Porter, and Flying Lion Brewing won World’s Best Stout in 2024 with its Rye Stout.
Looking for something you can actually buy? Check out our Reuben’s Brews Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout review, our Reuben’s Brews Crikey! IPA review, or the full World’s Best IPA winners list.
