Pilsners, or in the traditional spelling “pilseners” are one of the most popular beer styles with brewers. I’ve heard it said many times by many different brewers and beer industry insiders that when a brewer goes to a new brewery, the first beer they try is always a pilsner. “Brewing pilsners takes more time, and flaws are harder to hide,” Dow Scoggins, founder of the U.S. Open Beer Championship, tells me in an email. He adds, “The better the pilsner, the better the brewer.”
That’s why the pilsner categories are some of the most closely watched at the U.S. Open Beer Championship and other beer competitions—not only are pilsners crowd favorites, but they are also the brewers’ beer. Or as Scoggins puts it: “Brewing a great clean and crisp pilsner consistently is a great skill and is admired in the industry.”
This can be seen in the pilsners that earned top honors at this year’s U.S. Beer Championship. More than 8,000 beverages were submitted to this year’s competition, which is held in Ohio and billed as the third biggest beer competition in the U.S., behind only the World Beer Cup and The Great American Beer Festival competition. This year, pilsners were assessed across 5 subcategories. Only three medals are awarded per category: gold, silver and bronze. Two winning breweries emerged from the host state of Ohio, but other winners hailed from D.C., California, and Guatemala, demonstrating the international nature of this competition and category.
I’ve previously looked at the best IPAs and best lagers (not including pilsners) at this year’s competition. So here is a closer look at the pilsners judges at this year’s U.S. Beer Championship deemed the best of the best.
The Best Pilsners of 2025
American-Style Pilsner
Bullpen – Atlas Brew Works – Washington, D.C.
Bohemian-Style Pilsner
Quiet Light – Nine Giant Brewing – Ohio
German-Style Pilsner
An Honest Man – New Berlin Brewing Company – Ohio
International-Style Pilsner
Famosa – Cervecería Centro Americana S.A. – Guatemala
Italian Pilsner
Antico – Geisthaus Brewing Company – California
Finding The Best Pilsners Winners
This year’s best pilsner winners were largely brewed by breweries with limited or just regional distribution for their beers. As such, the best way to get an award-winning pilsner is often to visit the brewery in person. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible. Failing that, you can contact the brewery directly and ask where you might be able to try their beers or if they ship—beer shipping is a complex legal web that varies by state, so whether or not this is legal depends both on where the brewery is located, the brewery’s own shipping policies, and the laws governing the state they are shipping to. On the other hand, you can explore these types of beer styles at your local brewery. Freshness is such a key component of many styles of great beer, so often the best beer is the one that was brewed most recently at your local brewery. On top of that, many great beers are never entered into competitions such as this one, so you never know when you might find an elite beer hiding in plain sight.