Five gold medals, one silver: Brau Union Österreich shines at the 2026 European Beer Star
Six beers from Upper Austria, Styria, Lower Austria, and Vorarlberg are in the running; five of them win gold
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Six beers, four federal states, and an impressive track record: With five gold medals and one silver, Brau Union Österreich celebrated a major success at the prestigious European Beer Star 2026. Zipfer Märzen, Zipfer Kellerbier, Puntigamer—the “beery” beer—Fohrenburger Jubiläum Spezialbier, Wieselburger Schwarzbier, and Linzer Edelstahl won over the international panel of experts and underscore the diversity and high brewing quality within the company.
A total of five gold medals and one silver went to beers from Brau Union Österreich this year. Zipfer Märzen took gold in “Austrian-Style Märzen,” Zipfer Kellerbier won gold in “German-Style Kellerpils,” Fohrenburger Jubiläum Spezialbier won gold in “German-Style Export,” Wieselburger Schwarzbier won gold in “German-Style Schwarzbier,” and Linzer Edelstahl won gold in “Vienna-Style Lager.” Puntigamer, the “beery” beer, rounds out the successful tally with a silver medal in the “Austrian-Style Märzen” category.
Hans Böhm, CEO of Brau Union Österreich, sees this above all as a tribute to the people behind the beers: “Five gold medals and one silver for six beers from different regions of Austria are a tremendous honor for us. They demonstrate not only the diversity of our portfolio, but above all the skill, experience, and passion that go into our breweries. We are particularly proud that our brewing teams can impress on the international stage with such a wide variety of beer styles. These six medals are therefore, first and foremost, their success.”
An International Benchmark for Beer Quality
The European Beer Star is one of the most prestigious international beer competitions. The submitted beers are judged anonymously by an international panel of experts in a blind tasting and evaluated exclusively based on sensory criteria. Key factors include appearance, aroma, and taste, as well as the characteristics typical of each beer style. In each category, only the top three beers are awarded gold, silver, and bronze.
A look back at last year shows just how fierce the international competition is: In 2025, 2,202 beers were evaluated across 74 categories, with medals going to beers from a total of 22 countries. Austria took third place in the national rankings with 14 medals, including seven gold, four silver, and three bronze.
With five gold medals and one silver, Brau Union Österreich made a strong showing at the international competition in 2026. At the same time, the six award-winning beers demonstrate the breadth of brewing expertise across different beer styles and brewery locations.
“What makes the European Beer Star so exciting is the range of award-winning beer styles. Different beers place very different demands on raw materials, recipes, and the brewing process. The fact that Austrian beers impress on the international stage with such diversity is a striking testament to the expertise and quality inherent in our local beer culture,” said Michael Pötscher, manager of Craftvoll GmbH, the umbrella organization for Brau Union Österreich’s six craft breweries.
From Märzen to Schwarzbier: Award-Winning Diversity
The six award-winning beers showcase very different facets of Austrian beer culture. Zipfer Märzen and Puntigamer, the “beery” beer, represent the Austrian-style Märzen, while Zipfer Kellerbier is a naturally cellar-cloudy beer specialty with fresh hop notes. Linzer Edelstahl, in turn, reinterprets the traditional Vienna-style lager; the Fohrenburger Jubiläum competed in the German-style export category; and the Wieselburger Schwarzbier, with its special and roasted malts as well as notes of coffee and dark chocolate, brings a completely different character to the award-winning sextet.
For some of the award-winning beers, this continues an international success story: The Fohrenburger Jubiläum had already won gold last year in the “German-Style Export” category, and Linzer Edelstahl took silver in “Vienna-Style Lager.” With gold in 2026, both have now once again proven themselves at the European Beer Star.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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