Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – The brewers, Rod Murray and Ryan Bingham, along with Big Beach Brewing staff officially put themselves on the craft beer map last week at the World Beer Cup awards ceremony in Minneapolis.

The World Beer Cup Awards show is in conjunction with Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America and culminates a week of craft beer networking and education.

Big Beach Brewing took home their first ever Gold Award in the prestigious competition on May 5 in the German-Style Schwarzbier category. The 2022 World Beer Cup included 11,000-plus beer entries, 2,600-plus entering breweries from 60-plus countries and 236 judges from 30 countries.

The Surrender Cobra German-Style Schwarzbier is typically a seasonal offering, but now that it will be highly-respected along with other Gold Medal award-winning beers, Big Beach hopes to keep the dark lager available as often as possible.

“To have been awarded the gold medal in a German-style category is nothing short of astonishing,” Co-Fonder Millie Shamburger said. “We have always known our brewers make great beer and that it was just a matter of time before we medaled nationally, let alone globally. We as a staff are feeling extra proud given the fact that this category was up against German breweries and included Germans on the judge panel.”

Big Beach Brewing is going on six years since they opened their doors and is owned by a 20-plus year Gulf Coast Family, the Shamburgers. While they have taken home medals in regional competitions like the Alabama Craft Beer Championship and the National Honey Board, acknowledgement on the global beer scene is a new experience with the announcement of the Surrender Cobra winning gold.

Big Beach Brewing is Alabama Beaches’ first craft brewery and is located in the heart of Gulf Shores in the Waterway Village District at 300 E. 24th Ave. While the local brewery doesn’t package beers in cans for distribution, there are plenty of pints to be had behind the bar or to-go beers available in the taproom.

“I have strived my entire brewing career to make the best beer I could,” Rod Murray, head brewer, when asked how it feels to be a world champion, said. “Every batch, every day, year after year for decades. I knew Big Beach Brewing makes championship-worthy beer, we just had to be able to prove it. World Beer Cup Gold Medalist is definitely proof of our efforts.”