Local Breweries Win Big at 2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship

Two York County breweries earned national recognition this week after winning multiple medals at the 2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship, one of the largest and most competitive beer competitions in the country.

Model A Brewing of Tega Cay and Replay Brewing of Fort Mill were among the standout winners, earning top honors in a field of more than 8,000 entries across 170 categories. The competition, held in Oxford, Ohio, attracts breweries from every U.S. state and beyond.

🏅 Model A Brewing (Tega Cay)

Gold Medal in American-Style Fruit Beer – Raspberry
Beer: Anniversary Stout
Model A’s fruit-forward stout topped the category, beating out competitors from Washington and Texas. The award highlights the brewery’s growing reputation for creative, high-quality specialty beers. Head brewer Jerod Jones led the creation of the winning recipe.

🥈🥈 Replay Brewing (Fort Mill)

Silver Medal in Experimental IPA
Beer: EZ Baked
This hop-forward creation earned Replay Brewing a place among the country’s top innovators in IPA brewing.
Silver Medal in Collaboration Beer: IPAs
Beer: Transplant
Replay Brewing collaborated with Wild Heart Brewing Co., Liability Brewing, Magnetic South, and Double Stamp Brewery to create Transplant, which took second place in the collaboration category. The beer showcases the strength of regional partnerships and shared brewing expertise.

National Competition, Local Talent

The 2025 U.S. Open Beer Championship drew entries from breweries in all 50 states, judged in blind tastings by industry experts. The competition recognizes both established names and emerging brewers, with medals signaling excellence in technique, innovation, and flavor.

Model A and Replay’s success underscores York County’s rising profile in the national craft beer scene. These medals follow previous local successes in state and regional festivals, but mark one of the strongest showings yet at a national level.

More on the Competition

The 2025 event crowned Bull & Bush Brewery (Colorado) as Grand National Champion. Other winners included breweries from Maine, California, and North Carolina, with Charlotte-based NoDa Brewing also taking a gold medal in the same Experimental IPA category as Replay Brewing.

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