Apr 30, 2024 - Food and Drink

Cleveland is becoming a hefeweizen hotbed

Sam Allard

an illustration of a glowing gold drink can on a hot pink background — Illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios

The flagship hefeweizen at Fat Head's Brewery, Goggle Fogger, took home gold last week at the World Beer Cup in Las Vegas.

Why it matters: Fat Head's has dominated the hefeweizen category before — at the World Beer Cup and at the Great American Beer Festival — but this year, another local brewery, Market Garden, won bronze in the same category for its Prosperity wheat ale.

Cleveland now has the first- and third-ranked hefeweizens out of 138 entries worldwide.

Flashback: Fat Head's and Market Garden squared off in the Final Four of our Cleveland brewery bracket last year.

The big picture: Eight Ohio breweries won 10 awards at this year's World Beer Cup.

Zoom in: Fat Head's Bone Head Red won gold for the second consecutive year in the Strong Red Ale category, and its Dunkelosteus won silver among Dunkelweizens.

Masthead Brewery won silver in the chili beer category for its popular jalapeño IPA.

What they're saying: The Ohio Craft Brewers Association is now calling Cleveland the "hefeweizen capital of the world."

"Consumers are seeking out high-quality, innovative, flavorful beverages, and Ohio breweries are delivering," Mary MacDonald, OCBA's executive director, said in a statement.

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Cleveland is becoming a hefeweizen hotbed

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