Cheers! Branford's Caius Farm Brewery Wins World Beer Cup Silver Medal

BRANFORD, CT — Caius Farm Brewery, whose motto is Body, Soul, Mind, Beer, scored silver in at the World Beer Cup in the Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout category for its Elagabalus brew, a bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout.

Known as the "Olympics of beer, the 2025 World Beer Cup, the world’s most prestigious professional beer and cider competition, is organized by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers, and the community of brewing enthusiasts. Held annually, this year in Indianapolis, in conjunction with the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America on May 1.

Developed in 1996 to celebrate the art and science of brewing, this global competition continues to create greater consumer awareness about different beer styles and flavor profiles while promoting international brewing excellence.

The World Beer Cup recognizes brewing excellence in more than 100 categories but does not automatically award the top three entries in a particular category. When judges determine that a category contains three excellent examples of the style, they present gold, silver, and bronze awards for the first, second, and third place beers, respectively.

Caius Farm Brewery, born in the pandemic, placed second in its category, Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout with Elagabalus, one of the brewery's Imperial Stouts, aged in bourbon barrels.

According to Caius Farm, which opened in 2022, for its inaugural batch of Elagabalus, they selected a single 10+ year Heaven Hill Barrel, which housed one of its base stout recipes.

"The base beer, known to us as BS1, rested in oak for just over 16 months. This singular barrel stood out among the others during our barrel sensory, demonstrating a harmonious balance between stout, oak, and bourbon," according to Caius Farm Brewery. "Crafted with American malted barley, a complex assortment of German and British roasted malts, heaps of flaked oats, classic American hops, and our ale yeast, this stout is decadent, silky, and incredibly complex."

Interestingly, the stout is named after "Elagabalus (204 – 222 CE), a member of the Severan dynasty and was known for religious and sex scandals during her reign; she replaced Zeus with Elagabal, who was an Arab-Roman sun god, and married four women. She was also one of the first transgender people documented in history."

The brewery, conceived during the pandemic by owner, brewer, Caius Mergy, sprouted from a tumble-down walking farm into an award-winning brewery. In 2025, it was also named as in the top five of the USA Today Audience Choice Awards 2025 for 'Best New Brewery.'

Learn more about Caius Farm Brewery on its website, or social media accounts including Facebook and Instagram.

Visit Caius Farm Brewery at 101 North Branford Road, in Branford.