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  • Judging Styles

Account Registration

Registrations for judges and stewards only accepted through Sunday, April 6, 2025 12:00 AM, PDT.

Entry Registration

Entry registration is closed.

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BA Judging Styles

If a style's name is hyperlinked, it has specific entry requirements. Select or tap on the name to access the Brewers Association styles as listed on their website.

British-Style Barley Wine Ale	British-Style Imperial Stout	Brown Porter
Classic English-Style Pale Ale	Contemporary-Style Gose	Double Red Ale
English-Style Brown Ale	English-Style Dark Mild Ale	English-Style India Pale Ale
English-Style Pale Mild Ale	English-Style Summer Ale	Extra Special Bitter
Oatmeal Stout	Old Ale	Ordinary Bitter
Robust Porter	Scotch Ale	Scottish-Style Export Ale
Scottish-Style Heavy Ale	Scottish-Style Light Ale	Special Bitter or Best Bitter
Strong Ale	Sweet or Cream Stout	Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout
Foreign (Export)-Style Stout	Irish-Style Red Ale	American-Style Amber/Red Ale
American-Style Barley Wine Ale	American-Style Black Ale	American-Style Brown Ale
American-Style Imperial Porter	American-Style Imperial Stout	American-Style India Pale Ale
American-Style Pale Ale	American-Style Sour Ale	American-Style Stout
American-Style Strong Pale Ale	American-Style Wheat Wine Ale	Dark American-Belgo-Style Ale
Fresh "Wet" Hop Ale	Golden or Blonde Ale	Imperial or Double India Pale Ale
Imperial Red Ale	Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double India Pale Ale	Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale
Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale	Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale	Pale American-Belgo-Style Ale
Session India Pale Ale	Smoke Porter	Specialty Stouts
West Coast-Style India Pale Ale	Adambier	Bamberg-Style Weiss (Smoke) Rauchbier (Dunkel or Helles)
Berliner-Style Weisse (Wheat)	German-Style Altbier	German-Style Kölsch / Köln-Style Kölsch
German-Style Leichtes Weizen / Weissbier	Kellerbier (Cellar beer) or Zwickelbier - Ale	Leipzig-Style Gose
South German-Style Bernsteinfarbenes Weizen / Weissbier	South German-Style Dunkel Weizen / Dunkel Weissbier	South German-Style Hefeweizen / Hefeweissbier
South German-Style Kristall Weizen / Kristall Weissbier	South German-Style Weizenbock / Weissbock	Belgian-Style Blonde Ale
Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale	Belgian-Style Dubbel	Belgian-Style Flanders Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ales
Belgian-Style Fruit Lambic	Belgian-Style Lambic	Belgian-Style Pale Ale
Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale	Belgian-Style Quadrupel	Belgian-Style Session Ale
Belgian-Style Table Beer	Belgian-Style Tripel	Belgian-Style White (or Wit) / Belgian-Style Wheat
Contemporary Belgian-Style Gueuze Lambic	French & Belgian-Style Saison	French-Style Bière de Garde
Other Belgian-Style Ales	Traditional Belgian-Style Gueuze	Australian-Style Pale Ale
Classic Australian-Style Pale Ale	Dutch-Style Kuit, Kuyt or Koyt	Grodziskie
International-Style Pale Ale	New Zealand-Style India Pale Ale	New Zealand-Style Pale Ale
Bamberg-Style Bock Rauchbier	Bamberg-Style Helles Rauchbier	Bamberg-Style Märzen Rauchbier
Bohemian-Style Pilsener	Dortmunder / European-Style Export	European-Style Dark / Münchner Dunkel
Franconian-Style Rotbier	German-Style Doppelbock	German-Style Eisbock
German-Style Heller Bock/Maibock	German-Style Leichtbier	German-Style Märzen
German-Style Oktoberfest / Wiesen (Meadow)	German-Style Pilsener	German-Style Schwarzbier
Kellerbier (Cellar beer) or Zwickelbier - Lager	Münchner (Munich)-Style Helles	Traditional German-Style Bock
Vienna-Style Lager	American-Style Amber Lager	American-Style Amber Light Lager
American-Style Dark Lager	American-Style Ice Lager	American-Style India Pale Lager
American-Style Lager	American-Style Light Lager	American-Style Maerzen / Oktoberfest
American-Style Malt Liquor	American-Style Pilsener	Contemporary American-Style Lager
Contemporary American-Style Light Lager	Contemporary American-Style Pilsener	Australasian, Latin American or Tropical-Style Light Lager
Baltic-Style Porter	Dry Lager	International-Style Pilsener
Aged Beer (Ale or Lager)	American-Style Cream Ale or Lager	Belgian-Style Fruit Beer
Brett Beer	California Common Beer	Chili Pepper Beer
Chocolate / Cocoa-Flavored Beer	Coffee-Flavored Beer	Dark American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast
Dark American Wheat Ale or Lager without Yeast	Dessert Stout or Pastry Stout	Experimental Beer (Lager or Ale)
Experimental India Pale Ale	Field Beer	Fruit Beer
Fruit Wheat Ale or Lager with or without Yeast	German-Style Rye Ale (Roggenbier) with or without Yeast	Ginjo Beer or Sake-Yeast Beer
Gluten-Free Beer	Herb and Spice Beer	Historical Beer
Indigenous Beer (Lager or Ale)	Kentucky Common	Light American Wheat Ale or Lager with Yeast
Light American Wheat Ale or Lager without Yeast	Mixed Culture Brett Beer	Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage
Other Strong Ale or Lager	Pumpkin Beer	Rye Ale or Lager with or without Yeast
Session Beer	Smoke Beer (Lager or Ale)	Specialty Beer
Specialty Honey Lager or Ale	Wild Beer	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dark Beer	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Pale to Amber Beer	Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer	Imperial Brown Ale (Custom Style)	Hard Kombucha (Custom Style)
Hard Seltzer (Flavored Malt Beverage) (Custom Style)

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Entry Acceptance Rules

Number of Bottles Required Per Entry: 4

The following outlines rules & requirements for participation in the Brewers Cup of California. Failure to comply with any of these requirements may result in disqualification.

Brewers must be:

• Official residents of California
• The brewery must hold a valid commercial brewing license, and
• Brewers must be at least 21 years of age.
• Persons submitting entry must have a direct association with the brewing of the entry, being a brewer, owner, or management. Distributors are not considered directly related to the production of beer and may only submit entries in the names of their clients, with their clients’ approval.
• Contract brews may only be entered by the brewery which produced them.
• Entrants or their qualified representative may participate in the judging on any panel they are not entered.

Eligible: At least 51% of the fermentable carbohydrates must be derived from malted grains. Beverages made with malt substitutes, honey, fruit or fruit juices, or anything other than malted grains as the majority of fermentable sugars are not eligible to participate. Not eligible: Mead, cider, spirits, and most shandies and radlers are not eligible to be entered into the competition. No single brewing location nor a group that owns multiple breweries may enter more than a total of 20 beers combined. A beer brand may not be renamed and entered into multiple categories, however the same beer brand can be entered into multiple categories. A separate entry fee must be paid for each additional category entered, and the minimum bottle, can, crowler, growler, or keg requirements still apply. Also, you must not exceed the 20 maximum total entry limit. Entries may be bottled, canned, in crowlers, in growlers or kegged in either Cornelius or Sankey kegs. Do not remove any commercial bottle labels. Do not black out any commercial or identifying designs or text on caps of entries. This facilitates the Cellar. Attach bottle labels to kegs in a secure manner allowing them to be easily read by competition officials so that appropriate code numbers can be placed on the keg. Shipping tape appears to have worked well. It helps to put them in plastic baggies also. Attach the bottle labels from the competition website (copies are OK) to each bottle with CLEAR packaging tape. NO RUBBER BANDS. Place bottle label on kegs so it may be easily read when processed. (Plastic bags may be used to keep forms dry.) An official entry shall consist of one of the following:

• Four (4) 12/16/20 oz. bottles or cans
• Four (4) 22/24 oz. bottles or cans
• One (1) 5 gallon Cornelius or Sankey keg not to exceed 7.5 gallons
• Four (4) 32 oz. or greater crowlers
• Two (2) 64 oz. growlers

All judging will be done with panels combining qualified judges and commercial brewing peers. Brewers or judges may not judge on panels in which they have a conflict of interest. At least one judge who has been certified by the Beer Judge Certification Program will sit on each judging panel. Beers will be disqualified for entry requirement infractions. These beers will be judged and will receive evaluations but will be ineligible for awards. All beers will be decanted prior to presentation to the judges. Kegs will be served off 5’ quarter inch tubing at 10 psi. Brewers are required to use online registration and payment at www.brewerscupofca.com. Please include a summary of your entries with your shipment packaging or delivery. This can be printed from the online entry submission software. No late entries will be accepted. By submitting an entry to this competition, the entrant:

• Asserts that they have legal title to submit the entry.
• Asserts the beer was brewed in the State and for commercial sale in the State of California
• Agrees to provide proof of such availability upon request.
• Agrees to abide by the herein-stated policy on use of any awards or certificates in advertising.
• All brewers that have entered the competition are invited and encouraged to participate in the awards presentation.

The only allowable use of awards and certificates given by the Brewers Cup of California for advertising/marketing purposes shall be as follows:

1. Any advertising use must clearly state the name and year of the competition.
2. Must clearly state the level and category of award.
3. The phrase “Best Beer in California” shall not be used in conjunction with any awards made by this competition.
4. The Brewers Cup of California logo may not be altered in any way (i.e. changes to color, modifying text)

Failure to comply with these guidelines will be a basis for revocation of award or certificates by organizers and the publication of such revocations to the general public.

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Judging Sessions

Thursday Morning
Thursday, April 3, 2025 9:00 AM, PDT

Thursday Afternoon
Thursday, April 3, 2025 1:00 PM, PDT

Friday Morning
Friday, April 4, 2025 9:00 AM, PDT

Friday Afternoon
Friday, April 4, 2025 1:00 PM, PDT

Saturday Morning
Saturday, April 5, 2025 9:00 AM, PDT

Saturday Afternoon
Saturday, April 5, 2025 1:00 PM, PDT

Sunday Morning
Sunday, April 6, 2025 9:00 AM, PDT

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Awards

The Brewers Cup of California medals for excellence in more than 60 categories and does not necessarily award medals to the top three finishers in a particular category. When judges decide that a category contains three excellent examples of the style, they award gold, silver, and bronze medals for the first, second, and third place beers, respectively. If judges believe that no beer in the category meets the quality and style accuracy criteria, they may elect not to award a medal. Judges may award a silver or a bronze medal and yet not award a gold medal in a category. The award criteria are as follows: 

Gold: A world-class beer that accurately exemplifies the specified style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma, and appearance. 

Silver: An excellent beer that may vary slightly from style parameters while maintaining close adherence to the style and displaying excellent taste, aroma, and appearance. 

Bronze: A fine example of the style that may vary slightly from style parameters and/or have minor deviations in taste, aroma, or appearance.

Both score sheets and awards will be posted to this website after the ceremony concludes. Results will be posted to this competition web site after the ceremony concludes.

Other awards include: 

• Brewers Cup of California Best of Show: Awarded to the brewery with the highest-rated beer, overall. 
• Brewery of The Year: Awarded to the brewery that received the most awards, overall. 
• Guild of The Year: Awarded to the Brewers Guild whose members garnered the most awards. 
• Pioneer Award: Awarded to an individual who has made significant contributions to California’s craft beer industry. 

Hard seltzer and kombucha will not count toward Brewery of the Year and are not eligible for Best of Show.

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