Badger Brew-Off

The Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild will be holding the Thirteenth Annual Badger Brew-Off.  This competition is sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program and the American Homebrewers Association. Entrants will receive expert commentary on their homebrewed beer on official score sheets prepared by judges recognized by the Beer Judge Certification Program. For more information, contact one of the organizers below:

Eligibility:  Entries must be beer, mead or cider that was brewed at home. Beverages made at a commercial premise, including brew-on-premise establishments, are not eligible.

Entry Fee: The fee for each entrant is $7.  Entries for MHTG members are free.

Please make checks payable to Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild

Categories: This competition uses the 2021 BJCP style guidelines that can be found at http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php. Each entry must be classified as one of these styles for judging purposes. Please choose styles carefully. Entries will be judged as an example of the chosen style. Judges will not reclassify entries. Please be sure to include special ingredients where indicated in the BJCP guidelines (i.e. special categories).

Entries: For each entry, the brewer must submit:

  • Two 12 oz / 333 ml or larger bottles of beer.  The second bottle is used if your beer advances to the Best Of Show round.
  • Similarly sized cans will be accepted as well.
  • Bottles and caps should have no labels or identifying marks.
  • Soft drink or other printed crown caps are acceptable if the caps have been blacked out.
  • Attach bottle identification forms to each bottle with a rubber band.
  • The entry fee of $5 / entrant
    • A check made out to Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild (MHTG)
    • Cash
  • Only one entry per brewer, per subcategory is allowed.
  • Entries will not be returned.
  • Do not print out the recipe sheet or entry sheet.
  • Please fill out the entry information completely. Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified per the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges’ scoring of your entry.

Entries must be registered online at:  http://www.badgerbrewoff.org

For any questions about the entry form, the style guidelines, classifying an entry, or supplying additional information, please contact the contest organizers.

Judging: Judging will take place at the Madison East Side Club on Saturday, November 4th.

Each entry will be judged by a panel of at least two judges, at least one of whom has achieved Recognized rank in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). Generally speaking, most panels will have two to three judges, of which two judges will be recognized.  If any panel does not have 2 recognized judges, the novice or non-BJCP judge will be paired with a senior BJCP judge for quality assurance.  Entries will be judged both for overall quality and conformance to the chosen style. The first round of judging will determine the top three entries in each award category. The first place entry in each award category will then compete for Best of Show.

Prizes: Each BJCP Category will receive a ribbon and/or a prize.   However, MHTG does reserve the right to combine categories if there are limited entries in particular categories.

Miscellaneous: Scoresheets will be emailed to the entrants within 3 days of the competition date.

Awards will be sent out within three weeks of the competition date.

BJCP experience records will be submitted within one week of the competition date.

Any questions or disputes will be settled by the competition organizers, and all decisions will be final. Entries become the property of the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild and will not be returned.

Past Contest Results