12th Annual Champlain Valley Fair Homebrew Contest
Entries
Judging
Entry Registration
Judge Registration
Steward Registration
Entry Drop-Off
Rules
Judge and Steward Registration is Open
If you have not registered and are willing to be a volunteer, please register.
If you have registered, log in and then choose Edit Account from the My Account menu indicated by the icon on the top menu.
The contest is BJCP registered and open to any amateur homebrewer aged 21 and older who is a resident of the state of Vermont. Each entry will be evaluated according to the BJCP guidelines (2021 for beer, 2015 for mead, & 2025 for cider) by at least 2 judges who will provide feedback on BJCP scoresheets.
The contest is limited to 100 total entries (50 beer, 25 cider and 25 mead). Entrants are limited to one (1) entry per BJCP subcategory.
Entry Acceptance Rules
Each entry will consist of 2 capped or corked bottles that are void of all identifying information, including labels and embossing. Printed caps are allowed, but must be blacked out completely.
12oz brown glass bottles are preferred; however, green and clear glass will be accepted. Swing top bottles will likewise be accepted as well as corked bottles and cans.
Bottles will not be returned to contest entrants.
All requisite paperwork must be submitted with each entry and can be printed directly from this website. Entry paperwork should be attached to bottles by tape (preferred) or rubber band. Entries received with labels attached using any other method (e.g., tape, glue, etc.) may be excluded from the competition.
Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.
Entries left at the drop-off location must have an entry label attached to each bottle by tape (preferred) or rubber band and must be dropped off in a suitable container.
Suitable containers include: 6-pack holders, 12 or 24-bottle cases, larger format bottle boxes.
Suitable containers DO NOT include: paper bags, plastic bags or no container at all.
Entry Info
Entry Limits
- Entry Limit:
- 100
Entry Limits Per Style Type
| Style Type | Limit | Current Count |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 50 | 0 |
| Cider | 25 | 0 |
| Mead | 25 | 0 |
Entry Limits Per Participant
- Per Style Entry Limit:
- 1
BJCP 2021 / 2025 Styles Accepted
Indicates that the style's entry limit has been reached and no more entries of that style will be accepted.
| 1A American Light Lager | 1B American Lager | 1C Cream Ale |
| 1D American Wheat Beer | 2A International Pale Lager | 2B International Amber Lager |
| 2C International Dark Lager | 3A Czech Pale Lager | 3B Czech Premium Pale Lager |
| 3C Czech Amber Lager | 3D Czech Dark Lager | 4A Munich Helles |
| 4B Festbier | 4C Helles Bock | 5A German Leichtbier |
| 5B Kölsch | 5C German Helles Exportbier | 5D German Pils |
| 6A Märzen | 6B Rauchbier | 6C Dunkels Bock |
| 7A Vienna Lager | 7B Altbier | 8A Munich Dunkel |
| 8B Schwarzbier | 9A Doppelbock | 9B Eisbock |
| 9C Baltic Porter | 10A Weissbier | 10B Dunkels Weissbier |
| 10C Weizenbock | 11A Ordinary Bitter | 11B Best Bitter |
| 11C Strong Bitter | 12A British Golden Ale | 12B Australian Sparkling Ale |
| 12C English IPA | 13A Dark Mild | 13B British Brown Ale |
| 13C English Porter | 14A Scottish Light | 14B Scottish Heavy |
| 14C Scottish Export | 15A Irish Red Ale | 15B Irish Stout |
| 15C Irish Extra Stout | 16A Sweet Stout | 16B Oatmeal Stout |
| 16C Tropical Stout | 16D Foreign Extra Stout | 17A British Strong Ale |
| 17A1 Burton Ale | 17B Old Ale | 17C Wee Heavy |
| 17D English Barley Wine | 18A Blonde Ale | 18B American Pale Ale |
| 19A American Amber Ale | 19B California Common | 19C American Brown Ale |
| 20A American Porter | 20B American Stout | 20C Imperial Stout |
| 21A American IPA | 21B Specialty IPA | 21B1 Belgian IPA |
| 21B2 Black IPA | 21B3 Brown IPA | 21B4 Red IPA |
| 21B5 Rye IPA | 21B6 White IPA | 21B7 Brut IPA |
| 21C Hazy IPA | 22A Double IPA | 22B American Strong Ale |
| 22C American Barleywine | 22D Wheatwine | 23A Berliner Weisse |
| 23B Flanders Red Ale | 23C Oud Bruin | 23D Lambic |
| 23E Gueuze | 23F Fruit Lambic | 23G Gose |
| 24A Witbier | 24B Belgian Pale Ale | 24C Bière de Garde |
| 25A Belgian Blond Ale | 25B Saison | 25C Belgian Golden Strong Ale |
| 26A Belgian Single | 26B Belgian Dubbel | 26C Belgian Tripel |
| 26D Belgian Dark Strong Ale | 27A Historical Beer | 27A1 Kellerbier |
| 27A2 Kentucky Common | 27A3 Lichtenhainer | 27A4 London Brown Ale |
| 27A5 Piwo Grodziskie | 27A6 Pre-Prohibition Lager | 27A7 Pre-Prohibition Porter |
| 27A8 Roggenbier | 27A9 Sahti | 28A Brett Beer |
| 28B Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer | 28C Wild Specialty Beer | 28D Straight Sour Beer |
| 29A Fruit Beer | 29B Fruit and Spice Beer | 29C Specialty Fruit Beer |
| 29D Grape Ale | 30A Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | 30B Autumn Seasonal Beer |
| 30C Winter Seasonal Beer | 30D Specialty Spice Beer | 31A Alternative Grain Beer |
| 31B Alternative Sugar Beer | 32A Classic Style Smoked Beer | 32B Specialty Smoked Beer |
| 33A Wood-Aged Beer | 33B Specialty Wood-Aged Beer | 34A Commercial Specialty Beer |
| 34B Mixed-Style Beer | 34C Experimental Beer | LSX1 Dorada Pampeana |
| LSX2 IPA Argenta | LSX3 Italian Grape Ale | LSX4 Catharina Sour |
| LSX5 New Zealand Pilsner | C1A Common Cider | C1B Heirloom Cider |
| C1C English Cider | C1D French Cider | C1E Spanish Cider |
| C2A New England Cider | C2B Applewine | C2C Ice Cider |
| C2D Fire Cider | C3A Fruit Cider | C3B Spiced Cider |
| C3C Experimental Cider | C4A Common Perry | C4B Heirloom Perry |
| C4C Ice Perry | C4D Experimental Perry | M1A Dry Mead |
| M1B Semi-Sweet Mead | M1C Sweet Mead | M2A Cyser |
| M2B Pyment | M2C Berry Mead | M2D Stone Fruit Mead |
| M2E Melomel | M3A Fruit and Spice Mead | M3B Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Mead |
| M4A Braggot | M4B Historical Mead | M4C Experimental Mead |
Entry Delivery
Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations Friday, July 17, 2026 4:00 PM, +12 — Friday, July 31, 2026 4:00 PM, +12.
Please pay attention to the notes provided for each drop-off location. There could be earlier deadlines for some drop-off locations listed, particular hours when entries are accepted, certain individuals to leave your entries with, etc. All entrants are responsible for reading the information provided by the organizers for each drop-off location.
25 Essex Way Suite 214, Essex, VT 05452
(802) 876-7702
*Please confirm business hours prior to dropping off your entries.
Best of Show
The Best of Show awards ceremony will take place at 12pm in the Ware building at the Champlain Valley Fair.
Awards
Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for each category. The 1st place entry in the beer categories will advance to the Best of Show (BOS) round with a single, overall Best of Show beer selected.
Score sheets will be available online in the competition software and awards will be distributed to the winners after the awards ceremony is complete. Results of the competition will be posted on the competition website after all judging has been completed.
Volunteers
Judges and Stewards
If you have registered, log in and then choose Edit Account from the My Account menu indicated by the icon on the top menu.
If you have not registered and are willing to be a judge or steward, please register.
Staff
If you would like to volunteer to be a competition staff member, please register or update your account to indicate that you wish to be a part of the competition staff.
Other Volunteer Info
Volunteers will be needed for pre-judging sessions during the month of August prior to the Best of Show judging during the Champlain Valley Fair. To volunteer, you can register on this site and each volunteer will receive one (1) free ticket to the Champlain Valley Fair.
Sponsors
Contact
Use the links below to contact individuals involved with coordinating this competition:
- – Competition Coordinator