Reuben’s Brews 2023 Pro-Am Homebrew Contest

Win a Chance to Brew With Us

After taking a hiatus in 2022, we are excited to announce our 2023 Pro-Am Homebrew Contest, the 6th homebrewing competition that we’ve hosted to date. In past iterations we’ve focused on hoppy beers, but this year we’ll accept entries in three categories: Dark, IPA, and Lager. Our 2023 Pro-Am will be a Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) certified homebrew competition. All entries will be blind tasted and scored against BJCP style guidelines.

The winner of best in show will have the chance to brew a large scale batch of their beer with our team at our Ballard production facility. This beer will then be packaged and released later in the year both at the Taproom and more widely across our Pacific Northwest distribution territory. The deadline window for your entries to arrive at our brewery is from February 1st to February 8th, 2023.

Our intention is to release the beer in the spring. We also plan to enter the Pro-Am category at the Washington Beer Awards as well as one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the country: the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).

We know it takes time, effort, and commitment to brew beer and send it out for a contest like this, so we’d like to thank everyone who decides to share their brews with us. Homebrewing is where we started our own professional journey and remains close our heart. Many homebrewers across the country are doing great work and we hope this contest draws more attention to that fact. Good Luck!

Entry Checklist

Read the following Requirements section for complete information about how to prepare your entry, what to submit online, and what to submit with your entry. Feel free to reach out to ben@reubensbrews.com with questions.

1. Register your entry online at this page. Each brewer or team only needs to submit once for up to four beers.
2. Use our online store to pay the entry fee of $5/beer. All fees will be donated to the Reuben’s Brews Foundation.
3. Carefully package your entry for either shipping or in-person drop off at our Taproom. Our shipping address appears below. Your submission must contain:
   1. Four (4) bottles or cans of each beer, 330ml/12oz or larger.
   2. One completed BJCP Recipe Form for each beer entered. Please fill this out completely, with careful attention to the Category and Sub-category information.
   3. Completed BJCP Bottle IDs for each of the four bottles or cans of each entry submitted. We are not able to judge bottles without proper IDs.
   4. A self-addressed stamped envelope that can hold 8.5×11″ sheets of paper if you would like us to return your scoresheets to you. (This is optional but highly recommended.)

Requirements

• Dark beers (Dark British Beer, American Porter & Stout, etc.), IPAs, and Lagers (Czech Lager, International Lager, etc.) will be accepted for this competition. Beers will be judged against the BJCP style guidelines, so please ensure that you have the correct category to ensure fair and reasonable judging. Please read over the 2021 BJCP category descriptions on the BJCP website.
• Beers must be submitted and arrive at our brewery between February 1st and February 8th, 2023. Unfortunately, we cannot make any exceptions to this time window.
• Judging will take place on February 11th. The judging panel will consist of BJCP certified judges, industry experts, and members of the Reuben’s Brews team.
• You may submit up to a maximum of 4 different beers.
• There is a $5 entry fee for each beer submitted. All entry fees will support the Reuben’s Brews Foundation. Please submit your payment online AT THIS LINK. Along with the chance to have one of your own beers brewed and distributed, you’ll also be helping us raise money for our Foundation initiatives!
• Each homebrewer (or team) must fill out our ONLINE ENTRY FORM before submitting their entries. This is our primary way of tracking your entries, and our means of contacting you if we have any questions.
• Homebrewers (or teams) must also fill out one BJCP Recipe Form for each submission and include a printed copy with your entry when shipping or dropping off. Entries submitted without fully completed Recipe Forms will not be judged.
• You must send at least four (4) bottles or cans of each beer, 330ml/12oz or larger.
• Each beer must have a BJCP Bottle ID filled out and taped to it. These can be downloaded here.
• If you’d like to have your scoresheets returned to you, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope (large enough to hold 8.5×11″ pages) with your physical entry.
• Bottles or cans should be carefully packaged and either hand-delivered or shipped to our Taproom:

Pro-Am Homebrew Contest
Reuben’s Brews, LLC
5010 14th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107

Awards

• Reuben’s Brews will work with the winning homebrewer(s) to take the winning recipe and reproduce it, as faithfully as possible to the original, on a professional scale. We also hope to invite the homebrewer(s) to help brew the inaugural commercial batch of the winning recipe at our brewery in Seattle.
• Assuming the winning beer is brought to market, the winning homebrewer will receive a one-time royalty of $250.
• The winning beer will be released, packaged, and distributed throughout the Pacific Northwest.
• Reuben’s Brews merchandise will be awarded to first, second, and third placed beers in the competition under a best of show format.
• We anticipate entering the 2023 Pro-Am winning brew in both the Washington Beer Awards and the Great American Beer Festival.

The Fine Print

• Please note that it is illegal to ship alcoholic beverages via the U.S. Postal Service. Private shipping carrier’s rules and regulations concerning the shipment of beer or alcoholic beverages may vary. We strongly encourage you to check with your shipping carrier prior to shipping your entry. It is solely the entrant’s responsibility to follow all applicable laws and regulations.
• All competition beers will be kept in our cold room until the time of judging.
• You must be an AHA member at the time of entry and throughout 2023 to qualify for this competition. If you are not a member, head here to join.
• Please reach out to ben@reubensbrews.com with any questions or concerns.