Scottish National Homebrew Competition 2027
Entries
Judging
Entry Registration
Judge Registration
Steward Registration
Entry Drop-Off
Entry Shipping
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.
Entry Registration is Open
This competition is open to any amateur homebrewer aged 18 or older.
All entries must be received at the mailing location by the shipping deadline - please allow for shipping time. Opportunity to drop off entries in person is to be confirmed and is at the discretion of the competition organisers.
Entrants are initially limited to two entries. The competition organisers reserve the right to increase this limit. The first entry is £12, the second is £8.
We require three unmarked bottles, minimum 330ml glass or PET, or three unmarked cans, minimum 330ml. This allows for a mini-BOS round if required, and if successful further judging at the BOS round. We will make every effort to judge entries that cannot meet this requirement (through accidental breakages or similar), but the entry may be disqualified from later rounds if we have insufficient bottles or cans.
All entries must be handcrafted products, containing ingredients available to the general public, and made using private equipment by hobbyist brewers (i.e., no use of commercial facilities or Brew on Premises operations, supplies, etc.).
The competition organisers are not responsible for mis-categorized entries, mailed entries that are not received by the entry deadline, or entries that arrive damaged.
The competition organisers reserve the right to combine styles for judging and to restructure awards as needed depending upon the quantity and quality of entries. All possible effort will be made to combine similar styles. All brews in combined categories will be judged according to the style they were originally entered in.
Detailed and constructive written feedback by qualified or experienced judges is the primary goal of our event. You will receive written feedback from at least two judges.
Judges will evaluate and score each entry. Judges will assign a final score (this may not be the average of all scores) which will rank each entry in its category. Large tables may be split for judging with a mini-BOS round to decide final placing. In this scenario first round scores will influence, but not dictate, the final ranking.
The Best of Show judging will be determined by a Best of Show panel based on a second judging of the winners of each table.
Unopened entries will not be returned to entrants.
All fees must be paid on completion of entry registration. We may remove entries that remain in an unpaid state.
Any changes to the competition structure or timings will be communicated to entrants as soon as possible.
Entry Acceptance Rules
Each entry will consist of:
- Capped, corked or swingtop glass or PET bottles that are preferably void of all identifying information apart from competition labels, including other labels and embossing. Printed caps are allowed, but must be blacked out completely.
- OR Cans that are void of all identifying information, including non-competition labels and embossing.
We require a minimum of 3no. bottles or cans of a minimum 330ml volume to allow for transit damage, infections and/or Best of Show judging.
We try to provide feedback on everything we receive, but failure to provide appropriate containers of sufficient number or volume may mean we are unable to place your entry.
All requisite paperwork must be submitted with each entry and can be printed directly from this website once paid. Entry paperwork should be attached directly to bottles/cans and completely covered with see-through tape. PLEASE DO NOT USE RUBBER BANDS TO LOOSELY ATTACH LABELS.
Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified in the style guidelines. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.
Entry Info
Entry Limits
- Entry Limit:
- 300
- Entry Limit – Paid:
- 300
Entry Limits Per Style Type
| Style Type | Limit | Current Count |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 300 | 288 |
Entry Limits Per Participant
- Entry Limit Per Participant:
- 2
- Per Style Entry Limit:
- 1
Pay Entry Fees
After creating your account and adding your entries to the system, you must pay your entry fee(s). Accepted payment methods are:
- Credit/debit card and e-check, via PayPal
BJCP 2015 / 2021 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 | LSX2 IPA Argenta |
| LSX3 Italian Grape Ale | LSX4 Catharina Sour | LSX5 New Zealand Pilsner |
Entry Delivery
Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations Monday 18 January, 2027 09:00, GMT — Sunday 24 January, 2027 23:59, GMT.
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.
TBC
Edinburgh, Scotland
TBC
Shipping Info
Entry bottles accepted at our shipping location Monday 18 January, 2027 09:00, GMT — Friday 22 January, 2027 18:00, GMT.
Ship entries to:
Shipping Location
TBC
Packing and Shipping
Carefully pack your entries in a sturdy box. Partition and pack each bottle with adequate packaging material. Please consider the amount and type of packing material you use. Recyclable packaging is prefereable - we have to dispose of everything we receive!
Write clearly: Fragile. This Side Up. on the package.
Every reasonable effort will be made to contact entrants whose entries have been damaged to make arrangements for sending replacement bottles, however shipping is at the entrant's risk and this may not be possible within competition timescales. When possible we will still try to provide feedback on late entries.
Judging Sessions
Judging Session 1
Friday 29 January, 2027 15:00, GMT
Judging Session 2
Saturday 30 January, 2027 10:00, GMT
Awards
The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 31st of January once judging is completed.
The awards announcements will begin at around 5pm and will be streamed live.
Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each table. Honourable Mentions will be given at the Judges' discretion.
The 1st place entry in each category will advance to the Best of Show (BOS) round with a single, overall Best of Show beer selected.
An award will be given to the Champion Brewer, being the entrant with the most table awards. A tie-break will be decided by highest average score.
Additional awards will be given at the discretion of the competition organizers.
Results and scoresheets will be posted to the competition website after the ceremony concludes.
Prizes and uncollected awards will be posted or delivered promptly after the competition.
The Awards Ceremony will include "The People's Choice" judging. This is a separate, free to enter competition, judged by attendees at the ceremony. They will be judging a single BJCP Category chosen by members of Scottish Craft Brewers - this year it will be 12B Australian Sparkling Ale.
- To enter the People's Choice you should provide 2no. 500ml or 3no. 330ml bottles or cans of a beer in the chosen subcategory.
- You do not need to pay or register on the main competition website for the People’s Choice, just bring your entry along on the day or deliver it with your main entries. Entries will be anonymised by the organisers prior to judging.
- Entries will be judged by attendees at the awards ceremony only. They will be provided with BJCP guidelines and asked to judged to style. We may be able to provide average scores, but cannot guarantee this or written feedback.
- The chosen subcategory (and the same beer) can also be entered into the main competition if desired (but you must register it as an entry on this site and send additional bottles.)
Awards Ceremony
TBC
Edinburgh, Scotland
Sunday 31 January, 2027 17:00, GMT
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
If you are a BJCP qualified Judge, or have experience judging brewing competitions, or want to get some judging experience, or would just like to assist as a Steward, please register on the site and you will be contacted by the Competiiton Organisers roughly a month before the competition. We can generally accommodate all judges who volunteer so please assume you will be required until advised otherwise.
We use electronic scoresheets wherever possible so please plan to bring a long a device that can connect to the internet for your session - a laptop or tablet is preferable but a phone can be used if needed. We will provide paper scoresheets as a final backup.
Sponsors
Contact
Use the form below to contact a competition official. All fields with a star are required.