About

The Final Gravity Strong Beer Competition is an American Homebrewers Association (AHA) sanctioned competition and provides you an opportunity to have your homemade strong beer evaluated by BJCP registered judges. Prizes and awards will be given for beers placing first, second, and third in each category, and for Best of Show. The 2008 revision of the BJCP guidelines will be used for this event. The competition will be held on Saturday, October 8th at The Wrecking Bar Brewpub in Atlanta, GA (address is located below). Judges and stewards should be there at 8:30AM, with judging to begin at 9AM. We plan to announce the winners of the Strong Beer Competition and make presentations of awards at 2PM. The exact time will depend on the number of entries and judges. The actual competition is not open to spectators, but please feel free to stop by and have a pint while awaiting the results and enter the raffle for great prizes. Best of Show winner receives Delta SkyMiles award ticket and entry into The Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival in San Diego, CA! 

Competition Guidelines & Entry Requirements

Click here for the Registration Site!

The Strong Beer Competition is open to all home brewers.  All beers must be non-commercial in nature and produced at home.  The entry fee is $7 for each entry.  Checks can be made payable to Final Gravity CraftBrewers.  Submit two 10-16 ounce bottles for each entry.  Bottles may be brown or green glass (brown recommended), and must be free of any labels, raised glass designs, etched logos, or other identifying marks. Swing tops are not acceptable. Any marking on caps must be completely covered by black marker.  A completed entry form must accompany each entry. If entering more than one beer, make sure the correct entry form accompanies each entry.  A bottle ID form must be attached to each bottle with a rubber band. DO NOT use glue or tape.  Categories and subcategories may be combined for judging purposes, however beers will be judged according to the category/subcategory in which they are entered. A link to the style guidelines for each category and subcategory can be found below.  The Competition is limited to 100 entries. Entries must be entered into the database by clicking here or the link below to be accepted. Entries sent without acceptance will not be sent back and may be consumed without judging.

Any category that has its BJCP defined range of ABV crossing 8% will be accepted. This includes 5C Doppelbock, 5D Eisbock, 9E Strong Scotch Ale, 12C Baltic Porter, 13E Foreign Extra Stout, 13F Russian Imperial Stout, 14C Imperial India Pale Ale, 15C Weizenbock, 16C Saison, 16D Bier de Garde, 16E Belgian Specialty Ale, 17C Flanders Brown Ale / Oud Bruin, 17E Gueuze, 18C Belgian Tripel, 18D Belgian Golden Strong Ale, 18E Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 19A Old Ale, 19B English Barleywine, 19C American Barleywine, 20 Fruit Beer, 21A Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer, 22B Other Smoked Beer, 22C Wood-Aged Beer, 23 Specialty Beer. Please NOTE that entries in categories 16E, 20, 21A, 22B, 22C, and 23 MUST specify a base style, and that base style must be one with a BJCP-specified range of ABV that crosses 8%.

It is the responsibility of the brewer to decide and indicate on the entry form the appropriate category and sub-category for their entry
Entries which do not meet these entry requirements may be disqualified.  Depending on the number of entries and category distribution, categories and subcategories may be combined or separated for judging and awards purposes. These judging table breakdowns will not be available prior to the competition and will be determined by the competition committee once all entries have been processed.  Any disputes that arise before, during or after the competition will be settled by the competition committee.

All Judges and Stewards are requested to arrive by 8:30 AM and judging will begin at 9 AM. Results will be announced as soon as Best of Show results are in.  Brewer feedback is the primary purpose of the Strong Beer Competition. Your score sheets will be emailed to you shortly after the contest. Please do not send an SASE with your entry.

Download the 2008 Full BJCP Style Guidelines

Download the Condensed BJCP Style Guidelines

Entry Deadlines

Entries will be accepted from TBD through TBD.  The registration site will open in September.

Drop Off Locations

Entries may be dropped off at the following locations:

Mail In Entries

Mail in Entries should be sent to theWrecking Bar BrewPub address. This is the only location accepting mail in entries.  Please do not send entries to Brew Depot, and PLEASE remember that it is illegal to ship alcohol via the US Postal Service (use a carrier such as UPS or FedEx). Mail in entries must be received by the entry deadlines

Competition Location

The Strong Beer Competition will be held at the Wrecking Bar BrewPub located at 292 Moreland Ave NE.  Check them out on Facebook!

Judges and Stewards

If you would like to be a Judge please download a judges form here (or below) and email it to sbc@finalgravitybrewing.com.  This year we will need all judges to register on the registration page as well (there is an option to set yourself as a judge when you register).  Anyone interested in being a steward should also register using the registration page and select the steward option.  Please email us if you need any help!

For any issues not discussed above, please email  sbc@finalgravitybrewing.com