Attention brewers of Washington! Get your entries into the Washington Beer Awards, now!
Press Release
After a year’s hiatus due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to invite you to enter the eighth Washington Beer Awards, the craft beer competition designed specifically to support Washington’s professional brewers. This Washington-only competition provides an opportunity for all of Washington’s craft brewers to compete in a blind judging format. It allows recognition of brewing excellence in Washington and provides feedback supporting future competition entry decisions. Our goal is to provide an unbiased and affordable competition for Washington brewers and raise awareness of Washington craft beer both within the state and on the national level. We have coordinated with the Washington Beer Commission and the Washington Brewers Guild who endorse this competition as a great way to promote Washington breweries.
While current national competitions provide great recognition, the logistical challenges and costs of entering those competitions constrain brewer participation and have a fairly low medal-to-entry ratio (2020 GABF ~1:32). Nearby states have awards programs supporting brand awareness that compete on the shelf next to local breweries placing Washington breweries at a competitive disadvantage.
This competition provides an affordable venue for Washington brewers to compete locally and receive a higher caliber of judging than provided at many craft beer competitions. We leverage invite-only trained judges with a focus on providing feedback tailored for the commercial community with detailed tasting observations assessed against the Brewers Association style guidelines used for entering other craft beer competitions.
The competition will be held in mid-October with awards announcements synched up with the Washington Craft Beer Summit in early November. Medals will be provided to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and special awards will be provided to breweries with many winning beers.
The last competition brought in 1,467 entries from 193 breweries all over the state and presented over 240 awards to Washington brewers. We hope for the competition to grow this year permitting even more award categories and special awards including a Collaboration category as well as a Pro-Am competition and recognition of the Washington Breweries of the Year. Due to the timing, we expect a decent number of Fresh Hop beers and have expanded that category into a variety of subcategories for more award opportunities.
The competition is executed by the longest running organizers of the largest beer competitions in the Northwest. With experience in professional competitions, knowledge of the needs of the craft brewing community, and ties to the local judging pool, we aim to provide the highest caliber of a beer competition from a non-partisan third party to ensure the legitimacy of your awards.
The registration period will be open from August 1st to August 20th with entries due between September 17th and October 1st. Winners will be announced in a ceremony at the Washington Craft Beer Summit in early November. Results will be posted online immediately afterwards.
Complete details and previous results for the Washington Beer Awards will be available at www.wabeerawards.com. You can sign up to be kept in the loop on competition updates on the website, our e-mail list, and our Facebook page.
We hope to have your involvement and participation in the 2021 competition. Additional details about the competition are posted below.
Cheers,
Mark Emiley and Peter Twigg
Washington Beer Awards
organizers@wabeerawards.com
Key Dates:
August 1st - August 20th: Online Registration Open
August 24th-27th: Entry Confirmation
September 3rd: Invoices for Entry Fees will be mailed
September 17th - October 1st: Entry drop-off/mailing window
October 1st: Entry Fees Due
October 16-17th: Blind Judging
November 5th: Awards Ceremony - Washington Craft Beer Summit
Washington Beer Awards Competition Information
Here’s the basic information you need to know to enter the Washington Beer Awards. Please see the complete rules on the competition website (www.wabeerawards.com) for all details on entering.
Entering breweries must be a licensed commercial brewery in the state of Washington to participate in the Washington Brewers Awards.
Brewers may enter up to 10 beers per brewery location. Each registered brewery location will be treated as a unique brewery for the brewery of the year awards. Breweries with multiple locations must decide if they want to enter under one registration (with up to 10 entries) or separately.
Entries are $40 / entry and require at least six (6) 12-ounce containers, four (4) 22-ounce containers, or the equivalent of at least 72 ounces and four bottles for each entry. Acceptable package sizes must be between 10 and 32 ounces. A minimum of 4 packages must be provided, regardless of container size.
Breweries may register entries from August 1st through August 20th through a registration link available at www.wabeerawards.com/registration in categories derived from the Brewers Association style guidelines published as of February 20th. Any modifications to the guidelines will be posted in the registration process. Categories may be joined into hybrid, consumer-relevant award categories to ensure competitiveness after final entry totals are known. All entries will be judged for stylistic and technical merit in accordance with the Brewers Association style category entered by the brewer.
Confirmation of entries and final award categories will be sent to the breweries following the registration period. Final brewery entry decisions may be made at this time.
After confirmation, you will be invoiced for the competition fees and mailed a standard license agreement and bottle labels. Payment and the license agreement must be submitted by October 1st.
Entries will be accepted at drop/mail locations published on the competition website from September 17th through October 1st. The main drop locations will be in the Seattle & Spokane area. Distant breweries may coordinate group deliveries at their own discretion. Additional drop locations may be posted.
Bottles must be labeled with labels that will be e-mailed to you with your invoice and license agreement. It is acceptable to put the label on top of pre-labeled bottles.
Beers will be judged in accordance with the published competition style guidelines in a blind format by a panel of hand selected judges trained in sensory evaluation. No brewery information will be provided to judges.
Awards will be presented the weekend of the Washington Craft Beer Summit Festival in early November. Medals will be provided to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and special awards will be provided to breweries with many winning beers. Medals are provided to both the brewer and brewery in recognition of the importance of the craftsperson and the supporting company. Judge tasting notes and awards will be mailed to breweries shortly following the awards ceremony.
The registration site, full competition rules, and everything you need to know to enter can be found at http://www.wabeerawards.com
