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.

QUAFF Club Only Competitions are FREE for all dues-paid QUAFF members, who by definition are age 21 or older.  If you would like to enter but are not a member or haven't yet paid your dues - please pay your 2026 dues!  (A Competition staff member will verify your membership status and clear the balance for all dues paid members).

The January 2026 COC theme is "Don't (You) Forget About Me!".  These were styles that had low counts at the 2025 National Homebrew Competition.  So let's make some great beers and meads in these categories, and earn ourselves some more medals at the 2026 National Homebrew Competition.

All entries must be received at the drop off location by the posted deadline.  Late entries will (most likely) be disqualified.

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.).

QUAFF is not responsible for mis-categorized entries (consult the BJCP Style Guidelines if you are unsure), entries that are not received by the entry deadline, or entries that arrived damaged.

QUAFF's Club Only Competitions serve three primary functions: 1) unbiased and qualified feedback on our members' entries; 2) the opportunity for our members to earn BJCP judging points; 3) the opportunity for our members to become familiar with stewarding and administration of homebrew competitions.

Entries will be evaluated by at least two judges.  At least one judge will be BJCP ranked Certified or higher.

SCORES will not necessarily determine the overall placement of entries at a given table or in BOS ranking.

Entrants are limited to a single entry per subcategory, but may enter up to three entries per track (i.e. three entries max in the beer track and three entries max in the mead/cider track) for a total of six unique entries.

Best Of Show winners will earn points toward QUAFF Homebrewer of the Year.  Winners in the mead/cider track will earn points toward QUAFF Fermentationist of the Year.  Entrants who have entered less than five competitions (including COCs) prior to January 1st of each year, are eligible to compete for QUAFF Rising Star.  For more information about the point system used, click here.

Bottles will not be returned to entrants.

NOTE: If sending messages through the Contact form below or trying to retrieve a lost password, check your spam folder.

Entry Acceptance Rules

Two bottles should be submitted to ensure judging in the BOS round.

Bottles and caps should be non-descript so as to preserve the anonymity of the entrant.

Bottles should be 12oz or smaller (smaller bottles may not have enough contents to be fully evaluated).  Brown bottles are preferred, but green and clear bottles are acceptable.

Caps should be black, gold or silver only.  All other caps will be rejected if not blacked out.

Silver or black cans 16oz or less in size, corked bottles, and swing top bottles will be accepted so long as they can fit into a standard 12oz case box.

Bottles will not be returned to contest entrants.

The labels printed from your registration must be submmited with each entry.  See notes on packaging below.

Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.

Entry Fees

$31.00 (USD) per entry.

Entry Limits

Entry Limit – Paid:

150

Entry Limits Per Participant

Entry Limit Per Participant:

6

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:

• Cash

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.

Entry Delivery

Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations Monday, January 12, 2026 8:00 AM, PST — Thursday, January 22, 2026 5:00 PM, PST.

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.

Ben's Office
Email Ben for Drop Off Instructions: bfrymark@gmail.com
619-000-0000
*Once we can put the COC registration behind our member login, we will display that info here. For now, email Ben - bfrymark@gmail.com or reach out to any QUAFF board member Ben's address.

Judging Sessions

Pre-Judging
Thursday, January 22, 2026 5:01 PM, PST

Saturday Morning
Saturday, January 24, 2026 8:00 AM, PST

Saturday Afternoon
Saturday, January 24, 2026 12:00 PM, PST

Sunday BOS
Sunday, January 25, 2026 8:00 AM, PST

Awards

COC winners will be announced at the QUAFF General Meeting following judging.

Points are awarded to 1st, 2nd, 3rd Best Of Show from each track.

Score sheets will be posted digitally through this competition website following the General Meeting.

Awards Ceremony

The Garten
5332 Banks Street, San Diego, CA 92110
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 7:00 PM, PST