Winterbrew is the BJCP-sanctioned homebrew competition of Square Kegs.
Registration for the 2026 competition will open later this year!
Essential information at a glance
- Registration URL: TBA
- Number of entries: About 250 total
- Maximum number of entries per brewer: 10 in different subcategories
- Number of bottles per entry: Two 12oz bottles or 12/16oz cans
- Entry fee: Usually $12 per entry, net income after expenses going to Gigi’s Playhouse
- Shipping window & registration opens: TBA
- Shipping and drop-off deadline: TBA
- Drop-off locations: Usually Gnome Brew, Brew & Grow (Bolingbrook), What’s Brewing (addresses below)
- Mail-in location: Usually Gnome Brew (address below)
- Judging date: Late January 2026
- Ceremony: No ceremony
- Contacts: TBA
Drop-off & mail-in locations
Please note hours of operation of the breweries when planning to drop off your entries.
- Gnome Brew (drop-off & mail-in):
2026 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 961-7750 - Brew & Grow – Bolingbrook (drop-off only):
181 W Crossroads Parkway Unit A, Bolingbrook, IL 60440
(630) 771-1410 - What’s Brewing (drop-off only):
335 W Northwest Hwy, Palatine, IL 60067
(847) 359 – 2739
Timeline
- TBA
Detailed rules
This competition is AHA / BJCP sanctioned and open to any amateur homebrewer age 21 or older. Entries should be categorized according to the 2021 guidelines, as they will be judged according to the 2021 guidelines.
All mailed entries must be received at the mailing location by the entry deadline. Please allow for shipping time.
Fee is $12 per entry. The net income after expenses of Winterbrew 2026 will be contributed to Gigi’s Playhouse.
Entries will be limited to 250 and each brewer may enter a maximum of ten beers. Two 12 oz bottles or 12/16oz cans will be required for each entry.
Brewers can enter each category more than once, but may only enter each subcategory once. For example, participants may enter an Oatmeal Stout (16B) and Tropical Stout (16C), but may not enter two Saisons (25B), even if they are different brews.
The gold medal winners in each of the final categories will progress to a Best of Show round and be eligible for gold, silver and bronze best-of-show medals.
All dropped-off entries will be picked up from drop-off locations the day of the entry deadline at 5:00pm.
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 organizers are not responsible for miscategorized entries, mailed entries that are not received by the entry deadline, or entries that arrived damaged.
The competition organizers 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.
Qualified judging of all entries is the primary goal of our event. Judges will evaluate and score each entry. The average of the scores will rank each entry in its category. Each flight will have at least one BJCP judge.
The Best of Show awards will be determined by a Best of Show panel based on a second judging of the top winners.
BOS will be awarded using a standard BJCP panel style of judging.
Bottles will not be returned to entrants.
For general judging questions contact Judge director Brad Pausha (773) 802-5112 paushabrad@gmail.com
Awards
Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category/table. Judges to determine awards.
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.
Awards will be mailed out to the winners. Results will be posted to the competition website after the competition concludes and score sheets will be available online shortly after judging concludes.
NOTE: There will be no Winterbrew Festival this year.
Judging Location
TBA
