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

Welcome to the IBRU Bottle Cap Brew Off (BCBO) Registration Page

We're happy you're considering joining us (or returning!) as an entrant and/or volunteer and we're working hard to put on a smooth, efficient and timely competition for you!

High level details

• Entry registration will close as soon as the first 175 PAID entries are registered.
• There is a three (3) entry limit per brewer
• Two 12 ounce bottles or two 12 or 16 ounce cans are required per entry
• There is a $12 Registration Fee for each entry
• Off Square Brewing will select a winner from the Best of Show finalists and scale-up the recipe with the winning homebrewer.
• This is currently a beer-only competition. We hope to add cider and mead in the future
• The BCBO Team reserves the right to increase the per person entry limit or increase the number of overall entries as needed. Any such changes will be announced in advance.
• Judging for this competition will utilize the electronic BJCP Structured Scoresheets in the BCOE&M software.

Important Dates

• Entry and Judge Registration Sign-ups Begin - 9/1/26
• Drop-Off/Shipping Begin - 10/19/26
• Entry Registration End - 10/30/26
• Drop-Off/Shipping End - 10/30/26
• Competition Day - 11/14/26
• Awards Ceremony and Live Stream - 11/14/26

Competition Rules

• This competition is AHA sanctioned and open to any amateur homebrewer age 21 or older.
• All mailed entries must be received at the mailing location by the entry deadline - please allow for shipping time.
• If you are dropping off entries at one of the four drop-off locations, be sure you keep an eye on the Drop-Off Dates & Times. Please do not expect our Drop-Off partners to accept any entries before or after the Drop-Off Dates.
• 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 or Brew On Premises facilities, supplies, ingredients, etc.).
• Brewers are not limited to one entry in each category but may only enter each subcategory once.
• The competition organizers are not responsible for miscategorized entries, entries that are not received WITHIN the Drop Off/Shipping Begin and End dates, entries that arrive damaged, or entries that do not comply with the entry guidelines. Requests for refunds will not be granted.
• All entries will evaluated by a team that includes at least one BJCP-qualified judge, and two wherever possible. The average of the scores will rank each entry in its category.
• 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.
• The Best of Show judging will be determined by a Best of Show panel based on a second judging of the top winners.
• Entries will not be returned to entrants.

Entry Acceptance Rules

Please Read Carefully For Your Safety

• 12oz bottles or 12oz/16oz cans are fine; other sizes may be disqualified
• Please ensure that no labels or identifying information is present anywhere on your entry (bottles or cans). Avoid using embossed bottles.
• Please remove or completely obliterate any markings that may exist on your bottle caps.
• Make sure you include any required information when you register your entry, including any ingredient or style-specific info if indicated. Failure to note such details may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.
• Each individual bottle/can must have an entry label, which you can print from the Entry page on this website once you've paid for your entry. This label must be attached to the bottle/can with a rubberband.
• Please make sure your beer is delivered or dropped-off in sturdy packaging to avoid damaged entries.

Entry Fees

$12.00 (USD) per entry.

Entry Limits

Entry Limit – Paid:

175

Entry Limits Per Participant

Entry Limit Per Participant:

3

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.

Drop-Off Locations

Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations Monday, October 19, 2026 2:00 PM, CDT — Friday, October 30, 2026 9:00 PM, CDT.

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.

Flipside Brewing
7144 W 183rd St, Tinley Park, IL 60477
(708) 864-4172
*Label "IBRU BCBO". Drop-Off Times: TBA

Gnome Brew
2026 W. Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 961-7750
*Label "IBRU BCBO". Drop-Off Times: TBA

Off Square Brewing
11000 Delaware Parkway, Crown Point, IN 46307
(219) 310-8898
*Label "IBRU BCBO". Drop-Off Times: TBA

Shipping Info

Entry bottles accepted at our shipping location Monday, October 19, 2026 2:00 PM, CDT — Friday, October 30, 2026 9:00 PM, CDT.

Ship entries to:

Off Square Brewing
11000 Delaware Parkway, Crown Point, IN 46307

Packing and Shipping

Please read the following packing rules/guidelines carefully and take any necessary precautions to ensure your entries are dropped off or shipped safely.

• Carefully pack your entries in a sturdy box and line the inside of your carton with a plastic trash bag. If one of your bottles/cans leaks your entire box might be discarded by the shipper.
• Partition and pack each bottle with adequate packaging material.
• Write "Fragile!" on your shipping package where appropriate. This isn't guaranteed to help but it certainly won't hurt.
• Bubble wrap makes for excellent packing material; DO NOT use packing peanuts. Use old shipping packaging for a simple and cheap option.
• Some people like to enclose each of their bottle labels in a small zip-lock bag before attaching to their respective bottles. This way it makes it possible for the organizer to identify specifically which entry has broken if there is damage during shipment. Your mileage may vary.
• Do not ship via USPS. If your shipper requests a description of the package contents it is best not to refer to beer or alcohol.
• We'll make every reasonable effort to contact entrants whose entries arrive damaged in order to make arrangements for sending replacement bottles. Please know that the earlier you ship the more chance we'll have to resolve any issues.

Judging Sessions

Session #1 - Midweek @ Off Square Brewing
Monday, November 9, 2026 6:30 PM, CST

Session #2 - Midweek @ Off Square Brewing
Tuesday, November 10, 2026 6:30 PM, CST

Session #3 - Midweek @ Off Square Brewing
Thursday, November 12, 2026 6:30 PM, CST

Session #4 - Comp Day - Morning @ Off Square Brewing
Saturday, November 14, 2026 9:00 AM, CST

Session #5 - Comp Day - Afternoon @ Off Square Brewing
Saturday, November 14, 2026 12:00 PM, CST

Best of Show

Best Of Show

The fine folks at Gnome Brew homebrew shop are donating gift certificates to the three Best Of Show finalists!

Scale Up Opportunity

One lucky BOS finalist will earn the chance to scale-up their beer thanks to our generous friends at Off Square Brewing! The Off Square Brewing team will sample the finalists and select the winner!

Awards Ceremony and Live Stream

Please join us for the Awards Ceremony at 5pm at Off Square Brewing in Crown Point, Indiana, or join us on our awards live stream to find out who all winners are and which amazing brewer will get to brew with Off Square! Details of the Live Stream will be provided prior to the ceremony.

Awards

• Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category.
• The 1st place entry in each category will advance to the Best of Show (BOS) round with a single, overall Best of Show entry selected.
• Additional prizes may be awarded to those winners present at the awards ceremony at the discretion of the competition organizers.
• The awards ceremony will take place once judging is completed and all the scores are tabulated and confirmed. Thanks for your patience.
• Any awards not picked up on Competition Day will be mailed to the winning brewer.
• Results will be posted to the BCBO Competition Website and the IBRU Homebrew Club Website (IBRUhomebrewers.org) as soon after the ceremony concludes as possible.
• Scoresheets will be made available via this website.
• Thanks for your patience with our mailing and results-posting timelines!

Awards Ceremony

Off Square Brewing
11000 Delaware Parkway, Crown Point, IN 46307
Saturday, November 14, 2026 5:00 PM, CST

Circuit Qualification

• IBRU members who win an award in this competition will be eligible for a points multiplier in the IBRU Competition Champion Standings.